Early Pregnancy
Early pregnancy is also known as the first trimester. Your pregnancy will be measured in weeks, rather than months, and your first trimester is when you are between 0 – 13 weeks pregnant. You can expect the appointments listed below during this period.
If you are less than 16 weeks pregnant and have concerns about yourself or your baby, our Early Pregnancy Assessment Service is here to support you. Information on the service can be found here: Early Pregnancy Assessment Service (EPAS) – SaTH
Booking appointment
The first antenatal appointment is known as the booking appointment and is normally when you’re between 8 and 12 weeks pregnant.
At this appointment: You will be assigned a named midwife who will look after your care throughout your pregnancy, however they may not be the midwife you see at each appointment as midwives work as part of small teams. If you would like to change your named midwife, you can do so by contacting the ward managers.
The midwife will give you information about being pregnant, looking after yourself during pregnancy, where you can have your baby and more. They will also ask you questions about your medical history, previous pregnancies, and lifestyle to help put together a personalised care plan with you.
Your midwife will offer some routine tests, such as measuring your blood pressure, your height and weight, testing your urine and blood tests.
In your first trimester it is recommended you have blood tests for:
- A full blood count
- Anaemia (low iron levels in your blood)
- Sickle cell and thalassaemia
- Your blood group and antibodies
- HIV
- Syphilis
- Depending on your medical history further blood tests may be recommended at this time.
Based on your medical history you may be offered an early appointment in the Consultant Antenatal clinic. This will be explained to you at your initial booking appointment.
During your pregnancy, you will have a number of antenatal appointments where you will see a midwife or doctor. Please be aware midwives and doctor’s work as part of a team so you may not always see the same midwife or doctor for every appointment, though we try to limit this as much as we can.
The number of antenatal appointments you will have during your pregnancy will depend on a number of different factors such as:
- if you are expecting your first child
- if you have had a baby before
- if you have a medical condition
- if you or baby develop a medical condition
Further information on your antenatal appointments and what to expect can be found here: Antenatal appointments
Further information on screening tests for you and your baby can be found here: Screening tests information
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