Nurses to monitor low-risk pregnant women: Minister defends pilot project for those without a family doctor

The Ministry of Health has launched a pilot project allowing specialist maternal and obstetric health nurses to monitor low-risk pregnancies in primary care for women who do not have an assigned family doctor. The Minister stated the measure follows Directorate-General for Health guidelines and ensures patients are immediately referred to a medical team if any complications arise. The model, recently published in the Diário da República, has faced criticism from the Medical Association and the Association of General and Family Medicine.