Returning to UK when pregnant

[JessieMcJessie]

I am a British national but have lived in Hong Kong since 2009. DH and I are moving back to the UK around June; it is a permanent move.

I have just found out that I am pregnant. I know it is early days and nothing is guaranteed but on the assumption the pregnancy stick I need to think about how to ensure continuity of care over the move. I know that I will be eligible for NHS care as soon as we get back because our move is permanent, but does anyone know how I go about getting things moving so that I can get into the system and be booked for scans and hospital to give birth? Our leaving date is almost dead on 12 weeks so am planning to have the 12 week scan done here but if there is a problem we'll still have to move back to the UK. Can't leave HK any sooner for all sorts of complicated reasons.

First baby so no experience of any of this stuff in any country, and I am 41 so I think may be classified as high risk.

From what I can work out I need to be registered with a GP to get into the NHS system but can't register till we are actually in the country (I do already have an address though as we will be living in a property that I own to begin with. We hope to have moved by the time the baby arrives (Christmas, all being well), but the furthest we'll be moving will be from one part of London to another.

Has anyone had any experience of this situation?

I don't think you will be eligible for care as soon as you move back, I think you will need to wait 12 weeks (or pay for NHS treatment in that period) if you've been out of the country for 6 years.

Thanks Pottering but I have checked this and am certain of the position.

We moved back from Milan to the UK when I was 24 weeks pregnant. It was pretty simple, I just registered with a GP when back in the county and booked an appointment with the midwife for a 'booking in' appt. They went through my medical history etc just like when they book in patients normally in the UK (at about 8-10 weeks). They obviously went through my pregnancy notes too, we discussed how the pregnant had been going etc. They redid my blood tests so they had their own record. I had to carry around 2 sets of notes for the rest of my pregnancy but other than that it was simple.

No! I tell a lie - I just found the stuff. You learn something new every day!

In which case, just register when you arrive and your dr will refer you to the midwife. You'll need to think about which hospital you what to give birth in but scans etc aren't booked that far in advance so you should be fine when you arrive.

Make sure you bring a paper copy of your notes with you to hand to your midwife.

Register with the GP when you get back. They will see you and make arrangements for you to have a scan. They will also put you in touch with the midwife team.

Your GP might have a decent website where you can check ahead how they work with regard to maternity clinics, and how the GPs work with the midwives.

It should be straightforward. I've experience of HK too. It's much easier here! When you arrive back to the UK, get registered with a GP and request a booking in appt with a midwife. It will all go from there. You will see the mw at approx 16, 24, 28,32,36,38 & 40 wks and get a scan at 20. They may offer you another dating scan when you book in to confirm the dates of the HK scan.

I'm sure it will be fine. HK maternity is crazy and complicated - the UK is far simpler in comparison!! Good luck.

thanks both.

So basically if I have the 12 week scan here then there will be enough time to sot out whatever the next stage is in the NHS system even if I don't see a GP till, say, week 14? I had nightmare thoughts of midwives and hospitals being booked up months in advance.

youmakemyheartsmile did you have exactly the same choices for where to give birth as you would have done if you'd had the booking in at 8-10 weeks?

In the area where i live it takes a while to be refered to the mw after a move: first you need a proof of address, then registering with the gp takes a couple of weeks and then the actual referal at the hospital. Long story short mt baby was born 2 days before my booking appointment.

Sorry, cross posted while non dom and makesomenoise were posting - thanks to you too!

Oh my goodness nolim, did you just have to go to A&E?

Yes exactly the same choices. You can choose to change hospital at any point in your pregnancy in the uk anyway. I didn't have the issues Nolim had with GP registration, I didn't need proof of address and registering with the GP took 24 hours from giving them the forms. I saw a midwife the following week for booking in and bloods. So looks like it will depend on your area. I've actually moved again this pregnancy (although within the UK) and the process was exactly the same as moving from abroad.
Good luck!

That's crazy nolim!
I've no experience of moving while pg but I know someone who changed their mind about where to give birth when she was 39 weeks so I don't think there is any restriction on when you need to make choices by. If you might want to request an elective caesarean that might be more time-critical as you need additional appointments with consultants which there might not be time for if you don't get to register with a mw and book in till close to due date. But if a caesarean isn't something you would want anyway except if needed in emergency then it should be ok.

I think you'll be ok but if you have a GP you're aiming to register with I would call their receptionist for advice as they may be helpful. It takes a few weeks to get things moving where I am when newly pg but I recall overhearing a conversation between 2 midwives at my clinic where the gist was "this lady is 18 weeks and not registered yet so we need to see her asap".

Great, thanks!

