How To Access Pregnancy Care

As soon as you find out you’re pregnant, you should register your pregnancy with your local maternity service so you can receive pregnancy/ antenatal care to make sure you get all the information and appointments you need to have a healthy pregnancy.

Your first appointment with a midwife should happen before you’re 10 weeks pregnant.

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant and have not seen a doctor or midwife, contact your local doctor or community midwifery team as soon as possible. They’ll see you quickly and help you start your pregnancy/antenatal care.

How to register for pregnancy care

As soon as you find out you’re pregnant you can book an appointment with your local midwifery service. To find your nearest one, visit:

find maternity services near you

  • Then, in a separate tab, visit that hospital’s website
  • Go to Services
  • Go to Maternity
  • Then find the instructions on how to register/ book to see a midwife.

Alternatively, you can call your local doctor/GP and they will advise how to register your maternity care (if you’re not registered with a GP you can find local GPs here). If you need an interpreter you must tell the receptionist when you make the appointment.  Tell the staff which language you speak and they will book an interpreter for you or get an interpreter on the phone.  It is important that you and the doctor understand each other so that he/she can make an accurate diagnosis of your problem.

When you register, you may not hear from your maternity team straight away. You should receive an appointment for when you are between 8 – 10 weeks pregnant. If you have not received an appointment by the time you are 10 weeks, please call your local hospital and ask to speak to the Maternity Department. If you register after 10 weeks of pregnancy, please allow 1 week for your appointment to be arranged.

For Asylum Seekers

The National Health Service provides health care in the UK and is funded by taxation. Asylum seekers are entitled to access NHS care without charge while their claim or appeal are being considered. You need an HC2 form, provided by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), or available at pharmacies, to receive free medicines, dental treatment, eye tests and some glasses.

None of the people who work for the NHS, including doctors, nurses and interpreters, will pass on any information about you to any other person or organisation without your permission. All medical care is confidential and does not affect the judgement on your claim for asylum.

What is pregnancy (antenatal) care?

This is the care you have while you’re pregnant to make sure you and your baby are as well as possible.

The NHS in England will offer you:

  • 10 pregnancy appointments (7 if you’ve had a child before) to check the health and development of you and your baby
  • 2 ultrasound scans  (unless there are concerns related to your or your baby’s health).
  • screening tests to understand the likelihood of your baby having certain genetic differences, such as Down Syndrome
  • blood tests to check for syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B
  • screening for inherited blood disorders (sickle cell and thalassaemia)

Please visit our screening page for more information.

You’ll be offered more appointments if you or your baby need them.

Depending on your health and where you live, you may see:

  • a midwife for all your appointments
  • a midwife for some appointments and a GP or consultant for others

Your first midwife appointment

This appointment lasts around an hour. We recommend asking your midwife for the following contact numbers and storing them into your phone straight away:

  • Early Pregnancy Unit
  • Day Assessment Unit
  • Triage Unit
  • Labour Ward
  • Out of Hours (in case you experience any complications in between appointments)

It’s also worth jotting down when (and it what circumstance) you should call the above numbers because each hospital operates it’s own procedure.

Your midwife will ask questions to make sure you get the care that’s right for you.

They will ask about:

  • where you live and who you live with
  • your partner, if you have one
  • the baby’s biological father’s medical history
  • any other pregnancies or children
  • smoking, alcohol and drug use
  • whether you’ve had fertility treatment
  • your physical and mental health, and any issues or treatment you’ve had in the past
  • any health issues in your family
  • your job, if you have one

What can I do now for me and my baby?

It’s important not to miss any of your antenatal appointments. Some of the tests and measurements that can find possible problems have to be done at specific times.

There are also things you can do to keep you and your baby as healthy as possible in pregnancy, including:

For Black and Brown skinned parents and for those who wear clothing that covers the skin, a higher dose of Vitamin D may be necessary so please speak to your midwife or GP about this.