Antenatal care

On this page

• Your first midwife appointment
• Screening appointments

Your first midwife appointment

Your first appointment (also known as a booking appointment) will be with your community midwife, ideally before you’re 10 weeks pregnant.

The midwife will:

• ask some questions to find out what care you’ll need.
• ask if they can carry out some screening tests. This might include your height and weight, blood and urine tests, and blood pressure.
• give you information about your pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, staying healthy, what care you’ll be offered and further support.

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant and haven’t seen a GP or midwife, contact a GP or midwife as soon as possible. If you are more than 10 weeks pregnant and haven’t seen a midwife, self-refer as soon as possible.

Find out more about what happens at the booking appointment on the NHS website: Your first midwife appointment.

Other midwife appointments

Depending on your stage of pregnancy, your midwife may do some or all of the following:

• ask about your physical and emotional wellbeing
• ask about your living situation and relationships
• take blood
• ask for a urine sample
• record your heart rate, blood pressure, height or weight
• check the baby’s position
• ask if baby is moving normally for you
• measure your baby to make sure they are growing well
• make a referral to specialist midwives or other health professionals
• discuss any results from earlier appointments
• discuss your birth choices
• discuss how to know you are in labour and who to call
• discuss pain relief in labour
• discuss postnatal care

The appointments are also a time for you to ask questions and discuss any issues and concerns with your midwife. If there’s anything worrying you do, please do make sure you mention it, it’s important so that we can provide you with the best possible care.

Specialist midwives

We may refer you to a specialist midwife during your pregnancy. A specialist midwife is someone who has done specialist training in a particular field. Our team includes midwives who specialise in:

• diabetes
• screening
• birth reflections or trauma
• bereavement
• infant feeding
• mental health
• pregnant people needing extra support

Screening appointments

Dating scan

This scan takes place between 10 and 14 weeks and checks how far along in your pregnancy you are, and your baby’s development.

If you have agreed to have screening for Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome, and Patau’s syndrome, your scan should take place between 11 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. The screening test involves a scan and a blood sample.

Your dating scan will take place at either West Suffolk Hospital or Newmarket Community Hospital and will be booked following your initial appointment with a community midwife.

Find out more about what happens at your 12-week scan on the NHS website.

20-week scan

This detailed ultrasound scan, sometimes called the mid-pregnancy or anomaly scan, is usually carried out when you’re between 18 and 21 weeks pregnant.

The scan looks in detail at the baby’s bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. It allows the sonographer to look for 11 rare conditions. The scan only looks for these conditions, and cannot find everything that might be wrong.

Find out more about what happens at your 20-week scan on the NHS website.

Other scans

You may also be offered other scans during your pregnancy to check your baby’s wellbeing, for example if we want to check on your baby’s growth or if your baby’s movements have changed.