Message a Midwife

You can use the service to get timely, expert advice at every stage of your pregnancy and postnatal journey.

Examples of topics you can use the service for:

• General pregnancy and postnatal advice
• Common pregnancy symptoms and concerns
• Baby movements
• Early labour and signs of labour
• Preparing for labour, birth, and bringing your baby home
• Feeding support, including breastfeeding and bottle feeding
• Your baby's sleep and settling
• Birth recovery and postnatal wellbeing
• Emotional health and adjusting to parenthood

Message a Midwife is designed for non-urgent advice and support. It should not be used if you or your baby needs urgent medical attention. The service cannot provide a medical diagnosis, prescribe medication, or replace an in-person assessment by a healthcare professional.

For urgent care needs, the best course of action is to visit your nearest A&E department or dial 112.

Please do not use Message a Midwife for:

• Any medical emergency
• Heavy bleeding
• Severe abdominal pain
• Chest pain or breathing difficulties
• Severe headaches, vision changes, or sudden swelling
• Concerns that require immediate assessment of you or your baby
• Requests for a physical examination, monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment
• Any query not related to pregnancy or the pre- and post-natal period

You can access Message a Midwife by selecting Female Health on MyClinic.

Yes, the service is available 24/7, 365 days a year, including public holidays and Christmas Day.

The service is included on all hospital plans, included at no additional cost as part of your Irish Life Health cover.

No, the service is unlimited!

All midwives are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland with extensive experience of the Irish Healthcare system.

All messages are reviewed and responded to by a qualified midwife, not by AI or a chatbot, so you can be confident that the advice you receive comes from an experienced healthcare professional.

Generally, it takes around 5 minutes to be matched with a midwife. Once connected, you can expect a response within approximately 5 minutes, depending on the nature of and volume of your questions. Response times may be longer during busy periods or overnight.

To ensure you receive support as quickly as possible, you may be rematched with a different midwife if you have a follow up question. The new midwife will have access to your previous messages and provide consistent, joined-up advice so your care continues seamlessly.

Yes, you can upload an accompanying image or file when sending a message.

This service is provided by Abi Global Health on behalf of Irish Life Health.

Abi Global Health is committed to safeguarding the data in its possession. You can view Abi Global Health’s Data Protection and Privacy Policy here.

Yes. Patient confidentiality is very important, and all medical records remain confidential. Continuity of care is extremely important; therefore, a record of your consultation and medical notes can be securely sent to your own GP by request, with your consent.

A copy of your conversation is made available to download once the conversation is completed.