u/Silent-Country-997

Hi everyone, hoping someone familiar with Irish maternity leave rules can clarify this for me.

I’m based in Ireland. My original due date was 19 October 2026, and my maternity leave was due to officially start on 5 October 2026. My original return-to-work date was therefore 4 April 2027.

However, I went into labour on 16 September and my son was born on 18 September 2026, before my maternity leave had officially started.

I informed HR about the birth, and they have now adjusted my maternity leave/return date and are telling me my new return date is 18 March 2027.

My understanding is that Ireland has specific provisions for premature births where maternity leave is extended by the period between the baby's actual birth and the normal date maternity leave would have commenced.

Does anyone know how this should be calculated?

Am I correct that because my son was born before my maternity leave was due to start, I should receive an additional period of maternity leave for the premature birth, rather than simply having my original 26 weeks counted from 18 September?

I’m particularly confused because HR have moved my return date to 18 March, which is actually earlier than my original 4 April return date.

I’d really appreciate if anyone who has dealt with this in Ireland could explain how the dates should work, or point me towards the relevant legislation/WRC guidance.

Thanks!

Hi! My baby is currently breech (I'm 32 weeks), and my OB has recommended trying moxibustion. I’d love to hear from anyone who has tried it—did you have a good experience, and did it help?

Also, if anyone in Dublin can recommend a good clinic or practitioner for moxibustion, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

Very curious who got progesterone suppositories after their Ovulation Induction treatment.

I know in the Netherlands there aren't really guidelines and many clinics are not really keen on prescribing them due to lack of evidence, while in Ireland I always get these after my ovulation induction. I'm so convinced it's beneficial besides the lack of evidence... curious if you had progesterone after ovulation induction or not and your thoughts on this.

I wish there was an option to completely ban certain brands from showing up. Even when you select the option to only see specific brands, others still somehow appear.

My entire feed is basically SHEIN at this point, and it’s so annoying. I personally don’t agree with SHEIN ethically, and I’m also concerned about the questionable materials and chemicals associated with some of their products.

Has anyone found a way to stop certain brands from showing up in their feed? Any tips would be appreciated!

I'm currently 28 weeks pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy due to a short cervix, so I've been under the Preterm Birth Clinic with extra monitoring.

One of the main reasons we chose semi-private care was to have continuity with the same consultant. Unfortunately, that hasn't been our experience.

• At 16 weeks, my consultant wasn't there.
• At 23 weeks, I had an extra appointment and he wasn't there again. One person told us he was on holiday, while another said he had been called away for an emergency.
• Yesterday, before my final appointment at the Preterm Birth Clinic, I even stopped by the semi-private clinic to check whether he would definitely be there for today's appointment. I was reassured that he would. Then, at 9:30 this morning (for my 2:40 p.m. appointment), I received a call saying he had an emergency and wouldn't be available after all.

So instead of seeing the consultant we're paying to see, I've now been seen by three different substitute consultants.

I completely understand that emergencies happen, and I'm not upset about that. What frustrates me is the complete lack of continuity. Every appointment feels like starting from scratch. I have to explain everything all over again, and my questions often don't really get answered because the person seeing me isn't familiar with my case.

I've now been discharged from the Preterm Birth Clinic, so I had several questions about the plan for the rest of my pregnancy. At my last scan, they also found that my baby is measuring bigger than expected, which was something I wanted to discuss today.

They've offered me another appointment next week, but we'll be away and would have to leave our hotel early to make it. Even then, there's no guarantee my consultant won't be unavailable again.

I'm honestly just so frustrated. It makes me wonder why he's repeatedly scheduled for all-day emergencies on the same days he's meant to be running his clinic. Surely there has to be a better way to organise this?

At this point, I'm not sure what to do. Would you:

• Make a formal complaint and ask to be transferred to a different consultant?
• Stick with this consultant and hope things improve?
• Or go back to fully public care, since I'm effectively getting public-style continuity while paying for semi-private care?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in a similar situation.

Hi,

We are looking for a good tax advisor, mostly because I'm looking to sell some RSU's in the upcoming months. Does anyone has any good recommendations? (In Dublin area but online is fine too)

TIA!

Based in Dublin and exploring options for a garden room — thinking half shed, half office. The garden is around 4.2m wide, and we’re considering a garden room with a depth of roughly 2.5–3m.

We’d also like to move our washer and dryer into the shed side of the space, so proper insulation and electricity are essential.

