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Having a Baby in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

Free SNS pregnancy care, the call to SNS 24 before the maternity emergency, your rights at work, registering the birth, and the money you can claim.

The Portugal Brief 9 min read

Having a Baby in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You live legally in Portugal and you are pregnant, or your partner is.
  • You want to know what the SNS covers and how to use it from the first test to the birth.
  • You work in Portugal, employed or self-employed, and need to plan time off and benefits.

Not for you if: the baby is already born and you need the paperwork. Read Registering a Birth in Portugal instead.

Updated October 2026. Across mainland Portugal you must now call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24 before going to a public maternity emergency department, unless your life may be at risk.

If you live legally in Portugal, the public health service (SNS) gives you free pregnancy appointments, and pregnant women pay no SNS user fees. You should have your first pregnancy appointment by the end of week 9. A birth in an SNS hospital is free. If you pay social security contributions, you can take at least 120 days of paid parental leave. Most families can also claim a prenatal allowance from week 13 and child benefit after the birth, worth up to €190.98 a month in 2026.

Getting into the SNS as soon as you know

Public pregnancy care starts at your local health centre (centro de saúde). To use it you need an SNS user number (número de utente). If you do not have one yet, register at your health centre. See Registering with the SNS in Portugal.

  1. Book a pregnancy appointment as soon as a test is positive. The health authority (DGS) says every pregnant woman should have a first appointment by 9 weeks and 6 days.
  2. Get your pregnancy record. The health centre opens your Boletim de Saúde da Grávida, or its digital version. It holds your tests, scans, and blood pressure readings.
  3. Take the record to every appointment and to the hospital when you give birth. The information in it belongs to you.

If you have no family doctor, ask the health centre for a pregnancy appointment anyway. Pregnant women are a priority group when family doctor places open.

What SNS pregnancy care includes

Pregnancy care on the SNS is free and follows a national programme. For a low-risk pregnancy, it recommends:

  • Appointments every 4 to 6 weeks until week 30, every 2 to 3 weeks from week 30 to 36, then every 1 to 2 weeks until the birth. Most take place at the health centre.
  • Three routine scans: at 11 to 13 weeks, at 20 to 22 weeks, and at 30 to 32 weeks.
  • Blood and urine tests at set points, including a glucose test for gestational diabetes.
  • A hospital appointment near term. Your health centre refers you by week 34 and 6 days. You are seen at the hospital where you plan to give birth, between week 37 and the end of week 39.
  • Vaccines recommended in pregnancy under the national vaccination programme, such as flu in season. Your nurse will tell you which ones you are due.

If your pregnancy is higher risk, your health centre refers you to a hospital clinic. That care is free on the SNS too.

User fees. Pregnant women and women who have just given birth do not pay SNS user fees (taxas moderadoras), including at the emergency department.

Going private, or mixing the two

Some people choose a private obstetrician for the whole pregnancy and the birth, often through employer health insurance. Prices vary a lot between hospitals. Ask each one for a written quote that lists what is excluded, such as a caesarean or a longer stay.

If you have health insurance, check the waiting period (período de carência) for maternity cover and any cap on what the policy pays for a birth. See Choosing Private Health Insurance in Portugal.

Whatever you choose, keep your SNS registration active. It is your free fallback if something changes late in the pregnancy.

Your rights at work

If you are an employee, the law protects you once you tell your employer about the pregnancy in writing, with a medical certificate.

  • Prenatal appointments. You can take time off for them, as often as needed. Antenatal classes count too. Book outside working hours where you can. Your employer may ask for proof that the appointment had to be during work time.
  • The other parent has the right to three absences to go with you to prenatal appointments.
  • Dismissal. Before dismissing a pregnant worker, a worker who has just given birth or is breastfeeding, or a parent on leave, the employer must ask the equality at work body (CITE) for its opinion. If CITE's opinion is against the dismissal, the employer needs a court decision first.
  • Clinical risk. If a doctor certifies that the pregnancy is a risk and you cannot work, and your employer cannot give you suitable work, you can take leave. Social Security pays a clinical risk benefit (subsídio por risco clínico) of 100% of your reference pay, at least €14.32 a day in 2026. You need six months of contributions, and you apply within six months of your first day off.

Choosing where to give birth

A birth in an SNS hospital is free. You will usually give birth at the hospital that serves your area. Ask your care team early which one that is. Some maternity units close on certain days when staff are short, so ask about a backup hospital too.

Call SNS 24 before you go to a maternity emergency department. Before going to a public obstetric and gynaecology emergency department in mainland Portugal, call the SNS 24 Pregnancy line on 808 24 24 24. A health professional tells you where to go, which may be the emergency department or a same-day or next-day appointment.

You do not need to call first if:

  • INEM, your health centre, or another health service refers you, with a note signed by a doctor or specialist midwife
  • you may be in danger, for example if you lose consciousness, have a seizure, struggle to breathe, bleed heavily, have a serious injury, or have very severe pain

If you arrive without calling, staff will ask you to call from a phone at the entrance before you are admitted. In a real emergency, call 112.

Pack a hospital bag in the last weeks. Include:

  • your Boletim de Saúde da Grávida
  • your identity document or residence card, and your partner's
  • your SNS user number
  • your birth plan (plano de parto), if you have one
  • clothes and essentials for you and the baby

Registering the baby

When the baby is born in Portugal, register the birth as soon as possible at the maternity unit or hospital. Many have a Nascer Cidadão desk, so you can do it before you go home. If you cannot, the law gives you 20 days from the birth, at any civil registry office. Registration is free, and so is the first citizen card for a child under one, if your baby is Portuguese.

Your baby can be Portuguese from birth if a parent had lived in Portugal legally for at least five years when the baby was born. These rules changed on 19 May 2026. See Registering a Birth in Portugal for the registry, names, nationality, and documents.

Money you can claim

Social Security pays three main benefits around a birth. The full tables, the income bands, and the step-by-step claims are in Child Benefits and Parental Leave in Portugal. In short:

  • Prenatal allowance (abono de família pré-natal). A monthly payment from week 13 of pregnancy, whether or not you work. It depends on household income and pays the same as child benefit for a baby: €88.43 to €190.98 a month in 2026. You need a medical certificate stating how far along you are.
  • Initial parental benefit (subsídio parental inicial). Paid leave for working parents with six months of contributions. You choose 120 days at 100% of your reference pay, 150 days at 80%, or longer shared options. The mother must take 42 days after the birth. The father must take 28 days, paid at 100%, within 42 days of the birth. You apply within six months of the first day off work.
  • Child benefit (abono de família). A monthly payment after the birth, by household income band. Your baby needs a social security number (NISS).

If you do not have six months of contributions, you may get the means-tested social parental benefit (subsídio social parental) instead.

Do not apply late. Child benefit claims made more than six months after the birth lose the earlier months. The prenatal allowance cannot be claimed more than six months after the birth.

Parliament is still discussing longer initial leave. As of October 2026 no change has been published, so the current rules apply.

After the birth: vaccines and check-ups

Your baby gets a child health record, the Boletim de Saúde Infantil e Juvenil. Vaccines in the national programme are free and start soon after birth. Babies in risk groups for tuberculosis get the BCG vaccine only after a negative result on the newborn screening test for severe immune deficiency, by five weeks of age.

In the first days, your baby has the heel prick test (teste do pezinho), part of the national newborn screening programme.

Your health centre then schedules routine child health check-ups. Ask for your baby to be registered with your family doctor. See Getting Vaccinated in Portugal for the full schedule.

If you have private health insurance, ask your insurer how and when to add the baby to your policy.

This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. Follow your care team's advice, and check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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