First midwife appointment: what to bring, what to ask?

[acaseofyou]

Hi,

I'm in search of a bit of advice from experienced mums: I'm 7 wks pg with my first, and have my first midwife's appointment on Monday next week.

I've heard they check your blood and urine - should I bring a urine sample, or just come prepared to give one? :)

Also, are there any questions about care/options/health etc that you found it useful to ask at this stage?

Any guidance gratefully received. Thanks!

Firstly congrats...how exciting for you!

If they havent given you a pot, just be prepared to have a wee.
To be honest that first appointment is 45 minutes of filling out tedious paperwork and answering family history questions so all you need to take is your brain. If you dont already know, ask your mother and your partners mother about their family medical history. Its pretty crucial as it will set the tone of your ongoing care. Ask them about their own labour histories, whether things like diabetes, thrombosis, strokes, blood disorders etc are in the family. Pay special attention to anyone who has died prematurely of any genetic disorders.

Thats all I can think of, someone else will chip in with other ideas for you too.
have fun x

In my area the first midwife appointment they don't do much, take blood pressure, ask where you want to have baby then they send off referals for scans. Pretty rubbish but it does get more exciting. Oh and congratulations. X

Hi, i'm a mum of a son who's nearly 3 and expecting number two. Just go to your appointment prepared.. If they haven't already give you your personal maternity record to fill the bits and bobs you can out be prepared for plenty of paper work and questions. If this is your first you'll surely have lots of questions to ask. Write them all down to ensure you dont forget to discuss anything with your midwife.. They'll ring up while your there and arrange your dating scan for you and discuss your options for where to have your antenatal appointments and everything. Congratulations hun. Hope all goes smoothly for you xx

acaseofyou, I'm in the same position as you, having my first app next Monday. Will be 8 weeks and it's my first too!
Have you got any books about pregnancy? I've got the Pregnancy Bible and there's a list of all the questions you can expect to be asked at your 1st app with midwife. I found it very useful.

Thanks so much everyone - this is really helpful. Froggy81, will definitely look up that book.

Thanks again!

ok now i'm a little worried. Im 12-13weeks and only met my midwife on monday. She came to the house for about 30mins and all she did was look through the pregnancy logbook i had filled out and asked a few questions. That was it! I have my scan on thursday followed by a booking appointment. Is this when i'll give my medical history, bloods etc???? My midwife told me I wouldnt see her again until im 22 weeks???!!!!!!

I don't know if this is a silly question but noone mentioned it at the GP - can I bring my DP?

Oh course you can :) mine came to all my appointments
Congratulations and good luck!

Great - thank you Pipplin!

laura05 - that's how it works in my area. The booking appointment is around 12 weeks & is when they do all the questioning & chatting. I won't see a midwife until March!

Pippa you can take your DP but he may be asked to leave for part of the appointment. They will ask you if you have experienced domestic violence, as it is most likely to start/escalate during pregnancy. Obviously they can't ask you that with DP sat in the room!

They will also need to know the date you started your last period so they can calculate your due date.

Oh, and wear a jumper that is easy to remove, as they will need to access your upper arms to take your blood pressure.

Hello Pippaandpolly

I am a DP :) and went with my OH to the GP. We had already Done a scan at 4 weeks so had a photo with us, well of the sack anyway. So we already had the pegnancy confirmed the scan had the EDD, size of the sack, and how many weeks we were, so the only thing the Dr done was BP, weight, listened to the heart and asked about history. The appointment lasted no more than 5 mins, he asked what hospital and as being we were already ahead of the game we had already chosen UCLH, he gave us Emma's Diary, said congratulations and good bye. :)

Congratz by the way, it's our first too!

I've just come back from my appointment, and it was much as expected: the lady called my name in the waiting room then handed me a plastic drinking cup and asked me to provide a urine sample...also in the waiting room. Embarrassing.

Anyway, then it was lots of forms to fill in, height and weight checked, and what felt like half my blood volume taken for checking. That 4-minute walk back up the hill to home felt hours long :)

I've got to call the hospital next week to book my 12 week scan, and I next see the midwife at 16 weeks. Ooh, and I also got a big plastic envelope full of manuals and magazines and stuff. And I'm supposed to be doing work this afternoon...

Congrats to everyone expecting!

This sounds daft, but I'm 30 weeks pregnant and this thread has made me nostalgic.

How FLIPPIN' EXCITING are the early appointments and scans?

So pleased for you acaseofyou :)