In this article
Related guide: Sanitas prices in Madrid by age and family
The childbirth waiting period on each Sanitas policy
The waiting period is the time that has to pass from enrolment until childbirth is covered. It is counted for each insured person from their effective date and does not apply to a premature birth before 37 weeks.
| Coverage | Childbirth waiting period | Childbirth and hospitalisation |
|---|---|---|
| Más Salud (no copays, Plus and Óptima) | 8 months | Yes |
| Más Salud Familias and Familias Plus | 8 months | Yes |
| Top Quantum | 8 months | Yes |
| Premium 500.000 and Más 90.000 | 8 months | Yes, also with doctors outside the medical directory (reimbursement) |
| Residents | 8 months | Yes |
| Residents Visado | No waiting periods | Yes |
| Accede and Avanza | Not applicable | No: they do not include hospitalisation |
Waiting periods according to clause IV of the general conditions of each Sanitas, S.A. de Seguros product. If you come from another insurer, the childbirth waiting period stays. Sanitas is a registered trademark of Sanitas, S.A. de Seguros.
Pregnancy, childbirth and your baby with Sanitas, step by step
At the office we often talk to couples who have just decided they want to have a child and to others who are already expecting and wonder whether they are in time. The answers are in Sanitas's general conditions and its underwriting rules. We give them to you with their source and with the sums done.
Childbirth has an 8-month waiting period, counted from enrolment
Imagine a couple aged 32 and 34 who decide this autumn to try for their first child and want the baby to be born in a private hospital. The first thing they need to know is the waiting period: on Sanitas Más Salud childbirth or a caesarean section has an 8-month waiting period. It is the same on the Plus and Óptima plans, on Más Salud Familias, on Top Quantum, on Residents and on Premium 500.000 and Más 90.000. The 8 months are counted for each insured person from the effective date of their enrolment. With an enrolment on 1 December 2026, childbirth is covered from 1 August 2027.
The exception worth knowing is a premature birth before 37 weeks: the waiting period does not apply to it. Nor does it apply to an accident or a life-threatening illness arising after enrolment. And there is a rule that surprises people coming from another insurer. Sanitas can waive the waiting periods in its medical directory for anyone who has been on another private health insurance policy in Spain for at least a year without a break, but the childbirth waiting period stays in every case. Gynaecology consultations can be used from day one and complex diagnostic tests have a 6-month waiting period. Before you sign we tell you the exact date from which your childbirth is covered.
What Más Salud covers during pregnancy and at the birth
During pregnancy you are followed by your gynaecologist from the Sanitas medical directory. Más Salud with no copays includes first-trimester pre-eclampsia screening. It also includes the non-invasive prenatal test for fetal DNA in the mother's blood when the first-trimester combined screening gives a risk between 1/50 and 1/250: from week 10 to week 18 and with prior authorisation. The Maternal and Child Programme (Programa Materno Infantil) adds theory and practical antenatal classes and telephone nursing advice during the baby's first six months. In the Mi Sanitas app you also have Blua's Pregnancy programme, with midwives and nurses who specialise in maternity.
At the birth, the midwife's care always comes with admission to hospital, in a private room with a bed for your companion. For the baby, the examination, the vaccines and the tests routinely carried out in their first 48 hours are covered. If the baby is born with a complication, that care is covered once they have been enrolled as an insured person. On Más Salud with no copays, if after the birth there is moderate or severe urinary incontinence, you have up to 10 pelvic floor rehabilitation sessions during the following year with prior authorisation. Water births, home births or births by alternative methods are excluded, as are surrogacy and fertility treatments: Sanitas covers the tests up to diagnosis, not insemination or in vitro fertilisation. Top Quantum does not include the non-invasive prenatal test, and for Plus and Óptima we confirm the details against their policy terms.
The baby is added to the policy within 30 days of the birth
With the baby in your arms paperwork is the last thing on your mind, which is why it is worth knowing beforehand: you have 30 calendar days from the birth to request their enrolment on the policy with an insurance application. The baby joins with full rights if the birth was covered by Sanitas or if the mother or father had been on the policy for at least 240 days before the birth. Their cover starts on the 1st of the month in which they are born, and if they are born on or after the 16th they do not pay the premium for that month. If the deadline passes, Sanitas may refuse their enrolment, and the baby's care is only covered once they are enrolled as an insured person.
As a general rule a baby under 3 cannot be on a policy alone: they join one that one of their parents already has. If the mother has International Students, which is a single-person policy, it is best for one of the parents to have another Sanitas policy such as Más Salud before the birth, so that the baby can join it. As soon as you tell us about the birth we prepare the baby's application so you only have to sign it, and we tell you what premium they will have from that month.
What it costs to add your baby and why Familias is worth a look
Here is a surprise almost nobody expects: in Sanitas's April 2026 prices the 0 to 2 age band costs more than a young adult. In Madrid, on a Más Salud no-copay policy for 2 or 3 people, a baby costs €139.70 a month and each adult aged 30 to 34 costs €106.88 a month. From age 3 it drops to €79.16 a month. So a couple aged 30 to 34 pays €213.76 a month, and €353.46 a month with the baby. In most provinces, such as Málaga or Granada, it is €165.80 and €255.90 a month.
