From January 1, 2026, pregnant women from towns without maternity centers will be able to count on care under the new benefit. What should the procedure look like?
The draft regulation was published on October 30, 2025 on the website of the Government Legislation Center. There is currently a 21-day public consultation period. Once completed, the Ministry of Health will prepare the final version of the document. The reform is to enter into force at the beginning of 2026.
The Ministry of Health estimates that up to 210,000 people may be covered by the new benefit. pregnant and giving birth women who live in counties without active delivery rooms. The ministry assumes that 60 to 80 hospitals will meet the criteria. However, the key challenge may be the lack of staff. The average age of a midwife in Poland is 48, and only one third of them work 24 hours a day.
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Childbirth in the emergency room? Dramatic decline in the number of maternity wards
In 2010, there were over 400 maternity wards in Poland. Today, their number has dropped to approximately 280, and the trend of closing smaller branches continues. The reason is not only the lack of medical staff, but also the falling birth rate. According to data from the Central Statistical Office, in 2023 only 305,000 were born in Poland. kidsand in 2024 – only 250 thousand. kids.
For women from small towns, the lack of maternity wards means serious problems. In many cases, you have to travel up to 40–50 km to the nearest maternity ward. In emergency situations, the emergency room becomes the only place where you can get help.
Delivery in the emergency room
According to the ministry's project, new rules will be introduced in hospitals with an emergency department (ED) or emergency room (IP) that are located more than 25 km from the nearest maternity ward.
A key element of the reform is ensuring 24-hour access to a midwife, who will be the first point of contact for pregnant and giving birth women. If necessary, a special transport team will take the patient to the nearest maternity hospital. However, if transport turns out to be too risky, the delivery will take place on site.
The new service has been officially named: “Care for a pregnant or giving birth woman provided by a midwife.” As the Ministry of Health emphasizes in the regulatory impact assessment (IAS): “The designed solution is a response to the phenomenon of closing maternity wards (…) which is the result of the decreasing number of deliveries and the problem of providing medical care.”
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Delivery in the emergency room. What will the care look like?
In practice, when a woman goes to hospital without a delivery room, the procedure will be as follows:
— The midwife on duty will assess the condition of the pregnant woman and the fetus by performing tests such as CTG, blood pressure or heart rate measurement;
— If labor is just beginning, the woman will receive recommendations or be referred to a maternity hospital;
— In emergency situations, the hospital will arrange medical transport or deliver the baby on-site if transporting the patient would be too risky.
The new system also assumes the availability of special transport teams. Each team will consist of three people – a midwife and two paramedics. The vehicle's travel time from the location to the hospital will be a maximum of 15 minutes.
Childbirth in Poland. A midwife instead of a doctor?
An obstetrician or gynecologist will be present at the hospital during clinic opening hours (8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.). After hours, the care of pregnant women will be taken over by the midwife on duty, who will contact the doctor on duty if necessary. In practice, this means that the first person to admit the woman in labor will be the midwife – this solution is in line with the practice used in many European countries, where the doctor is involved only in the event of complications.
Source: gazetaprawna.pl, rcl.gov.pl