I have a friend who is a Commonwealth national married to a UK citizen. Due to waiting for a visa, she was well into her pregnancy when they moved to UK.
She registered with a gp and saw a midwife within days of arriving. I also have a vague recollection that she was offered a scan even though she wasn't at 12 or 20 week stage because she hadn't been able to access health care previously so had no notes to hand over.

I just went to the maternity ward with my notes from the previous hospital. And they advised not to cancel the booking appointment since they couldnt reschedule for an earlier date.

I moved back to the UK (from the USA) at 6 months pregnant. I agree with most of what's been said here: you're eligible for NHS from the moment you arrive (because, as you've said, this is a permanent move home), and you'll need to register with a GP and then be referred to your local midwives team and whichever hospital you choose. (Or perhaps, if you're classified high risk, you'll be referred to consultant care?) You'll have a 'booking in' appointment and be issued with the standard NHS notes dossier. I brought all my American notes, but no one was particularly interested, and I ended up doing most of the preliminary blood tests again.

I found it really easy to register with a GP, once we were here just showed my UK passport and our rental contract but the hospital was more stringent about checking I was actually resuming residency, and not just popping back for some free maternity care. I was referred to their International Billing department, and had to bring in proof that we were back for good (in this case, DH's work contract).

I was wondering, though -- I know you said it's early days, but are you planning to have a Nuchal scan (NT test)? Is that included in the Hong Kong 12-week scan? (One thing I did find awkward, moving mid-pregnancy, was the similar-but-different schedules of care and testing; you get your head around one country's childbirth culture, and then suddenly things are different.)

The NT test has to be done during the 11wk-13wk+6 window. If you're moving at 12 weeks, then I'd make sure you had it done in Hong Kong, because it would be so stressful (and maybe impossible) to arrange it within less than a fortnight of arriving back in the UK.

Other than that, I think 12 weeks is a great time to move. 6 months wasn't actually too bad, but I did feel a lot of pressure to get our lives sorted out the moment we landed (all we had for the baby was a pair of socks and a Bruins hat). We moved to southwest London, too, which has a ridiculously high birthrate, but no problem with getting midwives and hospital spaces etc, so I wouldn't worry about that.

My only input is to really think about the 12 week nt testing.
I had it with dc2. While in the UK. Then moved to Aus at 14 weeks. My my score was good. I had a real job getting info from one to another location! My concern with my us simple. Firstly it's only a very limited test. It only gives a percentage risk of ds or similar. So if your decision will be the same regardless of the test, then don't bother doing it. A high score will need an amino or cvs. No point except causing huge stress unless you are wanting to do the second step. Remember it's a very small area they are testing for and in no way determines a healthy baby. Dc2 has special needs. Didn't bother with nt with dc3,4.
.... Now off my soap box.
Don't stress you will get appointments. I had no problem seeing midwife while in the UK between countries with dc1.

Congratulations x

They don't classify people as high risk based on age alone, it's based on medical conditions.

I don't want to do a massive derail into prenatal testing, but, chloeb2002, you don't have to go straight from the NT to amnio/CVS any more. There's a non-invasive blood test called Materniti21 in the US and, I think, Harmony in the UK. It gives definitive results on chromosone defects.

I had borderline high risk NT results (1 in 150 chance, I think), and had the blood test. No amnio or CVS.

The only thing is it would need to be done privately in the UK, as I don't think it's NHS yet. Derail over, sorry.

First of all congratulations. I was 40 when I had my first. I had a midwife led birth (in fact the only time I saw a doctor was for the private scan and blood test that cloeb2002 refers to) I had this at around 12 weeks. So like me you may not be high risk at all.

Thanks everyone, really grateful for your help. Seeing my GP here today, fortunately she is British and ex- NHS so hopefully she'll have a good sense of how the two systems mesh together.

Well congrats.

I did this at 6 months from us to uk. I just registered with a gp and passed on all my notes. It was fine. I was living overseas again when I had my second child and again came to UK to have her. About 6 months then to. If you're 12 weeks have a scan before you leave because you might not get a scan booking until 14-16 weeks in the UK, especially if you arrive at 12 weeks.

Thanks all. However am hiding this thread as blood tests today suggest pregnancy will not progress. Should not have let myself get carried away. One less hassle of the move I suppose.

Can I echo what Nolim said? I arrived back in UK at 30 weeks, and was told the midwife was fully booked, and I wouldn't be able to see a midwife before I gave birth. I asked if anyone else could do the checks, and they said the nurse might, if she was willing. So I saw the nurse (who wasn't a trained midwife) - she was very helpful and found me a local drop in maternity clinic that I could attend every week until I gave birth.