The right to receive health care after childbirth is a part of your, as well as your child’s human right to health.
The right to receive health care after the childbirth is a part of your, as well as your child’s human right to health. Due to its importance, you may receive State-financed monitoring and medical assistance for you and your baby in the postnatal period (up to 70 calendar days following the labour) in Latvia. However, State-financed health care is provided only by doctors and midwives who are under contract with the National Health Service.
Medical assistance & State financing
In Latvia, the State provides fully financed medical assistance after childbirth for the mother and the newborn baby, which means that you do not need to pay a patient co-payment for State-paid health care services in the postnatal period.
State-financed health care for the mother includes medical examinations by the doctor or midwife up to 70 calendar days following labour, assessing the mother’s physical and psycho-emotional recovery after birth and the effectiveness of breastfeeding.
State-financed health care for the newborn baby includes medical examinations and laboratory and diagnostic tests up to 27 calendar days following labour by one or several medical practitioners: a gynaecologist (obstetrician), midwife, neonatologist, paediatrician, or a general practitioner (family doctor).
Every newborn should be examined by a neonatologist or paediatrician within the first 24 hours after birth. In the first days of life, the child will undergo expanded newborn screening and a hearing test.
important The general requirements for a mother’s and baby’s monitoring and medical assistance after childbirth are set out in the Procedures for Providing Maternity Assistance.
Read more about Pregnancy & Child birth in this Guide.