First Midwife Appointment - what to expect?

[RaachelMorrow]

Hi guys,

I'm about 5 weeks according to ClearBlue and I have my first appointment with the midwife on Friday! What happens? Is it just blood and urine tests - when do you get the results? Do they do scans? What can they tell you? What sort of questions should I prepare for?

I'm so excited but equally really scared, overwhelmed and worried about miscarriage... like so worried. Paranoid about Ectopic pregnancy as well, when can you find this out?

Thank you so much! - Rachel with 110 questions haha x

Hi Rachel
I am not sure on any of the questions you have asked because I am only 4 weeks 3days but I'm following this thread because I equally have 110 questions and am very nervous also about mc and ectopic. Let me know how your appointment goes :) x

No they don’t do scans. They’re at 12(ish) and 20(ish) weeks.
First appointment (booking in) is a lot of form filling, questions about you and dad’s medical history & some blood tests/ weight/ height etc.
You might be given your handheld notes but yours might be computerised.
Sadly, if miscarriage is going to happen, it will happen, no matter how many scans you have. You just have to try and stay off Google.
Good luck.

First midwife appointment they ask a lot of questions on family history illnesses allergies etc etc they will test your urine. Mine gave me my maternity pack and blood test paperwork for my 8 week and 28 week blood tests. Your 12 week blood tests will be done at your 12 week scan. My appointment was around 45 minutes as lots to fill in.

I had my first appointment at around 6 weeks. It was a long one (45min?) and she mostly asked loads of questions about my and my husbands medical history including our closest family histories, asked whether either of us smoke/drink/take drugs etc, also some questions about our financial situation, mental wellbeing and such. I had to blow into a CO2 detector thingy and she took some blood samples. I was given a large folder containing an NHS pregnancy book, loads of different leaflets and a bottle of Healthy Start vitamins. She also gave me my "purple book" (a.k.a maternity notes). She didn't take a urine sample but gave me a bottle to bring a sample to the next appointment. She also weighed me a d calculated my BMI.
You won't have a scan this early; scans are offered at 12 and 20 weeks. Unless you have a history of miscarriages or other issues in which case it might be different.

Hope this helps x

P.S. I'm currently 31 weeks so I might have forgotten something, it feels like that first appointment was ages ago!

Congratulations on your pregnancy, feel free to ask any questions 😊

PP's are right, the first appointment isn't the most exciting, it's more you answering questions so the midwife gets the best idea of you and identify any risk factors which may mean you'd need extra monitoring. It's basically to start off your notes which you may get but I had to go and pick mine up later once she'd wrote it all up.

They should ask you lots about hereditary family diseases, your history and the baby's dad's history medically too. They'll also get you to do a CO2 reading (they do one everytime), take your bloods (for me they discussed and recorded the results in my notes at the next appointment after that one). They also checked which hospital I wanted and booked in my 12 week scan for me so I knew when it was.
Also got weighed and BMI calculated and had to fill out a few questionnaire type things about my alcohol consumption and how I felt about pregnancy/any issues at home.
Nothing to worry about at all but quite lengthy so just make sure you know direct family history if there is anything and be prepared to talk lots about you!

If you're midwife led care with no risk factors you should just have a 12 week scan which will give you your most accurate due date estimate and when you can have your screening for downs etc and then one at 20 weeks which is the anomaly one which looks for any potential health conditions and in depth looks at the spine, brain, heart etc.

Thank you so much! Are they able to confirm how far along you are and due date?

Hi OP, the booking appointment doesn’t confirm how far along you are as a scan is needed for this. They will however make a note of your last period date. The 12 week dating scan will give you your due date, alongside the screening.

Hello, I am 7 and a half weeks pregnant. I had a mc last jan so I have been non stop panicking at any cramps and pains.
I have been assured it should all be ok if there's no bleeding and I am not in agony!
I have booked an early scan in privately (this weekend ) just for peace of mind so I can stop worrying about everything so much.

I have met my midwife but have my first proper app next Wednesday - is it myth or do they see if they can detect a heart beat at your first app?

No, the midwife will not check the heartbeat until around 20 weeks (could be sooner could be later depending on area) but definitely not before 16 weeks.

Not much, sorry op! Lots of form and not much else. I didn't get weighed or anything.

They definitely don't check for a hb so early.

