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Having a Baby in Ireland: the whole system in one calm guide

You have a positive test, a GP appointment, and a growing list of words you have never needed before: Maternity and Infant Care Scheme, booking visit, MB2, MyWelfare, PPSN, public health nurse. Having a Baby in Ireland turns all of it into one clear path, from the first GP visit to your baby's first vaccines, with every amount, deadline and form checked on Citizens Information, the HSE and the Department of Social Protection, as of October 2026.

What is inside

About 45 pages: a welcome and 16 chapters, close to 9,000 words of text plus 21 tables, 78 tick-box items, sample notice letters and pages to fill in.

  1. Welcome. How the book works, and a promise: no judgment about public or private care, birth choices, feeding or going back to work.
  2. Your maternity care. The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme: who qualifies, how your GP registers you, what is covered and what is not, and how many visits to expect.
  3. Public, semi-private or private care. The three options side by side, supported, assisted and specialised care, the Domino scheme, early transfer home and the HSE home birth service, with the questions to ask before you choose.
  4. Appointments, scans and vaccines. The booking visit, the dating scan, the anatomy scan, care from 28 weeks, the whooping cough and flu vaccines, and an appointment tracker.
  5. Working while pregnant. Paid time off for appointments and classes, risk assessments, health and safety leave, protection from dismissal, and a sample notice letter.
  6. Maternity leave. The 26 + 16 weeks, the latest start date, every notice deadline, early births, illness, stillbirth, breastfeeding breaks and your right to return, with a leave planner.
  7. Maternity Benefit. The weekly rate, the dependants rule, the PRSI conditions explained in plain English, the MB2 and MB3 forms and how to apply on MyWelfare.
  8. Paternity leave and Paternity Benefit. Who counts as a relevant parent (including same-sex partners), notice, forms PB2 and PB3, and how a partner can make those 2 weeks count.
  9. Parent's leave and all the other leave. Parent's leave and Parent's Benefit, unpaid parental leave, leave for medical care, and a family leave planner for both parents.
  10. After the birth. Registering the birth (married, unmarried, same-sex and donor-conceived), your baby's PPS number, birth certificate fees, Child Benefit and the New Baby Grant, Working Family Payment and the National Childcare Scheme, with a paperwork timeline.
  11. Your baby's first checks. The newborn examination, the public health nurse visit, the heel prick test, the 2-week and 6-week GP checks, developmental checks and the vaccine schedule, with a health record to fill in.
  12. Month-by-month checklist. From the first weeks to your return to work.
  13. Pages to fill in. My dates, my numbers, my questions, and a money plan for the leave.
  14. Special situations. Self-employed parents, parenting alone, same-sex parents and donor conception, moving to Ireland, twins, and babies in neonatal care.
  15. When to call. HSE warning signs in pregnancy and after the birth, emergency numbers and support lines for your mental health.
  16. Glossary and bibliography. Twenty-one Irish maternity words explained, and 38 sources with full web addresses, each opened and checked.

Who it is for

  • You are pregnant in Ireland and want the whole system explained once, in order, instead of twenty browser tabs.
  • You are employed or self-employed and need your leave, your benefits and your deadlines in one plan.
  • You have recently moved to Ireland and want to know how care, PRSI and Child Benefit work here.
  • You are a solo mum, a same-sex couple or a family formed with donor help, and want the rules that apply to you.
  • You are a partner who wants to know your own leave and how to help.

What it is, and what it is not

This guide explains official rules and guidance clearly, with pages to fill in. It does not replace your GP, midwife, obstetrician, public health nurse, the Department of Social Protection or a solicitor, and it contains no medical diagnosis and no medicine doses. Rates usually change each January: the bibliography gives every address so you can check the latest figure.

Everything vital is also free on this site: our guides to Maternity Benefit, maternity leave, registering a birth and Child Benefit give you the essentials. The book adds the planners, the checklists, the letters and the whole picture in one place.

Instant PDF, with your name on the cover

Your guide arrives as a PDF as soon as your payment goes through, with a personalised cover. Read it on your phone, or print the checklists, the leave planner and the pages to fill in.