See your GP as soon as possible to confirm you are pregnant. Your GP will refer you for your first hospital antenatal appointment and dating scan. You can discuss the options available to you for antenatal or maternity care and your GP can register you for the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme. 

Maternity and Infant Care Scheme

Every woman who is pregnant and ordinarily resident in Ireland is entitled to maternity care under the Maternity and Infant Scheme. Ordinarily resident means you are living here, or you intend to remain living here for at least one year. 

On the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme, your maternity care is provided by your GP and a hospital obstetrician (a doctor who specialises in pregnancy and labour). If this is your first pregnancy, the GP will carry out your first examination (ideally before 12 weeks). You will have a further 5 examinations during the pregnancy, which alternate between GP visits and maternity unit/hospital visits. Your schedule of visits may be changed by your GP or hospital obstetrician, depending on your situation. 

If this is not your first pregnancy, you will have an initial examination and a further 6 examinations. If you have a significant illness, for example, diabetes or hypertension, you may have up to 5 additional visits with your GP. 

The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme also provides for 2 postnatal visits to the GP. This includes: 

• An examination of the baby at 2 weeks old 

• An examination of you and the baby at 6 weeks old 

It is important to take folic acid and to get the whooping cough vaccine and the flu vaccine, which you can get at the practice.