Your antenatal appointments and care

We’ll see you at various stages in your pregnancy, in hospital, at home, at your GP pratice, or in a clinic near you. 

Your appointment might be online, by phone, or face-to-face, depending on your needs.

We’ll let you know if we need to change anything about your appointment.

All of your routine appointments are on the first page of your blue handheld maternity notes.

If this is your first baby, we’ll see you at 16, 25, 28, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 weeks for extra advice, support, and reassurance.

If this is not your first baby, we’ll see you at 16, 28, 34, 36, 38 and 41 weeks.

If your baby doesn’t arrive by the due date, you’ll have two further appointments at 41 and 42 weeks.

During your regular appointments your midwife will check you and your baby’s, health.

We will:

• check your blood pressure
• test your wee for glucose, proteins, or any sign of infection
• monitor the growth of your uterus
• check you baby is in the right position and how they're moving
• eventually you’ll be able to hear your baby’s heartbeat, too! We use a Doppler machine to listen in.

We're not just here to make sure your baby is doing well. We'll also talk about you:

• how you’re feeling, and how you’re coping with pregnancy
• how you’re going to feed them
• and we’ll listen to all of your concerns, and point you in the right direction for any other support you need

Please don’t wait to your next appointment if you have any worries: we're here for you.

Depending on your health, medical history, or needs, we'll book you into a specialist antennal clinic.

We'll talk about your care needs throughout your care:

• Joint endocrine antenatal clinic: for mums with diabetes, thyroid, or pituitary diseases
• Joint obstetric haematology clinic: for mums with blood conditions like clotting disorders, severe anaemia, and other related illnesses.
• African well women’s clinic: for mums of African origin with special health needs.
• Bereavement clinic: for mums and dads who have had a pregnancy loss.
• Early pregnacny unit (EPU) : specialist care in the early stage of your pregnancy and you're experiencing problems.

• Antenatal clinic at Northwick Park Hospital: 020 8869 5478
• Antenatal clinic at Central Middlesex Hospital: 020 8963 7180

You’ll have your ultrasound scans at 12 and 20 weeks.

If you have covid symptoms before your appointment, call our ultrasound team on 020 8869 3885.

We want to make sure you and your baby are happy and healthy throughout your pregnancy. Your midwife or consultant will talk you through each of our tests and scans.

Glucose tolerance test

You may require a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which will take place at 28 weeks.

Dating scans

A dating scan will give us an estimated due date. It’s painless, and is totally safe for you and your baby – you’ll even see their heartbeat.

Dating scans take place between 8 and 18 weeks.

Detailed ultrasound scans

A detailed ultrasound scan – sometimes called an anomaly scan – checks for possible physical problems.

We offer an anomaly scan to everyone, but not all mums take it. If you do decide to go ahead, it’ll happen between 19 and 22 weeks.

Screening for specific conditions

We can test to see if your baby has an increased chance of chromosomal conditions such as Down’s, Edwards, or Patau syndrome.

Screening will take place between 11 weeks and 14 weeks + 1 day.

If we do find that your baby has a higher risk of chromosomal conditions, we’ll offer you further tests.

The quadruple test, where we test your baby’s blood, takes place between 14 weeks + 2 days and 20 weeks. The test screens for Down’s syndrome and disorders such as spina bifida.

Find out more at screening.nhs.uk.

These online clinics provide education, support and information on pelvic health during your pregnancy and upto 12 months post birth. 

Join the NW London pelvic health class