Having a baby in Italy in 2026: from the first appointment to the baby’s documents

After the pregnancy is confirmed, choose whether to begin at a family clinic, public outpatient service or private gynaecologist. You will receive a schedule of checks, compare maternity units, transfer the medical file to the chosen unit and clarify admission arrangements. After the birth, register the baby with the health service, choose a paediatrician and complete the citizenship and travel-document procedures that apply to your family.

If you are enrolled in the Italian National Health Service (SSN, Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) and hold a tessera sanitaria, examinations on the national list are provided without a separate charge when the referral carries the correct pregnancy exemption code. Hospitalisation for childbirth is also covered. You may add private consultations or arrange an entirely private birth separately.

The first pregnancy appointment in Italy

Arrange the first appointment before week 10 if possible. The doctor or midwife reviews your history, dates the pregnancy, calculates the estimated delivery date and issues referrals for the next checks. A midwife may manage a pregnancy without complications; identified risks lead to referral to a gynaecologist or another specialist.

A public family clinic is called a consultorio familiare. Present your health card there to receive referrals and a schedule of visits. The local health authority organises this pathway; in the province of Rimini, it is AUSL Romagna.

Pregnancy-related services use an exemption code for the ticket, or patient contribution. M00 is used until the pregnancy is dated, after which the code combines M with the relevant week number; M50 applies to high-risk pregnancy. The doctor or midwife enters the code appropriate to the timing and reason for each examination.

Pregnancy schedule in Italy: appointments, tests and ultrasound

Examinations for a pregnancy with no identified complications are set out in the national list of guaranteed healthcare, the LEA (Livelli Essenziali di Assistenza). Services are scheduled by stage of pregnancy and provided without a separate charge when the referral and exemption code for the ticket are correct.

In the first trimester, the pregnancy is dated and blood group, Rh factor, basic blood results and specified infections are checked. Between weeks 11 and 13, combined screening may be offered to estimate the likelihood of chromosomal conditions from blood results and ultrasound measurements, including nuchal translucency. NIPT may be available privately or under a regional programme for specified groups.

For an uncomplicated pregnancy, the national list provides two planned ultrasound scans: a first-trimester scan to date the pregnancy and an anomaly scan assessing fetal anatomy from 19 weeks 0 days to 21 weeks 0 days. A third-trimester scan is added for a complication or another medical indication.

During the second half of pregnancy, the clinician decides whether a glucose-tolerance test or additional investigations are needed. At 36–37 weeks, vaginal and rectal swabs are taken for group B streptococcus. Bring the result on admission so that the obstetric team can decide whether antibiotic prophylaxis is required. By then, collect the test results, ultrasound reports and medical summaries in one file for the maternity unit. See the week-by-week pregnancy schedule in Italy.

Public or private management of pregnancy and childbirth in Italy

In the public pathway, examinations are carried out on referral and the birth is attended by the on-call team at the chosen maternity unit. Private consultations can be combined with public services. Attendance by a specific doctor at the birth requires a separate contract with the institution.

The contract should state the doctor’s attendance and replacement arrangements and the cost of vaginal birth, caesarean section, anaesthesia, the room and newborn care. It may be arranged with a private clinic or through a public hospital’s libera professione intramoenia — intramural private practice. Ask for each service to be priced separately so that any additional cost from a change in the birth plan is clear.

How to choose a hospital and a doctor in Italy

A maternity unit is usually chosen during the second trimester so that you know its conditions and handover process by the start of the third. For a high-risk pregnancy, check the availability of an operating theatre around the clock and the level of neonatal care for premature babies or those needing intensive monitoring. For an uncomplicated pregnancy, also compare the journey from home, epidural availability, arrangements for a birth partner and the available birth options.

Before the birth, the unit arranges a presa in carico — handover of care. You provide the medical file and receive a monitoring schedule, the address of the obstetric assessment unit, the night entrance, a list of items to bring and admission instructions. The hospital sets the timing, so request the appointment early in the third trimester.

If you move during the third trimester, ask the previous clinic for a summary of the pregnancy history, current stage, estimated delivery date, tests, screening results, complications and follow-up plan. Give it to the new clinic so that care can continue without repeating completed investigations. The new maternity unit needs the same file to arrange its handover appointment.

Rimini. The maternity unit is at Ospedale Infermi, Viale Settembrini 2, DEA building, fifth floor, corridor 2. It has six individual birth rooms, two birthing pools and two operating theatres. Whether a pool can be used depends on the course of labour and availability at the time.

How giving birth works in Italy: partner, epidural and caesarean

If you have regular contractions, your waters break or you are bleeding, go to the obstetric assessment unit. During triage ostetrico, the midwife will check the stage of pregnancy and your symptoms, measure the key observations, monitor the baby’s heartbeat and decide whether admission is needed. If life is at risk, call 112.

One chosen support person is usually allowed during a vaginal birth; ask the unit separately about operations and emergency procedures. Rimini: if mother and baby are stable, the support person may remain during the birth and the first two hours afterwards.

