First antenatal appointment due - what questions should I ask??

[starrynight123]

Hello!

This is my first pregnancy (just reaching the end of 9 wks) and I will be having my first antenatal appointment at hospital soon. I wondered what sort of questions I should be asking at this appointment?? I know I’ll have a bloodtest and/or scan... and hopefully be able to speak with a midwife too... but otherwise, to be honest, I’m a bit clueless and, if I’m even more honest, very, very nervous and scared (although excited too!).

I’d really appreciate any advice or tips or anything really...

Thank you!!!

[DorotheaHomeAlone]

Hi starrynight I just had my first mW appt last week and 12wk scan this week. At the mW appt they ask you about 1000 questions and will follow up on anything that seems worrying to them but I didn't ask much myself, just indicated that I did want screening etc and that I'd consider a homebirth if everything stays as rosey as it is. At the scan I asked questions about heartbeat, nuchal fold etc but mostly just gawked at the screen while he confirmed everything looked fine. Hope yours all goes as smoothly!

[PenguinsDontEatKale]

It will be a booking appointment I presume? You are unlikely to have a scan at this point unless there is a particular problem.

They take lots of medical history, give you some advice leaflets, normally take some blood samples, talk about flu jabs, etc and send off the booking request for your first scan around 12 weeks.

You don't need to have questions if you don't have any

[PenguinsDontEatKale]

It will be a booking appointment I presume? You are unlikely to have a scan at this point unless there is a particular problem.

They take lots of medical history, give you some advice leaflets, normally take some blood samples, talk about flu jabs, etc and send off the booking request for your first scan around 12 weeks.

You don't need to have questions if you don't have any

[starrynight123]

Thanks so much for the info!

Shows what I know - I assumed I’ve have a scan at my first appointment!! I think I’m just excited(!) It’s really helpful to know that I’ll have my first appt with a midwife and that they will do most of the question asking. I’m not sure I have many at the moment, tbh I’m still trying to find my feet.

Do you think it is important/necessary for your partner to be there for the first appointment with the midwife - i.e., will they have any questions for him (no idea why they would, just checking!!)? My dh is keen to come along because it is a bit of an adventure for both of us.

[Littlebean13]

Yes I would bring your dh along with you as they will ask you both loads of questions about your medical history's and your family history etc. I'm so glad my dp came with me as they do tend to bombard you with leaflets and all kinds of information and it can feel a little overwhelming so it was good to have him there to talk about it all later on as I hadn't taken in the majority of things they discussed with us!

[PenguinsDontEatKale]

Your DH doesn't need to be there, but it was quite useful for us that DH went to it with DC1 (didn't with 2 or 3). They ask a lot about medical history on both sides of the family, so if he's not going it's useful to sit down with him and find some of that out (illnesses in his parents and grandparents mostly). They will be semi-expecting your DH to attend (though as I said, not a problem if he can't).

With subsequent appointments, I wouldn't personally bother. DH came once or twice to hear the baby's heartbeat when he happened to be free, but generally he didn't. Since our clinic always seems to be running at least 30 minutes late, it seems silly for us both to sit there to watch a mw take my blood pressure and dip my pee!

That's my other top tip - take a book or magazine. They often run late. Very late sometimes.

[starrynight123]

That’s really helpful to know - thank you. Also for the tip about taking a book (noted!).

I was supposed to be receiving a letter about my first appointment this week, but having chased up the GP’s surgery when I didn’t receive anything, it turned out that the secretary only faxed through the appt request today. Great. She said I won’t hear anything back for another two weeks. So, I’ll hear back when I’m 11wks pregnant and get an appointment for god knows when in the future.

Is it normal to have a first appointment in your 12th/13th/14th wk of pregnancy and a scan even later than that??

[CubanoHabana]

I would ring again and ask to speak to mw, as it means they may not get scan organised in time...

[PenguinsDontEatKale]

There is quite a short window in which they can do the nuchal test, and dating scans get less accurate as the pregnancy progresses. So that first scan does really need to be at about 12 weeks (not to the day or anything!).

It is no problem to do booking in any time really (to be brutally honest, they are just getting you 'on file' at that point. Unless you have an underlying medical condition). But the scan is quite a short window of time. So I would agree to ring and ask to speak to the MW to ensure you are in the system for the scan. Worst case, make a GP appointment and they can request the scan too.

It won't do any harm at all if you end up doing scan and booking in both in week 12. I don't think I fixed up mine until about 11 weeks this time, just with one thing and another.

[BEEwitched]

starry It depends a bit on where you are, as well (I'm in NI and had both my booking appointment and scan at 8 weeks - they don't do a Nuchal here). They also only asked about my medical history but nowt about my DH's.

I'd say definitely ring your GP and make sure your referral has been passed on and that they've booked a date for your scan!

[starrynight123]

I'm so grateful for your replies. I spoke with the admin team at the hospital this afternoon and I am now on their system, but the letter with the appointment won't arrive until next week (she said 'early' next week) when I'll be just starting my 11wk. The first appointment with the midwife, she said, ought to be within a week or so of this letter arriving and the first scan very soon after that. But, I'll double-check about the nuchal fold test appointment when I receive details about the appointment with the midwife.

God, I'm so naïve because I didn't even know about the nuchal fold test :-(

[starrynight123]

I just found this on Mumsnet - and am posting it here in case anyone else hadn't found it yet. It's really useful too!!

www.mumsnet.com/pregnancy/antenatal-appointments