Scans and appointments

Booking your first appointment

Please register with us as soon as you find out you are pregnant. This should be before you are 10 weeks pregnant. We will contact you with a date for your first appointment with a midwife and you will be able to access free prescriptions, dentistry and other support.

To register with us please create a free My Pregnancy Notes account:

For help, visit the My Pregnancy Notes page. If you have not heard from us by the time you are 8 weeks pregnant please phone 0113 487 0690.

Your first appointment with a midwife

Your first antenatal appointment will be when you are around 8 weeks pregnant. You will meet your community midwife at home or at a local health centre.

You will be asked lots of different questions. This helps your midwife to learn about your past medical history and lifestyle so that we can personalise and plan your care.

Your midwife may ask about:

where you live
who you live with
your baby’s father
any other pregnancies or children
smoking, alcohol and drug use
your physical and mental health, and any issues or treatment
any health issues in your family
domestic abuse
female genital mutilation (FGM)
your job, if you have one
whether you have people around to help and support you, for example a partner or family members

You will also be offered some checks and tests – this includes a blood test, urine test and a blood pressure check. You will be able to see your test results again by logging in to your My Pregnancy Notes account.

Your midwife will talk to you about how to stay healthy while you are pregnant and discuss the care you will get as your baby grows. They will be happy to answer any questions or talk about anything that is worrying you so please don’t be afraid to tell them how you are feeling.

If you have any early pregnancy concerns before your first midwife appointment, please contact your GP or NHS 111 for advice.

How many appointments will I need?

If this is your first baby you’ll have up to 10 antenatal appointments during your pregnancy. Your midwife will explain if you need more appointments or monitoring as your pregnancy progresses. If this is not your first baby you will usually need fewer appointments.

You can see the different appointments and tests in this Pregnancy Journey graphic.

Antenatal screening tests

Screening tests are offered during pregnancy to try to find any health conditions that you or your baby may have.

The tests – ultrasound scans, blood tests and a questionnaire – can help you make choices about care or treatment during pregnancy or after your baby is born. Please watch the animation below for more details.

For further information and specialist counselling please contact the Screening Team on 0113 2065530 or speak to your community midwife.

Ultrasound scans of your baby

You will have ultrasound scans when you are around 12 weeks and 20 weeks pregnant. A sonographer from the hospital radiology department will usually perform your scan. You will need to have a full bladder to make the image clear.

Your 11 – 14 week dating scan will show the number of babies you are having, how many weeks pregnant you are and could show any problems with your pregnancy. The scan takes around 20 to 30 minutes. If we can’t get a clear picture, we might ask you to come back for another scan on a different day.

Your 18 – 20 week screening scan looks in detail at your baby’s bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. It allows the sonographer to look for 11 rare conditions. You will also be able to find out the sex of your baby.

Scans usually take place in our Antenatal Clinics in Clarendon Wing at Leeds General Infirmary or Gledhow Wing at St James’s Hospital. You will be sent a date, time and location so that you know where to go.

Please let your sonographer know if you would like to buy scan photos to take home. The cost is £7 for two mounted photos or £10 for four mounted photos.

If there are any concerns at any of your scans, the sonographer may refer you for an extra scan or test with one of our specialist teams.

Contact us about an appointment

Please contact our patient administration team to change or cancel an appointment.

St James’s Hospital: 0113 2065180

Leeds General Infirmary: 0113 3926792

If you are concerned about bleeding in early pregnancy, please contact your community midwife or the maternity assessment centre. If this is before you are 14 weeks pregnant you may be referred for early pregnancy care from the gynaecology team.