Has anyone done something similar recently? Curious about typical costs, any companies you’d recommend, and anything we should watch out for during the process.

Hi,

Curious to hear how frequent your appointments are/were?

I had appointments at
13 weeks: 26 - 28 MM
15 weeks: 22 - 24 MM
17 weeks: 28 - 29 MM

At the 15 week appointment I already had to push for a 2 week follow-up appointment, but at 17 weeks they only want to check 4 weeks later (21 weeks). I'm not happy at all.

I don't have any pre-term birth experience (thankfully) but with my first i had one LLETZ and now with my second 2 more so 3 in total. I called private clinics but they do not feel comfortable seeing other hospitals patients. I already logged official feedback due to this and some other things that happened. But curious what the protocol is in your hospital / clinic.

Sorry for the long read, I really keen to hear your opinions.

I’m genuinely unsure whether I should write a letter to my hospital about my care so far, or whether I’m overreacting, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.

I’m currently 17 weeks pregnant with my second baby.

Before my first pregnancy, I had 1 LLETZ procedure and carried my child to 39+6 without being considered high risk.

Since then, I’ve had 2 additional LLETZ procedures (3 total), which now puts me at higher risk for cervical insufficiency/preterm labour. Because of that, I’m under the preterm labour clinic and was placed on 400mg progesterone through my fertility clinic.

At my first preterm appointment (13 weeks), my cervical length measured around 2.6–2.8cm. Despite this, they reduced my progesterone from 400mg to 200mg without really explaining why, even when I asked.

At my second appointment (15 weeks), my cervix measured around 2.2–2.4cm. What upset me most was how unconcerned the doctor seemed. I was told that because my first child was born full-term, I could just come back in 3–4 weeks.

That didn’t make sense to me because:

• during my first pregnancy I had only had 1 LLETZ and wasn’t high risk,
• whereas now I’ve had 3 total procedures, which changes my risk profile significantly.

I tried to explain this, but by then the senior doctor had already left and I was speaking to a junior doctor who made me feel like my concerns were unnecessary.

A few days later, I had another appointment at 15+1 with my consultant, but unfortunately my actual consultant was off sick and I saw a substitute instead. She was quite defensive initially, but eventually agreed to:

• increase my progesterone back to 400mg,
• and move my next appointment from 3 weeks to 2 weeks.

Still, nobody could properly explain why I was initially advised to wait 3–4 weeks purely because my first child was full-term, when my circumstances are very different now.

On top of this, I’ve had repeated bleeding episodes throughout this pregnancy:

• bleeding at 12 weeks,
• more bright red bleeding later that same week,
• a large gush of blood at 13+2,
• more bleeding before my 15-week appointment,
• and then heavy cramping with bleeding again at 16+4.

Thankfully, every time baby has been okay.

What’s really affected me though is how dismissed I’ve felt by some staff during these visits.

One nurse asked me, “Why are you crying?” while I was bleeding and scared about my baby.

Another time, when I went in with cramping and bleeding, a midwife told me: “You know you can book a private scan if you’re worried about the baby.”

That comment really upset me because I wasn’t looking for a reassurance scan “for fun.” I went in because I was worried about the bleeding and wanted medical reassurance that my cervix was closed and the bleeding wasn’t coming from my uterus — something a private scan cannot assess.

Ironically, the kindest doctor I saw was the one who did the most extensive check and he told me I absolutely did the right thing by coming in and that it’s always better to be checked than stay home worrying.

But overall, I’ve started feeling like a burden whenever I seek help, to the point where I avoided going in during later bleeding episodes because I didn’t want to be seen as “the boy who cried wolf.”

I honestly don’t know if I fully trust the hospital anymore. I don’t feel listened to, and I feel like my concerns are often brushed aside despite my history and ongoing symptoms.

I also won’t see my actual consultant until 23 weeks — and that’s only because I specifically asked. Otherwise it would have been 28 weeks.

Would you write a letter expressing concerns about communication and continuity of care? Or would you leave it and hope things improve? I genuinely can’t tell if I’m being too emotional because of hormones and anxiety, or whether my concerns are actually valid.

Sorry for the long read, I really keen to hear your opinions.

I’m genuinely unsure whether I should write a letter to my hospital about my care so far, or whether I’m overreacting, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.

I’m currently 17 weeks pregnant with my second baby.

Before my first pregnancy, I had 1 LLETZ procedure and carried my child to 39+6 without being considered high risk.