Don't get your hopes up, it's really dull

They just enter your details on the system. Boring stuff like name, address, occupation, health history. Basically to flag up if you might need extra care along the way.

No tests or examinations, you could be making the whole thing up tbh!

I was told over the phone there would be urine and blood tests, but just want to prepare for what questions I may be asked. My partner is away skiing so would need to get his family health etc.

One of the big ones is what ethnicity dad is as part of their blood tests and what they check for are things like sickle cell which can be more common in some ethnic backgrounds. I think it's more your family history for anything that might be hereditary but if you know of anything in your OH's direct history it could be helpful. Blood tests check for the above and also things like HIV which may present an immediate issue for little one as well as to see your own blood group. I didn't hear anything back about those until I went for my next appointment when she told me what the results were and put them in the notes.

37 weeks now and first time mum so excuse my memory (!) but I'm sure they asked me if there were twins in either of our families, what dad's job was and for some contact details for him too to put in the notes.

Sure she asked me if I wanted the 12 week scan screening too and gave me a leaflet about it to take away.

Just because I'm sat on my ball and have nothing better to do, I've looked at my notes for ideas for questions for you 😂

-Your and OH's basic personal info, name, contact details, job
-Any extra info that may be relevant to your care e.g housing issues
-Your Dr's info and they'll log your MW info
-Any health issues you have had e.g. diabetes, epilepsy, mental health problems and if you started taking folic acid before conception with the approx date you started
-Any drugs/smoking/drinking/allergies and whether your OH smokes
-Family history (both yours and OH's) of diabetes/sickle cell/learning disabilities/cystic fybrosis or anything else and also if you and OH are related!
-Whether it's your first pregnancy or if you've had any losses etc before
-Your last contraception method, when you stopped/how long your cycles are/when your last period was (you'll get a very initial estimated due date based off your last period but your scan is the one they use and may change)
-Height and weight/BMI calculated

The rest will be the MW giving you lots of information overload that everyone has touched on - hope that helps and I need to get out more 😂

As others have said - they’ll have loads of questions; everything from medical history in both sides of the family, any health concerns for you and the dad particularly. Blood and urine tests (make sure to be well hydrated before you go - my appointment was first thing in the morning and I’m needle phobic so the fact I was quite dehydrated meant they really struggled to get the blood and made the whole thing worse for me!)
I’ve found that I basically get told no results from bloods and urine unless there is something to report 😂 it’s often an experience of no news is good ness with my nhs trust however they do encourage phoning in or asking community midwife if you want to check so I’ve started doing that more for my own peace of mind.

Congratulations - I remember finding out at he same point as you and wanting to devour every bit of info possible and thinking of nothing else whilst also feeling like it was a million years to due date. Suddenly I’m 32 weeks and on countdown to my mat leave starting!!

One other tip - when your midwives say you can always get in touch and ask anything they really mean it. I felt like a right nuisance at first but have learnt they are the loveliest and most genuinely caring people ever - they honestly would rather you called every day if you felt you needed than not call and miss something!

Oh they’ll also ask you if there’s any domestic abuse within your relationship. This is normal & they’re not asking you because they suspect your OH.

Nothing really happens until your 12 week scan. That's the first scan which actually confirms anything is going on - they can't test for ectopic pregnancy, give you a sure due date, check heartbeat or anything at the midwives office. It's just a lot of questionnaires.
But it's also a good chance for you to ask her questions and hopefully put your mind at ease.

P.s. you are lucky to get a midwife appointment so early! In our area theywont even refer you to the midwife until you're 8 weeks. Due to a clerical error I didnt have my first midwife app until 11 weeks and then almost missed the window for the 12 week scan

Hi all, does DH need to come for the midwifery appointment too?

@viletta No, my OH has never been to any of my appointments apart from one or two when we had plans to go out after them.

He came to the scans obviously but there really isn't anything that they need to be there for and especially the first appointment, where the MW asks about any issues at home etc, it's best off just being you

@SparkleUK got it, thank you 😊

Hi! I have my first midwife appointment tomorrow and this thread has really put my mind at ease.
One thing I'm terrified about is my BMI as I'm classed as 'very overweight' although I definitely don't look it. Will they take my body shape into consider or will they just put me down as a high risk pregnancy?

I am 13 weeks 6 days! When will I feel the first little flutters? I'm sure everyone is different but a rough idea would be amazing
Thank you ❤️