Pregnancy in Ireland comes with a schedule of appointments — but nobody always explains what each one is for, why they’re asking those questions, or what to expect when you walk in. The first GP visit. The two-hour booking visit. The dating scan. The 20-week anomaly scan. The gestational diabetes test. The third-trimester check-ins. The 6-week postnatal check.
This is a starting orientation to the Irish antenatal pathway — the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme that covers all of it, how public, semi-private and private care actually differ, and a scannable overview of every appointment. For the full depth — including the clinical reasoning behind every check, every blood test, and every question — that’s inside the BROODE membership.
The foundation: the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme
The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme is the cornerstone of antenatal care in Ireland. If you’ve been living in Ireland for at least one year, you are entitled to free antenatal and postnatal care under this scheme — regardless of whether you have a GP visit card, a medical card, or private health insurance.
The scheme covers:
- All GP antenatal visits during your pregnancy
- All hospital or maternity unit visits under the scheme
- Two postnatal GP visits after your baby is born — at 2 weeks (for your baby) and 6 weeks (for you and your baby)
- Additional visits if you develop a pregnancy-related condition like high blood pressure or gestational diabetes
The scheme does not cover illnesses unrelated to your pregnancy — a urinary tract infection or chest infection, for example, even if you develop these during pregnancy. Those are billed as standard GP appointments.
To register: Contact a GP as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed. You’ll need your PPSN. If you don’t have a GP, contact your local maternity unit — they can see you directly. Register early — the booking visit at your maternity unit should ideally happen between 8 and 12 weeks, and popular GP practices and consultant clinics fill up fast.
Public, semi-private, private — what's actually different
All three care types use the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme for GP visits. Where they differ is in your hospital care.
Public
- 6 GP appointments (first pregnancy), 7 (subsequent)
- 6 hospital appointments (first), 5 (subsequent)
- Booking visit is midwife-led
- Hospital care is led by a midwife, with obstetric input from a rotating team of consultants and registrars — you may see a different doctor at different visits
- Free — no insurance required
- Available at every maternity unit nationwide
Semi-private
- Same GP appointments as public
- Typically 6–8 hospital appointments under the care of a named consultant team
- Booking visit is midwife-led (same as public)
- A named consultant oversees your care; you’ll often see the consultant or someone from their team at visits
- Approximately €1,000 average out-of-pocket with insurance
- Insurance recommended — 52-week waiting period typically applies before maternity cover kicks in
- Only available at the three Dublin maternity hospitals: the Rotunda, the National Maternity Hospital (NMH), and the Coombe
Private
- Same GP appointments as public
- Typically 10–14 consultant appointments across the pregnancy — monthly until around 30 weeks, fortnightly from 30–34 weeks, and weekly from 34 weeks onwards
- Booking visit may be with your consultant or a senior registrar
- The same named consultant throughout your pregnancy, at every visit
- Approximately €2,500–€5,000+ total (consultant fees)
- Insurance recommended — 52-week waiting period typically applies
- Available nationwide
The honest truth
Whatever option you choose, you’ll be seen in the same hospitals, by consultants with the same clinical training, and with access to the same equipment. The differences are in continuity of carer, frequency of appointments, and cost.
Private care in particular involves significantly more consultant visits — often more than double the public pathway — with the same named consultant at every appointment. This is part of what private care buys: not just a name over the door, but a markedly more frequent monitoring schedule, with the same person, throughout pregnancy.
Semi-private sits in the middle — more continuity than public, more appointments than public, but less than private, and only available in Dublin.
Room type after birth: this is the most misunderstood part of semi-private and private care. Neither tier guarantees you a private or semi-private room after birth — rooms are allocated on availability on the day. Parents who chose these options expecting a guaranteed private room are often surprised by this.
Members get more: Inside your BROODE membership, the full course walks through the real-world differences between care options, the common regrets parents have after each, and how to decide which is right for you.
How many appointments to expect — at a glance
For a sense of the total number of appointments across your pregnancy:
Public (first pregnancy): 6 GP + 6 hospital = 12 antenatal appointments, plus 2 postnatal (at 2 weeks and 6 weeks)
Semi-private (first pregnancy): 6 GP + 6–8 hospital appointments with named consultant team, plus 2 postnatal
Private (first pregnancy): 6 GP + 10–14 consultant appointments, plus 2 postnatal
First-time parents typically have more hospital appointments than second-time parents. Additional appointments are arranged whenever clinically indicated — for example, if you develop gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, or reduced baby movements.
Your appointments — a scannable overview
Here’s what’s on your antenatal calendar, from start to finish.
First trimester (weeks 4–14)
Weeks 4–8 — Your first GP appointment Registers you for the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme, starts your care record, establishes baseline blood pressure, and gives your GP the information to refer you to your maternity unit. Bring your PPSN and the date of your last menstrual period.
Weeks 8–12 — The booking visit (around 2 hours) Your longest appointment of the pregnancy. At the maternity unit, usually with a midwife. A full medical history, family history, obstetric history, blood tests, urine test, and weight/BMI check. This is where your full clinical picture is built — everything that follows depends on what they learn here.
