Rejected 12 times

No Doctor: Pregnant Woman Desperate to Find an Appointment

The demand for first-trimester screenings is outstripping available capacity.(Bild: InsideCreativeHouse - stock.adob)

Pregnant women have only a limited window of time to undergo a so-called nuchal translucency test. A young woman from Tyrol recently learned firsthand just how difficult it can be to get an appointment in time. She was turned away 12 times.

Long wait times for specialist appointments are nothing new, and not just in Tyrol. In internal medicine, the median wait time there in 2026 is 38 days. This means that half of the recorded wait times were 38 days or less, while the other half were longer. For a gynecology appointment, the median wait time across Austria is 34 days.

The figures come from a study by krankenversicherung.at, which analyzed 1,601 appointment requests across all nine federal states. But what happens when there’s only a short window of time left for an examination?

I’m frustrated.

Sarah, Tirol

First-Trimester Screening: Time Is of the Essence
Many expectant parents want to know whether their unborn baby might develop a birth defect. In addition to the examinations in the parent-child health record, there are other screening options available. One of these is first-trimester screening (ETS), also known as the “nuchal translucency measurement” or “nuchal translucency test.”

A pregnant woman from Tyrol was surprised to find that it would be difficult to get an appointment for this test. As early as the beginning of her ninth week of pregnancy, the woman—who wishes to remain anonymous; we’ll call her Sarah—began looking for an appointment. The first-trimester screening is a voluntary test and can provide indications of certain chromosomal abnormalities and possible birth defects in the unborn child.

The test must be paid for out of pocket
The test is performed between the 11th and 14th weeks of pregnancy exclusively by specially trained gynecologists using appropriate ultrasound equipment. The test, which also includes a blood test, is voluntary and must be paid for by the patients themselves.

From her first pregnancy, Sarah knew she had to make an appointment early on. She contacted seven private gynecologists in her area, as well as four district hospitals and the Innsbruck Clinic. She received one rejection after another. At first, Sarah took the rejections in stride: “After the first few rejections, I didn’t think much of it.” But when even the hospitals couldn’t offer her an appointment, her disappointment grew: “I’m frustrated.”

This is by no means about terminating the pregnancy if there are any abnormalities. I just want certainty.

Sarah, Tirol

Like many others, she just wanted certainty
“It’s definitely not about terminating the pregnancy if there are abnormalities. I just want certainty,” says Sarah. But when the “Tiroler Krone” inquired at various hospitals, a pattern emerged: It’s a matter of capacity, and many hospitals simply don’t have it. Priority is given to patients with a referral—such as those with high-risk pregnancies.

At the Schwaz District Hospital, ETS is currently performed on two weekdays by two specialists. In Innsbruck, there are six specialists who conduct approximately 3,500 outpatient visits and around 10,600 examinations per year. At the same time, hospitals are not responsible for these examinations and refer patients to private practitioners as well as to centers that primarily offer prenatal diagnostics—such as those in Vorarlberg and Salzburg.

Sarah was also informed about this option. In the meantime, she has received an appointment. One thing is certain: the demand for first-trimester screenings is met with limited capacity.