INEM crews delivered 245 babies outside hospitals from January to October. The year could end with about 300, a record
From January to October 2026, crews from the state emergency medical service INEM delivered 245 babies outside hospitals: in ambulances, at home and in the street. In the whole of 2025 there were 277 such births, at least 83 of them in an ambulance. If the pace so far of 24.5 a month continues, there will be about 300 by the end of the year, more than ever before. The INEM figures were published by the newspaper Diário de Notícias.
The number of such births has risen every year: 181 in 2022, 201 in 2023 and 225 in 2024. Carlos Veríssimo, head of the obstetrics and gynaecology college at the doctors' association Ordem dos Médicos, regards them as isolated cases given the total number of births in the country. Joana Bordalo e Sá, vice-president of the doctors' union FNAM, calls the figure "very high and unacceptable for a European Union country" and blames the health ministry's policies (Observador press review).
Obstetrics and gynaecology A&E departments at state hospitals on the mainland now all admit pregnant women only after a call to the SNS 24 line on 808 24 24 24. A midwife decides over the phone whether you should go to hospital and which one, or whether an appointment at a health centre is enough. Without a call, you need a referral signed by a doctor or nurse to be admitted (how this system works).
If life is at risk, call 112 straight away rather than the SNS 24 line. Severe abdominal pain, bleeding or the baby moving less than usual are reasons to seek help immediately.
Our guide "Pregnancy and childbirth in Portugal: from registering to child benefit" explains how pregnancy care works in Portugal and where to give birth.