Since then, I’ve had 2 additional LLETZ procedures (3 total), which now puts me at higher risk for cervical insufficiency/preterm labour. Because of that, I’m under the preterm labour clinic and was placed on 400mg progesterone through my fertility clinic.

At my first preterm appointment (13 weeks), my cervical length measured around 2.6–2.8cm. Despite this, they reduced my progesterone from 400mg to 200mg without really explaining why, even when I asked.

At my second appointment (15 weeks), my cervix measured around 2.2–2.4cm. What upset me most was how unconcerned the doctor seemed. I was told that because my first child was born full-term, I could just come back in 3–4 weeks.

That didn’t make sense to me because:

• during my first pregnancy I had only had 1 LLETZ and wasn’t high risk,
• whereas now I’ve had 3 total procedures, which changes my risk profile significantly.

I tried to explain this, but by then the senior doctor had already left and I was speaking to a junior doctor who made me feel like my concerns were unnecessary.

A few days later, I had another appointment at 15+1 with my consultant, but unfortunately my actual consultant was off sick and I saw a substitute instead. She was quite defensive initially, but eventually agreed to:

• increase my progesterone back to 400mg,
• and move my next appointment from 3 weeks to 2 weeks.

Still, nobody could properly explain why I was initially advised to wait 3–4 weeks purely because my first child was full-term, when my circumstances are very different now.

On top of this, I’ve had repeated bleeding episodes throughout this pregnancy:

• bleeding at 12 weeks,
• more bright red bleeding later that same week,
• a large gush of blood at 13+2,
• more bleeding before my 15-week appointment,
• and then heavy cramping with bleeding again at 16+4.

Thankfully, every time baby has been okay.

What’s really affected me though is how dismissed I’ve felt by some staff during these visits.

One nurse asked me, “Why are you crying?” while I was bleeding and scared about my baby.

Another time, when I went in with cramping and bleeding, a midwife told me: “You know you can book a private scan if you’re worried about the baby.”

That comment really upset me because I wasn’t looking for a reassurance scan “for fun.” I went in because I was worried about the bleeding and wanted medical reassurance that my cervix was closed and the bleeding wasn’t coming from my uterus — something a private scan cannot assess.

Ironically, the kindest doctor I saw was the one who did the most extensive check and he told me I absolutely did the right thing by coming in and that it’s always better to be checked than stay home worrying.

But overall, I’ve started feeling like a burden whenever I seek help, to the point where I avoided going in during later bleeding episodes because I didn’t want to be seen as “the boy who cried wolf.”

I honestly don’t know if I fully trust the hospital anymore. I don’t feel listened to, and I feel like my concerns are often brushed aside despite my history and ongoing symptoms.

I also won’t see my actual consultant until 23 weeks — and that’s only because I specifically asked. Otherwise it would have been 28 weeks.

Would you write a letter expressing concerns about communication and continuity of care? Or would you leave it and hope things improve? I genuinely can’t tell if I’m being too emotional because of hormones and anxiety, or whether my concerns are actually valid.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice or similar experiences because I’m feeling really overwhelmed right now.

I’m currently 15 weeks pregnant. At my first cervical length measurement at 13 weeks, it was around 2.6–2.8 cm, and I’m already on 200 mg progesterone. At yesterday's check-up, it measured around 2.3–2.4 cm (so below 2.5) the cervix is closed.

The doctor didn’t seem concerned at all and was very casual about it, which honestly didn’t sit right with me. She said that because my first child was born at 39+6, I can just come back in 3–4 weeks. That makes me really uncomfortable. I also asked if I should adjust anything in terms of activity or lifestyle, and they told me I can just live life as normal.

Before my first pregnancy, I had one LLETZ procedure and wasn’t considered high risk. Since then, I’ve had two more, so three in total, which (from what I understand) does put me in a higher risk category now. I tried to explain this, but the senior doctor had already left and I was speaking to a junior doctor who didn’t really take my concerns seriously.

I’ve been really emotional about it(hormones probably not helping), and I just feel like I’m not being properly heard.

I do have an appointment with my gynecologist/consultant later today to discuss everything. I’ve also found a private clinic that i can book for an extra scan and that measures cervical length. I’m considering pushing for more frequent checks because right now I feel almost forced into just “waiting it out,” which doesn’t feel safe to me.

Has anyone been in a similar situation with a shortened cervix and previous LLETZ procedures? Did you push for more monitoring or a second opinion? How did you advocate for yourself when your concerns weren’t taken seriously?

Any advice or experiences would really help.

Thank you.