Pregnancy Appointments

What to expect from your antenatal care

Pregnancy comes with a surprising number of appointments. Midwives. Scans. Blood tests. Urine samples. Blood pressure checks. Measurements. Screening. More acronyms than you probably knew existed. And if it's your first pregnancy, it can sometimes feel like everyone else knows what's happening except you. So let's take a look at what antenatal appointments are actually for, what you might be offered during pregnancy, and how you can make the most of them.

What is Antenatal Care?

Antenatal care is the care and support you receive during pregnancy from your midwife, GP, obstetrician and other maternity professionals. The purpose isn't simply to check that your baby is growing. Your appointments are an opportunity to monitor your health and your baby's wellbeing, offer screening and other tests, identify anything that might need extra support or monitoring, and talk with you about your choices and preferences for pregnancy and birth.

In England, you'll usually have your antenatal care through your local maternity service, with appointments taking place in places such as community clinics, GP surgeries or hospital settings. Your exact schedule will depend on your circumstances, whether you've had a baby before and your local maternity service.

Who Might you see During Pregnancy?

Your midwife will probably be the person you see most often, particularly if your pregnancy is straightforward. But you may also meet:

Community midwives, who provide much of your routine antenatal care
Hospital midwives, particularly if you need assessment or additional care
Obstetricians, who are doctors specialising in pregnancy, birth and complications
Sonographers, who perform your ultrasound scans
GPs or other specialists, if you have a health condition or need care alongside your maternity team
Maternity assessment or triage teams, if you need to be assessed urgently during pregnancy

Seeing an obstetrician or having extra appointments doesn't automatically mean something is wrong. Sometimes additional monitoring is simply the appropriate way to look after you and your baby.

Your First Midwife Appointment

Your first appointment is often called your booking appointment. In England, this usually happens around 8 to 12 weeks and can take around an hour. It is much more than a quick check-up.

Your midwife will ask about things such as:

Your previous pregnancies and births
Your general health and any medical conditions
Your mental health
Any medication you take
Your lifestyle and wellbeing
Your home and family circumstances
Your previous experiences of healthcare or pregnancy
Any concerns or questions you already have

They'll also explain the antenatal care and screening that's available to you. You may be offered blood tests, including checks of your blood group and screening for certain conditions, as well as blood pressure and urine checks. This is also a good opportunity to tell your midwife if there's anything you're particularly worried about. If you've had a difficult previous birth, experienced pregnancy loss, have anxiety around birth, have a medical condition, or simply have lots of questions, tell them. You don't have to wait until something becomes a problem before mentioning it.

Your Dating Scan

You'll usually be offered an ultrasound scan between around 11 and 14 weeks. This is often called the dating scan. It can be used to:

Estimate how far along your pregnancy is
Calculate or adjust your estimated due date
Check your baby's development
Check whether you're expecting more than one baby
Offer certain screening tests

You may also be offered screening for Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome and Patau's syndrome as part of this stage of pregnancy.

And an important point about screening: Being offered a test does not mean you have to have it. Screening is your choice. You can choose to have all, some or none of the screening tests offered to you. Your midwife or doctor should give you information about what the test is looking for and what the results could mean so that you can make a decision that's right for you.

You can read more about this in [Screening in Pregnancy] and [Understanding Screening Results].

Your 16-week Appointment

Around 16 weeks, you'll usually have another appointment with your midwife. They'll ask about how you're feeling and give you an opportunity to ask questions. You may have your blood pressure and urine checked, and you'll usually discuss the results of any screening you've already had. You'll also be given information about your next scan.

It can be tempting to think of appointments like this as a quick tick-box exercise. But remember that you can bring things to discuss too.

If you've developed a new symptom, you're worried about something, you're struggling emotionally or you've simply been wondering whether something is normal, this is a good time to ask.

The 20-week Screening Scan

Between around 18 and 21 weeks, you'll usually be offered your 20-week screening scan, also known as the anomaly scan. This is an ultrasound scan that looks at your baby's physical development and checks for certain health conditions. The scan can also look at the position of your placenta. As with other screening, you can choose whether you want to have it.

It's worth remembering that screening can provide useful information, but it cannot predict everything about your baby's health or guarantee that your baby will be born without health conditions. You can read more in [Ultrasound Scans] and [Screening in Pregnancy].

Your Routine Antenatal Appointments

As pregnancy progresses, your appointments tend to become more frequent. Exactly when you have them will vary, but routine appointments often include some combination of:

Asking how you're feeling physically and emotionally
Checking your blood pressure
Testing your urine
Measuring your bump to monitor your baby's growth
Asking about your baby's movements
Discussing screening results
Checking your baby's position later in pregnancy
Talking about birth and your preferences
Discussing your mental health and wellbeing
Answering questions or concerns you have

If you are having your first baby, you may be offered some additional appointments compared with someone who has given birth before.

You may also be offered additional tests or appointments if there is a particular reason to monitor you or your baby more closely.

What Happens Later in Pregnancy?

