Your Pregnancy Care

The first stage of your journey to motherhood is your pregnancy care. This is sometimes known as antenatal or maternity care and is a series of appointments to check on your health and the health of your baby.

Our antenatal care is led by dedicated teams of midwives who are passionate about empowering you to take informed choices throughout your pregnancy journey. Personalised care is at the heart of everything we do. 

So in addition to support from your midwife, you will have access to:

Routine antenatal appointments are provided in maternity hubs, the hospital’s antenatal clinic and some GP surgeries. Your ultrasound scans will take place at the hospital based antenatal clinic.

We provide pregnancy, birthing and postnatal care across Hampshire, Surrey, and West Sussex.

A Guide to Routine appointments

 

Weeks of pregnancy

What you can expect at this appointment

Booking appointment

before 11 weeks 

  • Information on diet and lifestyle, pregnancy care services, maternity benefits.
  • Measure your blood pressure, height and weight, calculate your BMI.
  • Test your urine for the presence of protein.
  • Offer screening tests, ensuring 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 for Nuchal Translucency and to estimate when your baby is due.
  • Offer ultrasound scan at 21 weeks to check the physical development of your baby.

16 weeks 

  • Measure blood pressure and test your urine.
  • Review and discuss results of all screening tests.
  • Consider an iron supplement if you're anaemic.

21-23 weeks 

  • Ultrasound scan to check the physical development of your baby. 

25 weeks 

28 weeks 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Use a tape measure to measure the size of your uterus.
  • Blood screening test to check for anaemia, antibodies and blood glucose level.
  • Book further blood tests if required e.g. glucose tolerance test.
  • Anti D injection offered if Rhesus negative.

31 weeks 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Use a tape measure to measure the size of your uterus.
  • Review results of screening tests taken at 28 weeks.

34 weeks 

  • Review, discuss and record the results of screening tests from the last appointment.
  • Use a tape measure to measure the size of your uterus.
  • Measure your blood pressure and test your urine for protein.
  • Offer your second anti-D treatment if you're rhesus negative.
  • Provide you with information about preparing for labour and birth, including how to recognise active labour, ways of coping with pain in labour, and your birth plan.

36 weeks 

  • Use a tape measure to measure the size of your uterus.
  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Check to see if your baby is head first (presentation).
  • Discuss the options to turn your baby if it is feet/bottom first (breech).
  • Review results of screening tests taken at 34 weeks.

38 weeks 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Check presentation your baby.

40 weeks 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Measure the size of your abdomen.
  • Check presentation of your baby.

41 weeks 

  • Measure blood pressure and test urine.
  • Use a tape measure to measure the size of your uterus.
  • Check presentation of your baby.
  • Discuss option of membrane sweep.
  • Discuss induction of labour.

The majority of women will have no complications in pregnancy and will only see a midwife. If you have an existing medical condition or something changes during your pregnancy, you will be paired with a named consultant. This may mean that you have additional appointments.

We have a team of ten obstetric consultants, each with different interests and expertise in pregnancies that are identified as high risk. Consultant clinics are held at the hospital site, Cranleigh Maternity Hub and the Bordon Hub. We also have two consultants who undertake foetal medicine scan sessions each week.