This page will tell you about the appointments you will have if you are having a healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy.
Some pregnancies may need extra appointments with doctors. These appointments will be made for you.
Your midwife will make sure you understand your care before anything is done. This is known as ‘consent’.
Always ask if you are not sure about anything.
Missed antenatal appointments
It is important that you have regular appointments, so the health of you and your baby can be checked.
If you cannot come to an appointment with your community midwife, please call the number below and select option 5.
If you cannot come to a hospital appointment, please call the number below and select option 2.
Leicester Maternity Services Contact Number: 0116 258 6111
For the Leicester General Hospital Press 1
For the Leicester Royal Infirmary Press 2
You will then be given the following options:
Press 1: For urgent maternity advice from a midwife (Maternity Assessment Unit advice, after 16 weeks of pregnancy)
Press 2: For antenatal clinic or scan appointments (8:30am to 4:30pm)
Press 3: For delivery suite (if you think you are in labour or to discuss a booked induction of labour)
Press 4: For the hospital birth centres (Meadows and Orchard), if you think you are in labour and are planning to use the birth centre
Press 5: For the community midwives (Monday to Friday 9am to 4:15pm, Saturday and Sunday 8:30am to 11:45am)
Press 6: For a Fetal Medicine Midwife if you have been seen by them in the hospital (8am to 5pm)
For St Mary’s Birth Centre call: 01664 854 854
Melton Mowbray Hospital
Please note from 7 July 2025, births and inpatient postnatal services at St Mary’s Birth Centre will be paused due to safe staffing challenges and low birth numbers.
Home births and community-based antenatal and postnatal care in the area will continue uninterrupted. Midwifery-led units are available at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and the Leicester General Hospital. Information about the changes is available on the UHL website. If you have any concerns regarding your pregnancy, please speak with your named midwife.
For the Homebirth Team call: 0116 258 3425
During appointments, you and your baby’s health will be checked through, this will include:
- Blood pressure check (at every appointment)
- Urine test (at every appointment). This is to check for protein and sugar (glucose). This may be a sign of diabetes or pre-eclampsia
- Your baby’s movements
- The midwife will feel your tummy to check the position and how deep your baby is in your pelvis (the lie, presentation and engagement of your baby)
- Measuring your baby’s growth
If you wish, the midwife or doctor can listen to your baby’s heartbeat with a handheld doppler from 25 weeks.
The use of home fetal dopplers to listen to your baby’s heartbeat is not recommended because:
- It can be difficult to find baby’s heartbeat sometimes
- Handheld dopplers can pick up your heart rate instead of baby’s heart rate. This means you might think that your baby is ok even though they might not be
- Just because you can hear a baby’s heartbeat does not mean the baby is well
- Midwives look at lots of different factors when they listen to your baby’s heartbeat
If you have concerns about your baby, you should always contact the Maternity Assessment Unit.
You will be given a handheld maternity booklet to keep during your pregnancy. We advise that you always keep these notes with you. Please make sure you bring these notes with you to every appointment. This includes scan and hospital appointments.
Your appointments
Scroll through the sections below and click on the title for more information:
8 to 10 weeks – earlier the better
First appointment with a midwife (‘booking appointment’)
- You will be asked about your health and your lifestyle. You will also be asked about any pregnancies you have had before. It is important to tell the midwife if you had any complications during earlier pregnancies or birth.
- Antenatal care will be explained, and a plan will be made for you.
- Your blood pressure, height, weight, and Body Mass Index (BMI) will be recorded.
- Your urine will be tested for protein, sugar (glucose), and any infections.
- We will talk to you about blood tests and scans. Your first blood test can be done at this appointment. Click here to find out more about antenatal screenings.
- Information will be given to you about diet, lifestyle changes, pregnancy care services, maternity benefits, and screening tests.
- Information will be given to you about smoke free pregnancies and homes. You will be given information to support you if you or someone who lives in your house is a smoker. Your carbon monoxide levels will be checked with a CO monitor at every antenatal appointment even if you do not smoke. Click here to find out more advice and information on your lifestyle and wellbeing during pregnancy.
11 to 14 weeks
First scan (‘dating scan’)
This scan is to check the pregnancy and the number of babies in the womb.
- Your baby will be measured to estimate your due date.
- The scan will check for any major problems.
- You will be offered a screening test (alongside a blood test) for Down’s, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndrome. (nhs links)
- (Please ask about having the Flu and Covid-19 Vaccinations after your scan)
- If your blood group is found to be rhesus negative, you will get a letter from Blood Transfusion. We can offer you a test (the fetal RHD screening test) at your dating scan. This can tell us the blood group of your baby. If your baby is also rhesus negative then this means you will not need to have an injection around 28 weeks. Click here for more information on this.
Please do not bring children to the scan with you. We know how important the baby is to you and your family, but it is not possible to bring children into the scan room. If this causes difficulty, please phone the number on your scan invitation letter to discuss/make arrangements in advance.
Please make sure you come to your appointment on time. We will not be able to do your scan if you are more than 15 minutes late. If you are late, another scan appointment will be made for you.
We have both male and female sonographers working within the maternity ultrasound department so your scan may not be with a female sonographer. If this is a concern to you, please phone the scan department as early as possible before your appointment to discuss this. We will record your preference and try to arrange this but cannot guarantee that you will have a female sonographer.
- We will give you the results of your blood tests.
- Your midwife will check if you need a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). This is a test to check if you have diabetes. If you do, you will be given more information and a test will be booked for 26 weeks of pregnancy.
- From 15 weeks, all monitoring visits will include:
This is an extra visit. It is usually only offered if you are having your first baby.
- A blood test to check your iron levels, antibodies and blood group will be offered.
- If you are rhesus negative and your baby is rhesus positive, or you have not had the fetal RHD screening test you will be booked to have an Anti-D injection.
- Your midwife will talk to you about feeding choices and the support you can have. You will be given a booklet about feeding your baby after they are born.
- Depending on your pregnancy, your baby’s growth will be checked by either:
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- having regular scans at the hospital (‘GROW pathway’), or
- your midwife will measure your tummy at each appointment from 26 weeks of pregnancy.
Your midwife will give you the results from your 28 week blood tests.
Your midwife will talk to you about your birth plan with you at this appointment.
Your midwife will again discuss options for you about induction of labour and offer you a membrane sweep.
If you have decided to wait longer than 41 before inducing labour, a membrane sweep will be offered.
Personalised Care Plans
During your pregnancy you can add comments, questions, and preferences about your care in your personalised care plan. This will be given to you at your pregnancy booking appointment.
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust runs a confidential secure text messaging service for parents of children aged 0-19 years called Chat Health. The service operates Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm, excluding bank holidays. All texts will be responded to by a public health nurse (health visitor/school nurse) within 24 hours. Outside of the service working hours, you’ll receive a message back to inform you that your text will be responded to once the line reopens.
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Leicester City:
text
07520 615381 -
Leicestershire & Rutland:
text
07520 615382
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust runs the Healthy Together Helpline for parents and carers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The Helpline’s qualified health and administrative professionals offer easy to access, safe and free advice, support and signposting. Calls are answered from 9am – 4.30pm on weekdays, excluding bank holidays. Calls are charged at the same rate as calling a standard landline number.
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Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland:
call 0300 300 3001
Should you require urgent health advice in the meantime, please contact your GP, visit an NHS walk-in centre or call NHS 111. For emergencies, dial 999 or visit A&E.