That is why with a child it is worth looking at Más Salud Familias. It has the same childbirth waiting period and its price table changes with the number of insured persons: with the baby as the third member, the parents' price goes down too. In Madrid the same couple with their baby pays €314.55 a month on Familias against €353.46 on Más Salud, and in most provinces €228.24 against €255.90. On Más Salud the rate for 4 or more insured persons is 10% lower than the one for 2 or 3, and on Familias the fourth member lowers each person's premium by around 6%. These prices apply to enrolments with an effective date up to 31 December 2026: a baby born in 2027 joins at that year's rates. The first bill of each policy year carries the 0.15% Consorcio surcharge. With us you never pay more than the Sanitas rate, and on full health insurance we improve on your quote, guaranteed.
Which policy to choose if you want to have a child
If you want to give birth with the gynaecologist you already know even if they are not in the medical directory, Premium 500.000 and Más 90.000 add reimbursement. Sanitas reimburses 90% of childbirth costs on Premium 500.000 and 70% on Más 90.000 (medical fees, midwife, anaesthetist, operating theatre and hospitalisation) up to the limits in the particular conditions. They have the same 8-month waiting period, and before you sign we show you the reimbursement clause. Accede and Avanza do not include hospitalisation, so they do not cover childbirth, although Avanza does cover pregnancy monitoring and antenatal preparation.
For people with a nationality from outside the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland, Residents Visado has no waiting periods: all its cover applies from the effective date, childbirth included, and it is valid for the visa. Like Más Salud, it excludes whatever already existed before enrolment, so if you are already pregnant, tell us before applying and we will check your case with Sanitas. Residents, its version with waiting periods, has the 8 months for childbirth. And if you are already expecting and are thinking of switching insurance, do not cancel the one you have until you know what the new one covers: at Sanitas the childbirth waiting period starts from zero.
How we prepare it with you from the office
Ideally, enrol before trying for a baby. With the effective date in front of us, we work out from what day childbirth is covered and what works out best for you: Más Salud or Familias, with or without copays. If you come from another insurer, we compare your policy with the Sanitas one on the same basis and ask for the rest of the waiting periods to be waived. And when the baby is born, their application reaches you already filled in, within the deadline.
Everything can be done remotely or at the Majadahonda office without an appointment. Message us on WhatsApp at +34 655 02 69 85 (every day) or call us on +34 919 93 17 90 during office hours: Monday to Thursday from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00, and Fridays from 9:00 to 15:00. Afterwards you stay with the same people for whatever comes next: adding the baby, changes to the policy and any question about a reimbursement. 430 reviews with a 5.0 rating on Google say so.
Waiting periods and cover according to the current general conditions of each product and Sanitas's underwriting rules. Prices from the April 2026 rates of Sanitas, S.A. de Seguros, per insured person per month, valid for the first year for new insured persons with an effective date between 1 April and 31 December 2026; the first bill of each policy year also carries the 0.15% surcharge of the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros. The reimbursement percentages and limits are set out in the particular conditions of each policy. Oficina Sanitas Majadahonda is an exclusive agency of Sanitas, S.A. de Seguros: ANYO HEALTH SL, DGSFP code C0320B67816207. Sanitas is a registered trademark of Sanitas, S.A. de Seguros.
Common questions
Direct answers, the same we give at the office.
How long do I have to wait for Sanitas to cover childbirth?
8 months from the effective date of enrolment on Más Salud and its plans, Más Salud Familias, Top Quantum, Residents, Premium 500.000 and Más 90.000. The waiting period does not apply to a premature birth before 37 weeks. Residents Visado has no waiting periods.
If I come from another insurer, is the childbirth waiting period waived?
No. If you have been on another private health insurance policy in Spain for at least a year without a gap, Sanitas can waive the waiting periods in its medical directory, but the childbirth waiting period stays in every case. That is why, if you are already expecting, you should not cancel your current insurance without first knowing from when Sanitas would cover you.
I am already pregnant. Can I take out a policy?
Tell us before applying. The general conditions exclude medical situations that predate enrolment, and childbirth has an 8-month waiting period, except on Residents Visado, which has no waiting periods. We check your case with Sanitas and tell you what it would cover before you sign anything.
How long do I have to add my baby to the policy?
30 calendar days from the birth, with an insurance application. The baby joins with full rights if the birth was covered by Sanitas or if the mother or father had been on the policy for at least 240 days. Their cover starts on the 1st of the month in which they are born, and if they are born on or after the 16th they do not pay the premium for that month.
How much does it cost to add a baby to Sanitas?
On the April 2026 prices, on a Más Salud no-copay policy for 2 or 3 people, a baby aged 0 to 2 costs €139.70 a month in Madrid and €90.10 a month in most provinces. On Más Salud Familias the third member also brings down the parents' price: a couple aged 30 to 34 with their baby pays €314.55 a month in Madrid against €353.46 on Más Salud.
Does Sanitas cover in vitro fertilisation?
No. Más Salud covers the tests to investigate infertility in women and men, only up to diagnosis. Treatments such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation are excluded.