Congratulations Angelique! I'm pasting some info I wrote up from another forum to hopefully make things clearer for you:
Who will care for me and my baby?Antenatal care is primarily Midwife-led on the NHS. You will usually only be referred to an Obs (Obstetrician) if your medical history or pregnancy assessment necessitates it, as will be taken down at your first Antenatal appointment or booking in appointment. Antenatal care can vary from NHS Trust to NHS Trust. Your NHS Trust is determined by where you live & pay Council Tax, although some areas do overlap and allow you to choose.
Ok, I'm pregnant. Now what?When you first suspect or find out that you're pregnant you usually just book an appointment with your Community Midwife (or Midwife at hospital depending on where you live). The receptionist at your local Surgery or Drs. office will be able to tell you the correct procedure to follow, if not put you into the Midwife's book for him or her to call and book the appointment with you. Generally pregnancy tests are not done to confirm pregnancy. Your Booking-in appointment with your Midwife (MW) will occur at approximately 8-10 weeks. At this appointment they will give you your "Green Notes" (can be another colour depending on NHS Trust), which are your walking record and take down a medical history for you and your partner, some blood to confirm your blood type & Rhesus as well as usually book you in for your 12-week Dating Scan. Everything that happens during your pregnancy will go into your "Green Notes," so you will need to take them to each appointment and need them when you go to give birth (wherever you decide). You will also get a packet load of information about pregnancy including a leaflet regarding the most common tests you will be offered. For more information you may want to consider these
questions to ask your Midwife or GP.
What test can I expect during pregnancy? There are common / routine
checks and tests that will be done throughout your pregnancy. There are also your
Antenatal tests and screenings (Ultrasounds).
Note on the NHS you can expect 2 Ultrasounds: the Dating Scan, which occurs between 8-12 weeks and the Anomaly Scan which occurs between 18-20 weeks. Any additional scans will only be done if medically necessary. 3D and 4D scans can be done privately and there are any number of places that offer them.
**Please note Strep B is not normally tested for on the NHS, unless you have already had a baby born with it in past... Otherwise this is a test that you would need to have done privately if it is something you are concerned about.**
How often can I expect to be seen? First Trimester: Generally you're not seen very much during this period as there isn't really anything that can be done at this time. You will however have your first appointment with your Midwife and then your Dating Scan between 8-12 weeks.
Second Trimester: You'll probably see your Midwife every 4 weeks. You should see your Midwife at least once between your Dating and Anomaly Scans.
Third Trimester: At about 28 weeks you may be offered a Glucose Test (the timing may differ depending on the Trust you are covered by) and from that point on you should expect to see your Midwife every 2 weeks, until you reach about 36 weeks, when you can expect to see the Midwife on a weekly basis.
Also see
Antenatal care: the basics for more detailed information on Antenatal appointments and what to expect.
Where to Give Birth: You don't have to decide straight away where and how you want to give birth. There are a variety of options available to you on
where to give birth. Your Midwife (and / or Dr) can help to advise you where to give birth, but ultimately you have the final say (unless it's a medical emergency). If you would like more information on home births I can recommend
Home Birth.org and
The Good Birth.
What are my pain relief options? Firstly, where you give birth will influence what pain medications, if any will be available to you. Again, this is an issue you will need to speak to your Midwife or Obs about as the standards for pain medication are not always the same from hospital to hospital. (For example my hospital will only offer elective Epidurals during business hours of 9am to 5pm Mon-Fri. Otherwise they will only provide them out of hours if medically necessary ie. medical condition warrants it or for an emergency Cesarean.)
From experience because the NHS is Midwife-led they like to try to lead you towards a less medicated approach to childbirth. I fully acknowledge this route isn't for everyone.
The most common pain reliefs are listed below:
Entonox (Gas & Air)
TENs Machine - before you go and rent one I would recommend checking to see if your hospital / midwife will provide them free of charge
Water
Epidural (there are 2 kinds (walking aka "mobile" & full) - you will need to find out what your hospital's policy is and which one(s) they offer)
Pain Relief Injections - can be Diamorphine, Meptid (meptazinol) or Pethedine
For more information check out
pain relief in labour from the NHS for more information on the pros and cons of each form of pain relief. Also check out
pain relief in labour from the Baby Centre; it gives more details about each form of pain relief and a brief pros and cons to each.
Ok, baby's here. Now what? You will continue to see your Midwife for approximately 10 days after baby is born (longer if you had a slightly more complicated birth) and will then baby be handed over to the care of your Health Visitor. You the mother can expect a
Postnatal check approximately 6 weeks after baby's born. Your Midwife will advise you of when you need to book this with your GP before he or she releases you from their care.
Either just before baby arrives or once it's born you should receive your "Red book" or
PCHR. The colour can vary depending on issuing NHS Trust, but the information is the same. This will have your baby's NHS number in it and will essentially be their walking record detailing the results of initial screening tests, weight, height and immunisations. Your Health Visitor will make notes in your Red Book, as will any Drs or Nurses that see baby at clinic visits and checkups.
Note, your Health Visitor should also give you information on local baby and toddler groups and should also give you information about
Sure Start Childrens Centres and where your local ones are.
Breastfeeding (BF): I know and acknowledge
breastfeeding isn't for everyone whether it's physical, medical or lifestyle limitations, so I'm not going get on a soapbox and preach about the goodness of it. If you want to breastfeed there is loads of support for nursing mothers and this starts from birth (if not before) on the NHS. However, you will only find so much help for so long. Currently the NHS recommends BF up to about 6 months at which point you will probably be recommended to start weaning onto solids. Support after this time may be limited from HVs and nurses, but you can find support from other sources. The choice is yours.
You can find help from your Midwife and Health Visitor. If you find that you are having a difficult time you can ask your Midwife or HV to recommend a BF / lactation consultant, which is someone who will work on a more one on one basis to assist you as and when you need it (great for encouragement if baby is Tongue Tied, you're getting fed up or just having a difficult time of it).
Some good organisations geared up towards BF are:
The National Childbrith Trust (NCT)La Leche LeagueYou may also want to check out this list of
breastfeeding support organisations from the Baby Centre.
Good luck & congratulations!
