What happens at each appointment

Question

Help.. what appointments do you have for baby in the uk and what happens at each? First time mum and we are trying to work out what ones husband needs to get time off work for

Answer

I'm a first-time mum too. I think the most important appointments for your partner to attend are the ultrasound scan ones. All of the others are a bonus if he can get time off from work. The midwife ones aren't really exciting or worth him struggling to get time off for.
~8 weeks: booking appointment at hospital with midwife. They just fill in paperwork about your health and partner's health. Also do some tests on urine and blood
~11-14 weeks: ultrasound scan to check for baby's heartbeat, position, Down's Syndrome etc.
~20 weeks: ultrasound scan to check for anomalies. They check baby's anatomy, organs etc. for a detailed health check. They also tell you gender if they can see it and you want to know.
~25 weeks: midwife appointment at health centre. Checks for bump size and heartbeat. Also urine and blood pressure tests. They tell you results of any blood tests e.g. of glucose tolerance tests.
If you're asked to go for oral glucose tolerance tests, I wouldn't take my partner. You will have to take two blood tests with a 2 hour wait in between and it'll be a waste of time for him.

Answer

My partner comes to them all, but honestly at the midwife appointments there is no need for him to be there. Definitely the 12 week and 20 week scan are lovely for them to be there. Otherwise I’ve had midwife appointments at 8, 16, 23, 28 weeks and got one at 31 weeks too. Think they get more often towards the end.

Answer

A lot of it is pretty boring paperwork, questions and bloods type thing. My husband came to the first but didn’t really need to, then when we heard the heartbeat at 16 weeks and scans. I don’t think he’ll come to much else unless there’s something to be concerned about and I might need his support.

Answer

I'm 35weeks now but if I remember rightly, your first appointment with midwife is around 8weeks where you get your bloods taken and just loads of paperwork about yours and baby's dad's backgrounds including medical history. Then she'll arrange a scan appointments which should be around 12weeks, 20weeks and 32weeks? (I might be a bit off with the last one) and then you should have appointments with the midwife around 16weeks, 24weeks and 32? And then every 3weeks after that but all depends on how your pregnancy goes. I'm high risk, consultant and cardiologist led so I'm on 2weekly checks with the midwife now, and growth scans every 4weeks till I'm due. Hope that helps.

What happens at each appointment

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