Epidural analgesia reduces pain during contractions and labour. Arrangements vary: the unit may require an anaesthetist’s consultation and tests in advance or assess you after admission. Rimini: the partoanalgesia, or labour-analgesia, service is provided without a separate charge around the clock, including weekends and public holidays.

Induction of labour is used for medical indications and, under the unit’s protocol, when pregnancy continues beyond the expected date. A caesarean may be planned when the indication is known in advance or performed as an emergency if surgery becomes necessary during labour. Discuss a request for a planned caesarean without a medical indication with the gynaecologist; the decision follows an assessment of the reasons and of the mother’s and baby’s condition.

After a previous caesarean, vaginal birth may be possible in some circumstances; this is known as VBAC. The maternity unit assesses the type of uterine incision, the course of the current pregnancy, other contraindications and its ability to perform emergency surgery promptly.

Cost of pregnancy and childbirth in Italy in 2026

If you are enrolled in the public health system, examinations on the national list with the appropriate referral and hospitalisation for the birth are provided without a separate charge. Private consultations, a chosen doctor and an upgraded room are paid for separately. There is no single national price for a private birth: the clinic prepares an individual estimate.

The clinic sets its price after reviewing the medical records. Ask it to itemise vaginal birth, planned and emergency caesarean, anaesthesia, the room, chosen doctor, care for the baby and additional days. This breakdown shows the likely total if the mode of delivery changes.

An insurance policy covers childbirth only within the terms of the particular contract. Before admission, ask the insurer to confirm in writing whether this pregnancy is covered, which services and institutions are included, and whether there is a waiting period, excess or separate limit for the baby’s care.

If you are lawfully visiting Italy from outside the EU, present an insurance policy that covers pregnancy and childbirth or request a self-pay estimate. Before a planned admission, the hospital checks the insurer’s guarantee letter and advises you of any advance payment. See costs and insurance for childbirth in Italy.

After childbirth in Italy: discharge and follow-up for the baby

After birth, mother and baby are monitored on the postnatal ward. Before discharge, the national screening programme includes a heel-prick blood test for a range of inherited conditions, a hearing check and screening for congenital cataracts. The expanded blood screening is usually taken between 48 and 72 hours after birth.

The hospital sets the discharge date according to the mode of delivery, the mother’s and baby’s condition and completion of the required examinations. After a routine discharge in Rimini, the chosen family paediatrician usually sees the baby during the first week, followed by a family-clinic appointment on day 10–15. If earlier monitoring is needed, the neonatal unit sets the date and location.

Registration of birth and documents of the child in Italy

Declare the birth at the maternity hospital within three days or at the municipality’s civil-registration office within ten days. If the parents are not married, ask about recognition of parentage and whether prenatal recognition (riconoscimento prenatale) should be completed before the birth.

After registration, the child receives an Italian tax code (codice fiscale), is enrolled with the local public health service, assigned a paediatrician and issued a health card. Check citizenship, passport and residence-permit requirements with the relevant official consulate and immigration authority.

Birth in Italy does not in itself confer Italian citizenship. Citizenship is usually determined by the law of the parent’s country or countries. Italian law provides specific exceptions for children of unknown parents, stateless people and circumstances in which the parents cannot transmit their citizenship.

Medical assistance during temporary stay and without documents

During a temporary stay, an EU-insured visitor presents a European Health Insurance Card, known in Italian as the Tessera Europea di Assicurazione Malattia. It covers care that becomes medically necessary and cannot wait until the person returns home. If the trip is specifically planned for childbirth, prior authorisation for scheduled treatment, usually on form S2, is required.

A visitor lawfully staying in Italy from outside the EU uses an insurance policy or pays the provider directly. Standard travel insurance may exclude pregnancy, a planned birth or complications after a specified stage, so obtain confirmation of cover before booking planned care.

A foreign national without a valid residence permit can receive urgent and necessary care using the STP temporary medical code (Straniero Temporaneamente Presente). A local health service, family clinic or hospital issues the code; it is valid for six months and may be renewed. Seeking medical care does not in itself provide grounds for reporting irregular residence.

Pregnancy and childbirth are included in necessary care under STP. If you cannot afford the charges, sign a declaration of financial need for care through the public pathway. During pregnancy and for six months after birth, you may also request a residence permit for medical treatment (permesso di soggiorno per cure mediche). Apply on another available basis before that period ends if you intend to remain.

Documents for the maternity hospital in Italy

By the third trimester, your medical file should contain identification, your health card or evidence of another payment route, blood-group details, test and ultrasound results, screening reports, records of previous operations, a list of medicines and information about allergies. If any documents are not in Italian, ask the maternity unit in advance whether a translation is needed and which format it accepts.

For a private birth, you need the clinic booking, signed estimate and either proof of payment or a guarantee letter from the insurer. The hospital also states which documents the support person needs, what to bring for mother and baby and where to go when labour begins.

Frequently asked questions about childbirth in Italy