Pregnancy support email campaign - data protection information notice
We use email to provide support and guide parents through pregnancy, labour and caring for a newborn baby.
Data controller
The HSE is the data controller for the data we process to provide the pregnancy support email campaign.
Data Protection Officer
You can contact the HSE’s Data Protection Officer for data protection information about the email campaign.
HSE Data Protection Officer
Phone: 016350359
How the pregnancy support email campaign works
The pregnancy support email campaign is part of our strategy to improve people’s health.
When you subscribe to this pregnancy support campaign, we will send emails that help you to:
- understand what to expect at each stage of your pregnancy
- get information about pregnancy health and conditions
- access advice, services and entitlements
- get information about breastfeeding, feeding and nutrition
- prepare for labour and labour itself
- get advice on developments and conditions for newborn babies
The emails may contain links to information about HSE services and other services that might be helpful.
If you do not want to join the email campaign, there is similar information available on our website and through your medical team.
The data we collect and process
We need the following information to enrol you in our email campaign:
- your name
- email address
- the expected due date or child’s date of birth
We use this information to make the emails more relevant to you.
We receive analytics information about:
- whether you open the emails
- whether you click on any of the links in the emails
- what you use to access the emails, such as the device and email software used
These analytics are produced by code written into the emails.
When we get the analytics data, we combine it with other people's analytics data. This helps us to analyse how effective our email campaign is.
We do not share email analytics information with anyone else.
The lawful basis for data processing
We can send emails to you because you have subscribed to the pregnancy support campaign.
You can opt out of receiving the pregnancy support campaign emails at any time. To opt out, select the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any campaign email we send to you.
The HSE can process your personal data including your medical data because we are responsible for providing healthcare services and information to the public.
Security measures
We have secure processes and technologies in place to prevent unauthorised access to the data.
These include data encryption, firewalls and intrusion prevention.
Who processes your data
The HSE processes your personal data relating to this email campaign.
We use Adobe Campaign software provided by Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited. DEPT Digital Limited provides us with technical support for the software.
We will store your data securely in our data centre. This is located in the European Union.
The pregnancy support emails and the HSE pregnancy support website may contain links to other websites. This information notice only applies to the pregnancy support email campaign. If you click on a link to another website, you should read their information notice.
Sharing your data
We will share the fact that you are subscribed to the pregnancy support campaign with our HSE contact centre who operate HSE Live.
We will not share that you are subscribed to the pregnancy support email campaign with your medical team or other clinical support. They will not share any of your medical information with us.
We do not expect to share personal data with third parties unless we are required by law to do so.
How long we hold your personal data for
The HSE will keep your contact details and email addresses for as long as you stay subscribed. If you unsubscribe, we will keep your information for 6 months.
Information about the emails you received and the related email analytics will be kept for 6 months. Combined data will be kept for longer. But we will not be able to separate your data from everyone else’s.
Data subject rights
You can unsubscribe from the pregnancy support email campaign at any time.
Read the HSE's Privacy Statement to learn about:
- your data rights
- how to contact us
- how to complain to the Data Protection Commission
- how to contact the HSE's Data Protection Officer
Changes to this Data Protection Notice
This Data Protection Information Notice may change from time to time. The changes will be available here.
Version 1.0 Data protection information notice - originally published 27 June 2022.