Do you have to tell your GP that you are pregnant?

[AbyCat]

Couple of reasons for my question but with my first DC I told my GP, then when she asked which hospital I wanted to go to, I asked for one which wasn't the normal one for our area. I got that one, then decided to go private there anyway. In the meantime, GP had signed me up for the other major hospital in the area anyway and I had a nightmare with appointment forms coming through from them, me trying to cancel these appointments (spending ages on the phone to various departments, also wrote several times to explain that I didn't need them), calls from midwives shouting at me for not attending appointments and even social services getting involved at one stage as they said I wasn't going to appointments - yet I had all my pregnancy notes & was registered with another local hospital and a consultant having far more regular appointments. It all got sorted in the end but it was a bit stressful and annoying at the time.

For the next time, I will just go private again at the same hospital with the same consultant, so do I need to tell the GP? Is it a legal requirement?

I've not - just self referred to the midwives. They will notify the GP surgery on my behalf but the GP won't need to do anything.

No. Though there may have been small print when you signed up to a specific place promising to update them of significant medical information/changes!

But it might be beneficial to (even if you clearly tell them that you have made arrangements for your antenatal care and do not want a referral) e.g. if you consulted/wanted telephone advice for anything else it's really important to know because it alters the differential diagnosis and things that can be prescribed, if you need a GP referral to NHS rapid access services like EPU/Day Assessment Unit etc. although some may be self referral, your consultant/hospital may be writing letters to them or want 'shared care' for aspects of things like some interim antenatal checks or specific prescribing and letting them know at some point will be needed to arrange post-natal follow up.

Nope - just self-refer to the hospital. Often at your booking in appt they cc blood results etc to your GP, they don't really need to be involved with the pregnancy.

No, they often act as the referral point to maternity services, but if you're able to self-refer then there's no need.

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful.