If you have found out you are pregnant please use our self referral page at the top of the webpage to arrange your first midwife appointment. We like to see you for this initial appointment between 8-10 weeks of pregnancy or as soon after that as possible.

Community care is delivered by over 50 community midwives across the city in a variety of settings including GP surgeries and Family Hubs. All women will have a named midwife and will be cared for by them and their team, alongside any necessary care from your GP or at the Jessop Wing Antenatal Consultant Clinics, Ultrasound Department or Fetal Medicine Unit. Referral will be arranged as required to the Midwife Sonographers, Daycare or Maternity Assessment Centre/Triage.

At your first pregnancy appointment (your ‘booking appointment’) the midwife will ask you about your medical, pregnancy and social history and discuss with you the type of care you want during pregnancy and birth. This appointment is a good opportunity for you to ask any questions and normally takes about an hour.

We will ask your permission at your booking appointment to take some blood samples for routine screening. This is so we can check your blood group and test for a variety of conditions including anaemia, sickle cell and thalassaemia disease, diabetes, hepatitis B, syphilis and HIV.

Appointments and scans

A partner or a nominated support person can attend all scan appointments and antenatal appointments, including 12 and 20 week scans and growth scans, and all follow-up antenatal appointments as long as you or your birth partner do not have any symptoms which would be COVID-19. (we would be grateful if children were not present at the scan appointments, please speak to the midwife in charge if this will be an issue.)

Midwife Led Care

During pregnancy most of your contact will be with your community midwife who will see you regularly to ensure that both you and your baby are healthy and to answer any questions you may have.

A booking appointment is planned to discuss decisions about your care during your pregnancy and after you have your baby.

You will be offered a minimum of two ultrasound scans. The first scan, in early pregnancy, is to confirm the expected date of delivery and to offer you screening and the second scan is to assess your baby’s development.

Throughout your pregnancy, information and advice is available to you from all the health professionals involved in your care. We will signpost you to information with the aim of helping you to understand, and make decisions about your care and treatment.

Straight forward pregnancies or those without complexities do not generally require a consultant appointment, and so your midwife is responsible for your care.  Your health, and your baby’s development will be reviewed at each appointment during your pregnancy.  Additional appointments or a change to your pathway of care may be recommended if there are any concerns.

Below is the routine schedule of appointment with your community midwife – this may vary depending on your individualised plan of care.

Weeks of pregnancy (40)	First baby	Subsequent baby	Information given in addition to routine examinations
Booking before 10/40	✓	✓	Personalised care plan made. Health start vitamins given. *Appointment may take up to 1hr 30mins.
11-13/40	✓	✓	1st trimester screening and scan only (Antenatal Clinic at the Jessop Wing)
16/40	✓	✓	Screening results discussed Fetal movements and infant feeding options introduced. Immunisations recommended. Signposting to antenatal classes.
18-20/40	✓	✓	Fetal anomaly scan only (Antenatal Clinic at the Jessop Wing)
25/40	✓	X	Mat B1 form issued if required
28/40	✓	✓	Anti-D prophylaxis given if indicated Screening blood tests offered
31/40	✓	✓
34/40	✓	✓	Home assessement and birth plan review
36/40	✓	✓	Identify possible breech presentation
38/40	✓	✓	Discuss prolonged pregancy options
40/40	✓	✓	Offer a cervical sweep
41/40	✓	✓	Discuss induction of labour options

Consultant Led Care

Should you require any extra care (or you are deemed additional complexities) your midwife will refer you to the hospital to see a consultant or specialist midwife.

Antenatal clinics are held at the Jessop Wing and these appointments will be arranged for the most appropriate stage in your pregnancy and may be linked to when you have a scan booked to minimise the number of times you need to come to the Jessop Wing.

Your community midwife will provide you with the information you need to decide where to have your antenatal care, including those clinics run by our specialist midwives.

If for any reason you cannot make an appointment or want to change the time, it is very important that you call the antenatal clinic or your midwifery team to rearrange your appointment so it can be offered to someone else.

Further appointments (follow-up appointments)

After your booking appointment, you will be asked to make future antenatal appointments. If for any reason you cannot make an appointment or want to change the time, it is very important that you call the antenatal clinic or your midwifery team to rearrange your appointment and offer the original time to someone else.

Maternity records

In July 2025 the trust went live with a new electronic patient record called Connect24 and this is where all of your clinical care is documented.

In addition to this you will be given a handheld record which will provide you with a summary of your appointments. There is also a booklet within the folder with important health promotion information that has been carefully put together to ensure you know what to expect during your pregnancy, to be healthy, plan for the birth of your baby and to help you make informed decisions.

 Your notes are a confidential record of your care and we are more than happy for you to write in them to comment on aspects of your pregnancy and treatment. After your baby is born, your notes will be retained by our Trust. A photocopy of your maternity records can be obtained for a small administrative fee. 

In your handheld records you will also find:

This is your Personalised Care Plan booklet for you to complete and use as a prompt for discussions with your care givers about your pregnancy, birth and postnatal journey.

It includes:      

• My Pregnancy Plan
• Place of birth choices
• My Choices for birth
• Feeding, comforting and getting to know my baby
• My Postnatal choices and ICON discussion
• Keeping my baby safe at home

Further information about types and locations for birth can be Found Here. To keep these documents and information safe, you are issued with a wallet that also provides important safety information for you. Your wallet will look like the below.