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 your GP or local health centre.

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:

Register your pregnancy

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.

At your appointment

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. You may also be invited to sign up to our research studies.

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. Your doctor (GP) may refer you to the Early Pregnancy Unit at St James’s Hospital.

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.

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