Where to give birth

johnc24

Afternoon folks,

As I mentioned in a previous post my wife is pregnant with our first child.

My wife is Spanish and has full private health insurance in Spain and we are undecided as to whether to have the baby in Ireland or Spain.

She has heard very mixed reviews regarding the rotunda in Dublin?

What are your opinions of said hospital and can you recommend any others or offer any further advice we may act upon.

Experiences of others also very welcome.

Thanks a lot

John

beachbabe

Have a look at some of the public v private threads, plenty of info in there.

Nitxteha

Hi, I´m Spanish too and our first idea was to have the baby in Ireland as my boyfriend is from here and we live here. But we compared and one of the few good things Spain has is the Seguridad Social. There´s a standard protocol for pregnancies that is followed with all pregnant women there. You don´t pick which test you want/need/or can afford, they do them all. Another good thing is that you may have to wait for anything else but not if you are pregnant.

At the moment I´m travelling to Madrid every couple of weeks to have all the blood test, obstetritian visits, scans etc., and I´m very happy with the service and the hospital.

My midwife told me I may be in an individual room, would only share with onother woman if that night is very busy.

This is all public btw and they don´t charge you.

Don´t take me wrong this is no criticism to Ireland at all, but if your wife has the opportunity of having it in Spain she will have the best service and it will save you money too.

If she prefers to go private La Clinica del Rosario in Madrid is a lovely place too but you get the same as in the public appart from a menu to chose from

hacked

I have to agree with the above poster. I am not impressed with Irish maternity hospitals at all! The Irish medical system is a bit behind the rest of the world, a lot of things I assumed I would get or be tested for aren't done here...so I am having to go for private testing. If your wife has the option I would say go with Spain.

edit: My mother has had 5 children and all she could say to me when I was picking a hospital in Dublin is that they are virtually all the same. Any review of any hospital you get (in dublin at any rate!!) is going to be mixed. It's all down to the individual doctor.midwife you have on any given day.
I have heard far too many horror stories of doctors and midwives just bossing women around or making descisions for them though. Thank god my mother is my birthing partner!! She get's what she wants...i'd be scared to stand up to her if i were a midwife!

johnc24

Nitxteha wrote: »

Hi, I´m Spanish too and our first idea was to have the baby in Ireland as my boyfriend is from here and we live here. But we compared and one of the few good things Spain has is the Seguridad Social. There´s a standard protocol for pregnancies that is followed with all pregnant women there. You don´t pick which test you want/need/or can afford, they do them all.

Hola, Que tal ? (thats my limited espanol I am afraid to say! )

Yes I know about that. My general feeling is she should naturally have the best care and facilities, and the advantage of native language hospital staff around her.

I will ponder some more over it, but I think Spain is the best bet at the moment.

Thanks for your input folks

Nitxteha

Hola John,

feel free to pm me or have your wife pm me if she wants to ask me anything else.

Good luck!

johnc24

Nitxteha wrote: »

Hola John,

feel free to pm me or have your wife pm me if she wants to ask me anything else.

Good luck!

I will pass on the message

Thanking you

John

crazy cat lady

Hi,

I've never experienced maternity services in Spain personally, but I trained with a Spanish fella who has said that maternity services in Spain are very very medicalised. A girl in my Yoga group also had her first baby in Spain and agreed with a lot of what I had been told. For example, the majority of women are put in stirrups to birth in a room which looks alot like an operating theatre!

Obviously I can't say that all of the Spanish facilities are like this, but it seems to be the way of the Spanish maternity system.

Yes the Irish system has flaws (and a lot of them) but at least they are on your doorstep. I do think that if there are any problems in the pregnancy then the level of expertise in the Dublin maternity hospitals is fantastic. True, the accommodation might be a bit cramped/not what you expected... but as long as you and your baby are healthy going home, isn't that the main thing?

If having all the tests offered in Spain is what is important to you, maybe you could consider paying to have them done here. I'm sure you would save yourself alot in terms of money/time/stress. Please bear in mind that if your wife falls into an 'at risk' category for any of the tests, I believe they will be offered (although I'm not 100% sure on that) Don't forget that around 80% of pregnancies are completely risk free and do not really require any medical intervestion at all. Maybe a midwife led service would suit your needs?

If the extra medical attention is important to you and your wife, you could consider Mt Carmel? I'm not sure how much it costs but my Sister in Law has had all 3 of her children there and has nothing but praise for the place.

Whatever you decide to do, I would strongly recommend booking into a hospital here if you are going to be based here. Anything could happen at any time during the pregnancy and it would be beneficial to you if the hospital you would have to attend knows your history, and if you are familiar with a hospital.

I would recommend Holles St from working there. The midwives are fantastic (if not overworked and underpaid!) and the medical team really know their stuff. The conditions are less than ideal, but last year 9000 healthy babies left the hospital. For me that speaks volumes.

Whatever you decide to do, Good Luck

crazy cat lady

johnc24 wrote: »

Hola, Que tal ? (thats my limited espanol I am afraid to say! )

Yes I know about that. My general feeling is she should naturally have the best care and facilities, and the advantage of native language hospital staff around her.

I will ponder some more over it, but I think Spain is the best bet at the moment.

Thanks for your input folks

Oh and there are a few Spanish midwives in Holles st if the language thing is important to you