nuhahyearlyLaunch pricing - Get £50 off!nuhahyearlyThe booking appointment happens between 8 and 12 weeks and is your entry into NHS maternity care. Your midwife will take your medical history, check your mental health, arrange blood tests, explain screening options, and plan your care pathway. Ideally book by 10 weeks so you do not miss the window for combined screening.
Most people have their booking appointment at their local hospital, community clinic, or sometimes at home. Your GP surgery will refer you to the maternity team when you confirm your pregnancy, or you can self-refer directly to your local maternity unit in many areas.
The appointment should happen by 10 weeks if possible, because your combined screening test (the nuchal translucency scan and blood test) needs to be done between 11 weeks 2 days and 14 weeks 1 day. Booking late can mean missing the window for combined screening, leaving the less accurate quadruple test as your only option.
If you find out you are pregnant later, do not worry. Contact your maternity unit as soon as you can and they will arrange your care accordingly.
The appointment covers a lot of ground. Your midwife will work through several areas.
Your medical history. Previous pregnancies and births, any pregnancy complications, existing health conditions (such as diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, mental health conditions), surgeries, allergies, and current medications. Be honest and thorough, even about things that feel unrelated. Your midwife needs the full picture to plan safe care.
Family health history. Conditions that run in either parent's family, including genetic conditions, blood clotting disorders, or a history of pre-eclampsia. This helps identify whether you need additional monitoring.
Mental health screening. Your midwife will ask about your mental health history and current wellbeing. This includes questions about anxiety, depression, and any previous perinatal mental health conditions. These questions are routine and asked of everyone. They help ensure you get the right support early if you need it.
Lifestyle questions. Smoking, alcohol, recreational drug use, diet, exercise, and your home situation. These are asked without judgement and are important for identifying any additional support you might benefit from.
Calculating your due date. If you know the first day of your last menstrual period, the midwife can estimate your due date. This will be confirmed or adjusted at your dating scan.
Your midwife will take several blood samples. These are standard for everyone and check the following.
Blood group and Rhesus status. If you are Rhesus negative (RhD negative), you will be offered anti-D injections later in pregnancy to prevent complications.
Full blood count. Checks for anaemia (low iron), which is common in pregnancy and easily treated with supplements.
Infection screening. Tests for hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis. These are offered to every pregnant person because early treatment can significantly reduce the risk of passing these infections to the baby. You will be told the results and supported if any test is positive.
Sickle cell and thalassaemia screening. Checks whether you carry genes for these inherited blood conditions. If you are a carrier, your partner can also be tested.
Blood sugar. If you have risk factors for gestational diabetes (such as a high BMI, family history of diabetes, or a previous large baby), you may be flagged for a glucose tolerance test later at around 24 to 28 weeks.
You will be given your maternity notes, either as a physical handheld record or through a digital system such as Badger Notes. These notes travel with you to every appointment and contain your full pregnancy record. Bring them to every visit, scan, and when you go into labour.
Your midwife will explain the screening tests available to you and ask whether you would like to have them. These include the combined screening test for Down's, Edwards', and Patau's syndromes (offered at 11 to 14 weeks), and the anomaly scan at 18 to 21 weeks. Both are optional. Your midwife will give you information to help you decide, and there is no pressure either way.
This is your chance to ask anything. Some questions you might want to consider include where you will have your scans and who to contact if you have concerns between appointments, what happens at each appointment going forward, who your named midwife or midwifery team is, what antenatal classes are available in your area, and how to access the maternity unit in an emergency.
Write your questions down beforehand. There is a lot of information to absorb in one sitting, and it is easy to forget things once you are there.
After your booking appointment, the next step is usually your dating scan and combined screening test between 11 and 14 weeks. Your midwife will schedule this, or it may already be booked when you arrive. From this point, you will follow a schedule of antenatal appointments that continues throughout your pregnancy, with more frequent visits in the third trimester.
If your pregnancy is identified as higher risk (for example, if you have an existing medical condition or a previous complicated pregnancy), you may be referred to a consultant-led care pathway with additional monitoring.
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