Dear nurses,
Have you ever wondered about the best place to have your baby while you are employed as a staff nurse? Then you can pick a staff nurse job under HSE in Ireland and you will get a number of facts to justify your decision.
Maternity benefit
Let us start with the maternity leave. Here employers are not bound by law to pay as you on maternity leave. This is because the social welfare department of the state pays a certain sum every week to all the working mothers who has paid tax for ten months. The sum varies based on whether the mother is working full time or part time. Maximum pay per week is 245 euros. Therefore the maternity leave offered in private nursing homes is unpaid where as if the mother is an employee under HSE , she is entitled to take paid maternity leave for 26 weeks, when she gets basic pay from the hospital where she works along with the social welfare pay. The mother is also entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave after that if needed. You can download both HSE and social welfare maternity leave application online and forward it through your line managers to HR department of your hospital.
Before that your GP has to certify your expected date of delivery on the forms. Once your leave is approved, your form for maternity benefit can be posted out to the respective social welfare department. Mothers extend their leave by taking their due annual leave along with it. Before commencing the maternity leave, if mothers get ill, they are treated compassionately in Ireland and are offered enough sick leave which falls under the category of pregnancy related illness. You are able to avail another 140 euros per month as child welfare benefit for each baby, once the child is born.
Antenatal care
When we consider antenatal care, Ireland falls under the best of its kind in the world. The most common type is shared care where both your GP and the gynecologist in your maternity hospital look after you alternately. GP confirms the pregnancy and does the necessary blood tests immediately after you know that you are pregnant and visit him. He makes us fill the shared care application and you will be given appointments for antenatal checks and scans. The two major trans-abdominal ultrasound scans are at week 12(dating scan) and week 20(anomaly scan) of the gestation respectively. If the mother has any associated co-morbidities or gestational complications, then the team might do scans and check-ups more frequently depending on the requirements till the birth. Mothers are educated by midwives about every aspects of pregnancy, labor, child care and breast feeding. Every mother has to participate in at least two mandatory antenatal classes which are booked by midwives. If you are an HSE staff nurse, then you get time back for the antenatal classes you attend while you are on duty. The antenatal care in Ireland is free of cost and at the same time of the best quality.They even provide you with literature on pregnancy, lactation, child care, breastfeeding and postnatal depression as well as checklist for hospitalization so that you do not have to panic at the last moment as to what to carry to the hospital. They assess our moods in each visit and assure you support al-through and post pregnancy. They also reveal the gender of your baby if you wish to know.
Perinatal care
Perinatal care is as best as antenatal care. Admission to the hospital, labor and delivery are entirely free of cost. The best part of it is that mothers can take their spouses or some one they are comfortable with them to the labor suite to help them out. Mostly you will be given a calm suite for you and your partner with a skillful midwife to assist during active labor. The partner is allowed beside you in the theater for C-sections.
Postnatal care
Postnatally you might have to stay in the hospital 2-4 days depending on your baby's and your condition. You will be given classes on pelvic floor exercises and cord care of baby and assistance with baby bath before you leave the hospital. They give you forms for birth registration before discharge. The baby gets checked by pediatrician for defects as well hearing tested by audiometrist. Once you reach home, you and baby gets followed up by the public health nurse of your region. She assesses you and the baby and assists you with needs. Baby and the mother gets checked by GP 6 weeks post birth. First immunization of the child is on completion of two months which is mostly done by a nurse at the GP practice.If you are an HSE staff nurse and you get back to work before 26 weeks post labor, then you are entitled to take breastfeeding breaks of 60 minutes during your working hours till your baby is 26 weeks old.
In conclusion, if you are an HSE staff nurse in Ireland, your pregnancy will turn out to be the best time of your life.
