Pregnancy and Childbirth - Finding a Healthcare Provider and Booking an Appointment
Pregnancy is generally one of the most beautiful times in a woman’s life, and most pregnancies go smoothly. For the pregnancy to proceed as safely as possible and for you to enjoy this time, after a positive pregnancy test you should choose a suitable pregnancy and childbirth healthcare provider and book an appointment for your first check-up. You can register your pregnancy, go for check-ups and give birth in major hospitals or private clinics in Estonia. You can also plan a home birth if you wish.
Registering pregnancy - when should it be done?
After you have had your positive pregnancy test results, what should you do next? If you doubt whether the test is positive, take the test again after a few days. Also, take the test again if you think you are pregnant even after the first negative test. If the test is positive, book an appointment with a midwife, gynaecologist or family doctor, where your pregnancy will be detected and registered.
The best time to register your pregnancy is in the 6th-9th week because then your baby will also be visible in the ultrasound. The length of pregnancy is calculated in weeks, and the calculation is made from the first day of your last menstruation.
At your next appointment, a pregnancy card will be issued and all the necessary tests will be done before that. During pregnancy, all your data (weight, blood pressure values, results of analyses and examinations) are recorded in the pregnancy card, and it reflects the entire course of your pregnancy. Be sure to also take an identity document with you.
Where is it possible to register pregnancy, attend pregnancy examinations and give birth?
With pregnancy, you can register yourself and monitor the progress of your pregnancy both in regional hospitals, major Estonian hospitals and private clinics. This is free for pregnant women at the partners of the gynaecology specialty of the Health Insurance Fund. You can find information about the partners on the website of the Health Insurance Fund when selecting "gynaecology" as the contracted specialty.
You can give birth funded by the Health Insurance Fund in the following major hospitals in Estonia:
- Tartu University Hospital
- East Tallinn Central Hospital
- West Tallinn Central Hospital (Pelgulinna Maternity Hospital)
- Pärnu Hospital
- Hospital of Southern Estonia
- Ida-Viru Central Hospital
- Narva Hospital
- Kuressaare Hospital
- Viljandi Hospital
- Rakvere Hospital
- Järvamaa Hospital
- Hiiumaa Hospital
When to turn to a midwife with health concerns and when to turn to a family doctor
For general health concerns, contact your family doctor or family nurse, who will diagnose and treat most diseases in collaboration. In infancy, the doctor and family nurse monitor the child’s development, in adolescence and adulthood they deal with disease prevention, and in the future, they pay more and more attention to possible chronic diseases. In addition, the family doctor performs minor surgical operations, refers to examinations and takes tests, vaccinates, binds wounds, removes sutures and, if necessary, makes home visits. The family doctor and nurse advise all their patients and also advise on disease prevention.
For health concerns related to pregnancy, consult a midwife or gynaecologist.
A midwife is an independent specialist who offers you help throughout the fertile period – before pregnancy, during pregnancy, during childbirth and in the postpartum period, helps with breastfeeding, prepares you for the role of a parent, advises in the field of sex education and family planning, and does preventive work in the field of women’s diseases.
A gynaecologist deals with the prevention and treatment of women’s diseases, and advises clients on contraceptives and family planning, consulting women of all ages.
Giving birth at home and planning a home birth
Planned home birth is a birth plan at the request of the pregnant woman during the planned monitoring of the pregnancy, agreed upon in advance during the visits, and received by a midwife in home conditions outside the hospital. Home birth is a safe choice for the mother and child if the decision has been made carefully and with an adequate assessment of the risks, and if the birth is assisted by a competent midwife with a home birth license and which is, in the event of transfer to hospital, is supported by the healthcare system. Read more about the home birth here .