Your schedule of appointments

Throughout your pregnancy you will have regular appointments to check your health and the health of your unborn baby. The frequency of these appointments, their location and which professional you will see will depend on your specific circumstances as your care is personalised to reflect your individual needs.

You will be offered an initial appointment with a midwife often referred to as a booking appointment. Your booking appointment is the first appointment with your midwife and usually takes place between 6-8 weeks of pregnancy. The appointment lasts around one and a half hours and your midwife will ask questions to help find out what care you need, such as information about:

  • where you live and who you live with
  • your baby's father and/or non-gestational parent
  • any other pregnancies or children
  • smoking, alcohol and drug use
  • your physical and mental health, and any issues or treatment you've had
  • details about any medication you are taking
  • the date of your last cervical screening test (smear test)
  • any health issues in your family
  • female genital mutilation (FGM)
  • your job (if you have one)
  • whether you have people around to help and support you, for example a partner or family members

The first appointment is your chance to tell your midwife if you need help or feel worried about anything that might affect your pregnancy.

 Your midwife will discuss with you

  • Your antenatal plan of care
  • Screening tests for you and your baby
  • Folic Acid and Vitamin supplementation
  • Diet in Pregnancy and your Body Mass Index (BMI)
  • Healthy lifestyle Choices
  • Antenatal classes
  • Benefit entitlements: free prescriptions/dental care (FW8)
  • Birth place decisions and birth choices

 Please ask questions if you want to know more or don't understand something.

 

We strive to provide you with a named midwife that can offer you continuity throughout your care as this has been shown to improve outcomes for you and your baby.

You will be given the work mobile number of your named midwife and that of a buddy community midwife (should you need any advice at a time when your named midwife was not available). 

You also have access to the community team within working hours and 24-hour access to a midwife on duty on the labour ward.

Community Midwives Team (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) 01244 365116

Central Labour Suite (24 hours a day) 01244 365026 or 01244 365028

We aim for you to have continuity with your named midwife throughout your pregnancy. If you have any medical or obstetric needs, your care will be shared between your community midwife and the hospital obstetric doctor teams so appropriate plans of care can be arranged Link to meet our team

You will be provided with a personalised care plan to enable you to consider your options and the things that you may want to discuss in future appointments.

 

Your personal maternity record will be given to you by your Midwife on completion of the booking appointment.  It will contain a record of your personal, health and obstetric history that you shared with the midwife.  The information is also stored in the hospital electronic records.

 

LincUs Maternity is a digital wellbeing journal to help manage your pregnancy and beyond:

https://lincus.onemedicaltechnologies.co.uk/maternity.php

Listed below is a routine schedule of appointments and what you might expect to happen within them. For those with more complex needs, your appointments may differ.

First baby

 

Had a baby

before

Weeks of pregnancy

Guideline of routine appointments

in pregnancy

 

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Before 12 weeks

 

  • Information on diet and lifestyle considerations, pregnancy care services, maternity benefits, screening tests, and choice of place of birth.
  • Measure your blood pressure, height, weight, and test your urine. Calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) and Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) risk. Mental Health Enquiry
  • Offer of screening tests and making sure you understand what is involved before you decide to have any of them.
  • Find out if you need additional care.
  • Offer of help to stop smoking.
  • Offer of an ultrasound scan between 11+2 - 14+1 weeks (combined screening offered)
  • Offer of quadruple screening between 14+2 - 20 weeks.
  • Chlamydia screening offered to those who are aged 25 or under.
  • Advised about seasonal flu (pertussis) vaccine.
  • Carbon monoxide screening.

 

 

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*

 

12 weeks

 

  • Dating Scan.
  • GROW chart generated.
  • Serial scans and aspirin arranged if required.
  • Screening information repeated if required.
  • First Trimester screening offered for Down syndrome, Patau Syndrome and Edwards.

 

 

*

 

*

 

16 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test your urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry
  • Review and discuss results of all screening tests.
  • Generate customised growth chart.
  • Advised to see GP regarding whooping cough vaccine.
  • Cell free fetal DNA testing (FFDNA)for those with a Rhesus negative blood group.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes discussed.
  • Referral to health visiting services
  • Discussion about the benefits of Breastfeeding, Parent Education &Infant Feeding classes, flu (pertussis) vaccine, quitting smoking.

 

 

*

 

*

 

Between 18 weeks and 20 weeks + 6 days

 

 

 

  • Ultrasound scan to screen for physical development, major structural anomalies and check the location of the placenta
  • Mat B1 issued
  • MRSA swabs and seasonal flu (pertussis) vaccine offered

 

 

*

 

 

25 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry
  • Mat B1 issued (if not given previously)
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain and early rupture of membranes reiterated.

 

 

 

*

 

*

 

28 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Blood screening test to check for anaemia and antibodies.
  • A Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) be offered if you are at a higher risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy.
  • Anti D injections offered if Rh negative and required.
  • If screening bloods declined at booking, these are offered again.
  • Complete infant feeding checklist.
  • Breastfeeding Friendly Initiative (BFI) visit arranged
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.
  • Maternity grant signed if required
  • ICON discussed

 

 

*

 

*

 

31 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Review results of screening tests taken at 28 weeks.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.
  • Newborn screening information, ICON, reducing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and infant feeding discussed.

 

 

*

 

*

 

34 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Review results of screening tests taken at 28 weeks.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.

 

 

*

 

*

 

36 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Check to see if you baby is head first (presentation). Discuss the options to turn your baby if it is feet/bottom first (breech).
  • Review personalised care plan and discuss birth preferences.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.

 

 

 

*

 

*

 

38 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Check presentation of your baby.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.

 

 

*

 

 

 

40 weeks

 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Carbon monoxide monitoring.
  • Mental Health Enquiry.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Check presentation of your baby.
  • Discuss options of membrane sweep.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.

 

 

*

 

*

 

41 -41+3 weeks

 

  • Antenatal Day Unit appointment
  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Check wellbeing and presentation of your baby with scan and monitoring of their heartbeat
  • Discuss options of membrane sweep.
  • Discuss induction of labour.
  • Importance of fetal movements and signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and early rupture of membranes reiterated.

 

This information sheet answers questions you may have about your recommended maternity care and what to do if you wish to decline certain aspects of your care:

 

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