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Guide

The guide has been created due to great care and appreciation towards our clients visiting MMC’s website, who are interested in medicine and health related matters. We would like to offer you a series of straightforward articles, containing a bunch of useful information about the most common diseases and their treatment methods. We draw your attention especially to main symptoms, which should be a subject to immediate medical consultation. In this section you may also read about Maternity and Infant Care Scheme, which presents a great deal of information on this pregnancy supporting medical program. Our guide main aim is to make staying in good health easier by promoting health prevention and increasing medical issues awareness.

We hope you will find it useful and will have a pleasurable reading!

Maternity and Infant Care Scheme

This scheme is created to help pregnant women and their infants. It provides them with a free medical care during the pregnancy and 6 weeks after. Women participating in this scheme are using free of charge services of both GP (chosen by a women herself) and a hospital Gynaecologist (bound to be the one that a woman is going to give birth in).

Who can participate in Maternity and Infant C.S.?

Every pregnant woman of Irish residency is eligible to join this scheme. In some cases Irish Health Service Executive reviews this eligibility-it needs to be determined definitely whether a woman would stay at least a year after the baby was born. In such cases they might ask a pregnant woman to present:

• a proof of a long-term house or flat lease provided that it is inhabited by an applicant
• bank account holder confirmation
• visa (when applicable) or confirmation of employment
• sworn statement from an applicant (source: http://www.mwhb.ie/healthservices/entitlements/category.htm).

Also, if an estimated date of birth is going to occur in less than two months and a woman was refused enrolling onto a HSE Maternity list there a 'second chance' possibility for a woman called 'Category II Letter'. This letter allows pregnant woman to use doctor's services free-of-charge. To obtain it one must again prove a willingness to stay in Ireland for at least a year afterwards the birth occurred and apply to HSE East Area at Dr. Steven’s Hospital, Dublin 8 (phone 016352361). This may take a long time, though.

First steps

If you suppose that you might be pregnant you should first go to see a GP to ensure. In Medicus, for example, these doctors who are contracted by HSE to run pregnancies within the scheme are high class Gynaecologists (performing as GPs). Remember that the earlier a pregnancy is discovered the better for you and your unborn baby - not only for the sake of assigning to Maternity Scheme.

Once the pregnancy is detected you are asked to fill an application form that is then send to HSE. This procedure is purely administrative and woman's job is to wait for a confirmation of enrolment. This sometimes arrives, sometimes not. Usually, if a pregnancy is detected early and there is no need to check a visa status, an enrolment is a formal matter. In Medicus in such circumstances every next check-up visit is free of charge. However, a pregnant woman is obliged to roughly follow a schedule of maternity visits. it is presented below:

• Additional Visits
• Visits not related to the pregnancy

Schemat wizyt Maternity and Infant Care Scheme

Week of pregnancy	GP visits (any chosen medical practice)	Hospital visits
Before 12 week (just after insemination)	*
Before 20 week		*
24	*
28	*	*
30	*
32		*
34	*
36		*
37	*
38		*
39	*
40		*
Narodziny dziecka
2 weeks after birth (for an infant)	*
6 weeks after birth (for mother and infanta)	*

Obstetric Card

After your first visit to a GP you will receive an Obstetric Card which you should always bring with you either to your chosen hospital or GP. This card serves as a record of your health state and ease an exchange of information between doctors.

Scheme Enrolment

Usually after 6 weeks from the date an application was sent your local HSE confirms your enrolment to the scheme. If you do not receive such confirmation within two months you should visit your local HSE, firstly checking with your GP whether the application was in fact sent. Lack of confirmation letter may also mean that you were not enrolled to the programme - then you should apply for a revision. List of HSE branches can be found at www.hse.ie

Your first visit to a hospital

You choose a hospital with your GP during first visit (it is then stated on your application form). Recently more and more women become pregnant and some of the Obstetric Wards are truly overloaded. It is highly recommend to go to your chosen hospital and 'book' room for yourself in their schedule of visits. For this sake every GP issues a Referral Letter which you should show in the hospital.

Change of personal details

Would you change your details (hospital, address, surname) your local HSE branch needs be informed straightaway. You may need to present appropriate documents confirming such change.