Your baby's handover from maternity ward to primary care

Terms used

• Informe de alta — The informe de alta is the hospital's discharge report, with details of the stay and recommendations.
• Registro Civil — The Registro Civil is the civil registry where births are officially recorded.
• INSS — The INSS is the national Social Security institute, which handles registering beneficiaries of Social Security health cover.
• Tarjeta sanitaria — The tarjeta sanitaria is the public health card that gives access to your health centre.
• Matrona — The matrona is the midwife who checks the mother and baby, including feeding and weight.
• Padrón — The padrón is the municipal register of residents, proven by a certificate from your town hall.
• Admisión — The admisión is the admissions desk at a health centre, where patients are registered.

Key rules

• First check: Book the baby's first health centre visit straight away, because it falls in the first week of life.
• Birth registration: Register the birth before applying to link the baby to your cover.
• Card delay: A missing health card should not delay the first checks.
• Regional rules: Forms, documents and who sees the baby vary by region, so confirm with your health centre.

What the hospital gives you at discharge

The hospital hands you the paperwork that starts everything else. Keep all of it together. You will need it at the health centre.

• Your own discharge report (informe de alta), with your delivery details and recommendations.
• The baby's neonatal discharge report (informe de alta neonatal), with birth data, weight and treatments such as vitamin K and vaccines.
• The heel-prick and hearing screening information or results, or a note of when they will be sent.
• The birth declaration paperwork (cuestionario or parte de nacimiento), used to register the birth in the Registro Civil.
• In some regions, the baby's health book (cuaderno or cartilla de salud infantil) or a vaccination record.

Exact documents vary by region and hospital. The documents list below shows what to bring to the health centre.

Registering the birth comes first

The baby can only be linked to your cover after the birth is registered. You can register through the hospital's own service, usually within 72 hours, or directly yourself within 10 days. Ask at the ward which one applies to you.

How the baby is linked to your cover

A newborn is covered as a dependent beneficiary of a parent who has public health coverage, such as Social Security affiliation or registered residence. The steps are:

1. Ask the hospital whether it starts the registration for you. Many regions let it do so.
2. If not, apply for the baby to be added as a beneficiary at the INSS or your regional health service.
3. Request the baby's tarjeta sanitaria (health card) at your health centre.

If you are on a special convention or have private insurance, check with the health centre how the baby is linked. Your cover status may need confirming. The exact forms and steps are set by your regional health service, so confirm them at the health centre.

First checks: the timing

The baby's first check at the health centre happens in the first week of life, usually within 48 to 72 hours of discharge. At the latest, expect it within 7 to 10 days. The paediatric nurse or the paediatrician sees the baby. The matrona also sees you and the baby in that first week and checks feeding and weight. Many regions run these together as one newborn visit.

Book by calling the health centre, unless your discharge instructions say the hospital has already arranged it.

If the card is not ready

Do not delay the first checks because of the card. The hospital's birth documents are generally accepted for the first visits.

Go to the health centre's admissions desk (admisión) with the baby's discharge report, the birth certificate or family book, your IDs and health cards, and your padrón certificate. Ask them to register the baby and give you a provisional document or the card number. The centre can usually register the baby temporarily or attend the baby under your coverage. What is offered depends on the region and the centre.

If the delay drags on for weeks, contact your regional health service or the INSS about the beneficiary registration.

Timeline and deadlines

• Collect the discharge reports and screening information or results from the hospital: on the day you leave the hospital

• Register the birth in the Registro Civil through the hospital's service: usually within 72 hours of the birth

• Register the birth directly if you did not use the hospital's service: within 10 days of the birth

• Latest point for the first check, with the matrona also seeing you and the baby: at most 7 to 10 days after discharge

Documents you need

• The baby's neonatal discharge report (informe de alta neonatal), issued by the hospital, with birth data, weight and treatments such as vitamin K and vaccines.

• Your own discharge report (informe de alta), issued by the hospital, with your delivery details and recommendations.

• The birth declaration paperwork (cuestionario or parte de nacimiento) from the hospital, used to register the birth in the Registro Civil.

• The baby's health book (cuaderno or cartilla de salud infantil) or a vaccination record, if your region's hospital provides one.

• The family book or birth certificate, to link the baby to your cover.

• Your own ID or NIE and your own health cards.

• A padrón certificate (proof of your registration at the town hall).

• Proof of your public health coverage, such as Social Security affiliation.

Checklist

• Apply for the baby to be added as a beneficiary of your coverage at the INSS or your regional health service, once the birth is registered.

• Book the first check with the paediatric nurse or paediatrician by calling the health centre, unless the discharge papers already give a date.

• Bring the discharge report, birth certificate or family book, your IDs and health cards, and your padrón certificate to the first visit.

Frequently asked questions

Who registers my baby for a health card after the birth?

You do, as the parent, once the birth is registered in the Registro Civil (the civil registry). Many regions let the maternity hospital start the process for you. Otherwise you apply for the baby to be added as a beneficiary of your coverage, then ask for the card at your health centre.

Can I register my baby if I have private insurance or a special convention?

Yes, but check first how your route links the baby to your cover, because your coverage status may need to be confirmed for the newborn. Ask the health centre or your regional health service before the first visit.

What if the card is still missing weeks after the birth?

Contact your regional health service or the INSS (the national Social Security institute) about the baby's beneficiary registration.

Does the hospital book the first appointment for my baby?

Sometimes, where the hospital passes on the data, the discharge papers include the first appointment for the matrona (midwife) and paediatrician. If they don't, call your health centre to book it.