As you move towards the third trimester, appointments increasingly become about preparing for birth as well as monitoring your health and your baby. You might talk about:

How to recognise the signs of labour
Your birth preferences
Pain relief options
Where you would like to give birth
Your baby's movements
Your baby's position
What happens if you're still pregnant after your estimated due date
Feeding and newborn care
Your emotional wellbeing

Around 36 weeks, your midwife will usually check your baby's position. Later appointments may also include discussions about your options if you're still pregnant after 40 or 41 weeks. And this is where your appointments can become particularly useful. Rather than simply being told what is going to happen next, you can use them as an opportunity to understand your options.

What if I'm offered extra appointments/ monitoring?

You might have additional appointments, scans or tests during pregnancy. This could be because of your medical history, a previous pregnancy, something identified during routine care, or simply because your maternity team wants to monitor something more closely.

An extra appointment doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem. If you're unsure why you've been offered something, ask.

You could say: "Can you explain why you're recommending this?" Or: "What are you looking for?" Or: "Is this something I need, or is it something that's being offered because of my individual circumstances?" Understanding the reason for additional monitoring can make the whole experience feel much less frightening.

Your Appointment is your Appointment too

This is something I really want you to remember. Your antenatal appointment isn't just an opportunity for someone else to check you. It's an opportunity for you to ask questions, understand what's happening and be involved in decisions about your care. You don't need to arrive with a perfectly organised list of questions. You don't need to understand medical terminology. And you definitely don't need to pretend you understand something when you don't.

Ask them to explain. Ask them to slow down. Ask what something means. Ask what your options are. Ask what happens next. And if you don't understand the answer, ask again. That's not being difficult. It's being involved in your own care.

Can I Say No to Something I'm Offered?

Yes. Healthcare professionals can recommend tests, examinations, treatments, monitoring and other forms of care, but your consent is required before you receive medical treatment, have a test or undergo an examination. Consent should be voluntary and informed.

That doesn't mean you should automatically say no to everything. It means you should have the opportunity to understand what is being offered and make a decision.

If you're unsure, some useful questions are:

"Why are you recommending this?"

What are they hoping to find out or achieve?

"What are the benefits?"

What might this tell you or how might it help?

"Are there any downsides or risks?"

Understanding both sides of a decision can help you weigh things up.

"Are there any alternatives?"

Sometimes there are different ways of approaching the same situation.

"What happens if we don't do this today?"

This can be particularly useful if the decision isn't urgent.

"Can I have some time to think about it?"

Not every decision needs to be made immediately. And remember, you can change your mind. Your maternity team are there to provide professional advice and recommendations. Your role is not to become an expert in obstetrics overnight. Your role is to understand enough about what's being recommended to make decisions that feel right for you.

How to Prepare for your Antenatal Appointments

You don't need to spend hours preparing for every appointment. A few simple things can make a big difference.

Before your appointment

Think about:

Have I noticed any changes or symptoms?
Is there anything I've been worrying about?
Are there questions I've been meaning to ask?
Have I started taking any new medication or supplements?
Is there anything about my care that I don't understand?
Is there something about birth or pregnancy that I'd like to discuss?

Write your questions down. Because there is nothing quite like sitting in front of your midwife and immediately forgetting every single thing you've been thinking about for the last three weeks.

During your appointment

You can:

Ask questions
Ask for something to be explained differently
Ask about the benefits and risks of a recommendation
Ask about alternatives
Tell your midwife about your preferences or concerns
Take notes if it helps
Bring your partner, friend or another support person if appropriate

After your appointment

Before you leave, make sure you know:

What has been recommended
Whether you need to do anything
When your next appointment is
Whether you'll receive any results
Who to contact if you have questions or concerns
Whether there is anything you need to arrange yourself

If you've been given a lot of information, it's completely reasonable to ask for it to be explained again.

What if I have a Question Between Appointments?

You don't need to wait for your next routine appointment if you're worried about your health or your baby's health. Your maternity service can be contacted during pregnancy when you have concerns, and urgent concerns should be assessed promptly.

Your [When to Seek Help] page explains some of the symptoms and situations that should prompt you to contact your maternity team.

Remember: Routine appointments are for routine care. They aren't a substitute for getting help when something feels wrong.

A Simple way to think about Antenatal Care

Think about your appointments as having three purposes:

1. Check

How are you and your baby doing?

2. Understand

Is there anything you've been offered or recommended that you don't understand?

3. Prepare

What do you need to know or decide as your pregnancy progresses?

And don't forget the fourth one:

4. Ask

Because you are allowed to have questions. Lots of them.

Your Antenatal Care is a Conversation

Pregnancy can sometimes make healthcare feel like a series of things happening to you. Another appointment. Another test. Another scan.

Another measurement. But antenatal care should also give you opportunities to understand what's happening, discuss your options and be involved in decisions about your care. You don't need to know all the answers. You just need to feel able to ask the questions. And if something doesn't make sense, it's okay to say, "Can you explain that to me?" That's what appointments are for.

Explore Next

👶 Your Baby's Movements
A deeper look at fetal movements, what is normal and what to do if your baby's pattern changes.

🔬 Tests & Screening in Pregnancy
Understand what you're offered during pregnancy and the questions you might want to ask.

🤰 Preparing for Birth
Explore the physiology of labour, preparing your body and mind, and getting ready for the different ways birth might unfold.