Midwives with Sanitas

In Britain and Ireland a midwife leads your pregnancy and a doctor appears if something needs attention. In Spain it is the other way round, and nobody tells you that before you arrive.

The difference that catches British and Irish parents out

In the UK and Ireland, a normal pregnancy is led by a midwife and an obstetrician appears if something needs attention.

In Spain it is the other way round. Your pregnancy is led by an obstetrician – a doctor – who does your appointments and scans, and a midwife supports around that, particularly during labour and afterwards.

Neither system is worse. But if you arrive expecting a named midwife to carry you through, that is not how it works here, and knowing beforehand saves a good deal of confusion.

What midwives do here

Antenatal classes and birth preparation. Support during labour and delivery, working with the obstetrician. Breastfeeding help afterwards, which is often the most valued part. Postnatal checks. Pelvic floor recovery, which Spanish practice takes more seriously than some countries. And some routine antenatal appointments alongside the doctor.

The 8-month waiting period

Childbirth is not covered for the first 8 months of a policy. This is standard across Spanish insurers and it exists to stop people taking out cover once already pregnant.

Antenatal appointments and scans are covered sooner than the birth itself, so check the dates for your specific plan. If you are planning a family, the useful thing is to have cover in place well beforehand.

A premature or complicated birth is an emergency and covered as one, whatever your policy dates.

Where the midwives are

49 clinics across 23 provinces, with 47 named specialists between them – and you can book any of them yourself, without a referral.

• Malaga – 5 clinics, 3 midwives
• Almeria – 4 clinics, 4 midwives
• Pontevedra – 4 clinics, 4 midwives
• Seville – 4 clinics, 4 midwives
• Alicante – 3 clinics, 3 midwives

Thinly spread across 23 provinces. Most maternity hospitals have midwives on the labour ward without being listed here separately, so the directory understates what is actually available at the birth itself.

Language at the appointment

For labour specifically, ask the hospital rather than relying on the clinic listing. Ask us and we will check who is near you and what languages they work in.

What you pay

Nothing at the clinic on a no-co-payment plan. A fixed amount per visit on a co-payment plan. Antenatal classes are included on some plans and chargeable on others.

See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.

Find a midwife near you

Browse midwives in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.