Your maternity care is very important, and your maternity team is there for you if you have any concerns or worries. Attending regular appointments will give you and your baby the best chance of staying healthy throughout your pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Antenatal Appointments
When you first register your pregnancy, you will be allocated to a community midwife who works within a team in the community but for antenatal care within the hospital it won’t be the same midwife. You will likely meet a variety of team members throughout your pregnancy and the care that you will receive during your labour will be given by a member of the labour team. Midwives are health professionals who specialise in caring for women and babies during birth and pregnancy and support your health and wellbeing throughout.
Appointments will be:
- with your midwife or a member of the midwifery team
- with a sonographer for ultrasound scans.
You may also see:
- an obstetrician (doctor specialising in pregnancy and birth conditions)
- other specialists.
You will be informed about how to keep yourself and baby as safe as possible, including:
- lifestyle choices to stay well and support your baby to grow
- getting to know your baby’s movements.
- knowing the warning signs to report straight away during pregnancy.
In Tameside, your antenatal care is based on national recommendations and will include:
- a booking appointment where your midwife will discuss your health and wellbeing in-depth to plan your antenatal care
- a scan to date the pregnancy, detect twin pregnancies and check your baby is growing well
- any pregnancy screening you choose to have
- a scan for baby at around 20 weeks to check their development
- blood tests to check your iron levels and general health
- blood pressure and urine checks
- checks to ensure baby is growing as expected (measurements or scans).
How antenatal appointments are arranged can differ between each hospital and the midwifery team. Your midwife will provide you with information on your planned appointments at your first booking appointment. This plan will remain flexible as your pregnancy progresses.
Here is a full list of antenatal appointment: Your antenatal appointments - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Published date: August 2021
Here is a link explaining what will happen at your scan appointments, when you will have them throughout your pregnancy, how long they take, etc.
Here is a link to the Nursing & Midwifery Council Website, which gives a useful insight to midwifery, what to expect, values, etc.