Weeks 8–14 — Dating scan (30–45 minutes) Confirms your due date, checks the number of babies, confirms heartbeat and that the pregnancy is in the right place. If you’re having first-trimester screening, the nuchal translucency (NT) measurement is taken here.
Second trimester (weeks 14–28)
Mid-pregnancy GP visits — shorter, more routine Blood pressure, urine test, review of booking blood test results, fundal height measurement, listening to the baby’s heartbeat. Your GP is watching for trends, not just individual numbers. Also: the whooping cough (Tdap) vaccine, offered between 16 and 36 weeks.
Weeks 20–22 — The fetal anomaly scan (30–60 minutes) The most comprehensive ultrasound of the pregnancy. A systematic check of head and brain structures, heart, spine, abdominal organs, limbs, placenta position, amniotic fluid, and growth measurements. Most scans show a baby developing normally.
Weeks 24–28 — Gestational diabetes test (GTT) (2–3 hours, if offered) Not offered to everyone. Offered based on risk factors — BMI over 25, previous gestational diabetes, family history of Type 2 diabetes, a previous large baby (over 4.5kg), or certain ethnic backgrounds with higher genetic risk of insulin resistance. Fasting from midnight, glucose drink, 2-hour wait, second blood sample.
Third trimester (weeks 28–40)
More frequent check-ups — with both your GP and your maternity unit From 28 weeks, appointments increase in frequency. In private care, visits become monthly until around 30 weeks, fortnightly from 30–34 weeks, and weekly from 34 weeks onwards. In public and semi-private care, the pattern is less frequent but still tighter than earlier trimesters.
At every third-trimester visit: blood pressure check (pre-eclampsia develops in around 5% of pregnancies and is most common in the third trimester), urine for protein, fundal height measurement, baby’s position (from 32 weeks), baby’s heartbeat — and crucially, a conversation about your baby’s movements. A reduction in your baby’s usual pattern of movement can be an early warning sign. Contact your maternity unit immediately if you notice a change — don’t wait for your next appointment.
Anti-D injections (if Rh negative) — at around 28 weeks (and sometimes 34 weeks)
Birth and immediate postnatal
During labour and birth — led by a midwife, with obstetric support as needed. An obstetrician is involved if the midwife identifies a concern, a labour isn’t progressing as expected, or operative delivery is needed. If you need an epidural, an anaesthetist administers it.
In private care, your named consultant may attend the birth directly, particularly if a caesarean section is planned or if a complication arises. In public and semi-private care, whoever is on duty will attend.
Before discharge, your baby will have:
- A newborn hearing screening
- A newborn physical examination
- The newborn bloodspot (heel prick) test, usually on day 3–5 (this may happen in hospital if your stay is long enough, or at home with your PHN if not)
Within 72 hours of discharge — your Public Health Nurse visits you at home. Read our full guide to HSE public health nurse visits.
Postnatal (2 weeks and 6 weeks)
2-week GP check — focused on your baby Weight (to check they’ve regained birth weight), jaundice check, heel prick results follow-up, feeding assessment.
6-week GP check — the most comprehensive postnatal appointment, covering both you and your baby
For you: blood pressure, wound healing, postnatal depression screening (the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale — a validated questionnaire, not a pass/fail test), contraception discussion, pelvic floor assessment.
For your baby: full physical examination, weight and growth check, development and reflexes, discussion of the vaccination schedule (which begins at 8 weeks).
Members get more: The full BROODE course covers the clinical reasoning behind every check, every blood test, and every question — from why they take your blood pressure at every visit, to why the booking visit is so detailed, to what each bloodspot test actually screens for. Plus our downloadable Antenatal Appointment Tracker to keep every appointment organised in one place.
Key takeaways
- The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme is free to everyone living in Ireland for at least a year
- Appointments vary considerably by care type: 12 in public (first pregnancy), similar total in semi-private but with a named consultant team, and 15–20 in private with the same consultant throughout
- Register with a GP as soon as pregnancy is confirmed — booking visits fill up fast
- Public, semi-private, and private care all use the same hospitals and clinicians — the differences are continuity of carer, frequency of appointments, and cost
- The booking visit takes 2 hours for good reason — bring your full history
- A reduction in baby’s movements is not something to wait and see about — contact your maternity unit immediately
- The 6-week postnatal check is for you as much as your baby — answer the depression screening questions honestly
The appointments are yours — BROODE is the support between them
This article is a starting point. Inside your BROODE membership, you’ll find:
- The full “Understanding Your Antenatal Appointments” course — every appointment explained in detail, including the clinical reasoning behind every check, every blood test, and every question
- Our downloadable Antenatal Appointment Tracker — keep every appointment, every date, and every result in one place
- The Welcome to Parenthood Programme — our flagship eight-session midwife-led course for couples, available to members at €299 per couple
- Monthly Midwife Q&As — for the questions that come up between appointments
- Expert-led sessions on every aspect of pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood
- Local community and meet-ups for parents at the same stage in Ireland
€29/month for our first 100 members. €34/month thereafter.
Written by the BROODE team. Information correct as of April 2026, based on guidance from the Health Service Executive (hse.ie / MyChild.ie) and citizensinformation.ie. For advice about your specific pregnancy, speak to your GP, midwife, or maternity unit.
