Cost of childbirth?

pickarooney

A friend of mine is moving to Ireland for a work placement in September. His wife is due in November and he's a bit worried about the whole thing as it sounds like a stressful enough period.

Has anyone any experience of giving birth in Ireland shortly after arriving? What should be the first steps they take when they get over and what kind of costs are likely to be involved?

Moonbeam

Are they eu citizens?
Once they are aware what giving birth is like in Ireland and know their are no frills attached I think any eu ciitizen can turn up at any maternity hospital no costs involved.

Big Bag of Chips

First thing they should do is contact a local GP. They can go public which costs nothing.

I'm not sure about private because the cost of going private usually includes your appointments over the 9 months.

It might be worth contacting a GP before hand and asking advice about referral to hospital.

For the last 2 months hospital & GP visits become more frequent, (can be every 2 weeks) to keep an eye on any changes that can happen near the end, baby's position etc.

They might feel better if they have some arrangements in place even before getting here.

lazygal

If you go private in Dublin you're looking at about 4k, plus a few incidentals for scans/bloods (depending on hospital). Public is free.

lonestargirl

lazygal wrote: »

If you go private in Dublin you're looking at about 4k, plus a few incidentals for scans/bloods (depending on hospital). Public is free.

That's the cost of going private with insurance though. If she's already pregnant she won't be able to get insurance here to cover it.