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Antenatal Care

Congratulations, you are pregnant! 

Once you find out you are pregnant, please contact your local community midwives to being your antenatal care.

Your local antenatal team, including community midwives, specialist midwives, obstetricians (doctors who care for women during pregnancy), paediatricians (doctors who look after babies and children), and maternity healthcare assistants will be the team who will support you through your pregnancy journey.

Signs of pregnancy

Early signs of pregnancy within the first three months can include feeling sick, sore breasts and emotional changes.

Later in pregnancy, a hormone called progesterone acts to relax muscles and ligaments to allow the stretching for baby to grow and be born. This can lead to strain on your back, muscle aches and pains, and tiredness along with feeling low. Please speak to your community midwife or obstetric team if you are worried about these symptoms. 

Find out more information and health advice during your pregnancy. 

All Wales Maternity Records/ Hand Held Notes (HHN)

Maternity records, or hand held notes are a record book/ folder where your midwife will note down details of each appointment.

Your community midwife will begin your hand held maternity notes at your ‘Booking Appointment', which is before 10 weeks of pregnancy. 

Following completion your hand held notes, your community midwife will be able to discuss your minimal schedule of care. 

These records should be kept with you at all times and brought to all appointments where they will continue to be completed with updated care plans, risk assessments and results.

You are also requested to bring a urine sample to each antenatal appointment.

Any medical conditions or problems that are not pregnancy related, you should still seek advice from your GP.

Schedule of care

Please note the following schedule of care is a minimum. After each appointment, a risk assessment may identify the need for additional appointments. Your community midwife will discuss this with you. Please don't hesitate to ask your community midwife if you have any questions or would like something explained further. 

Expand the below to see the schedule of care: 

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot in the vein, which can lead to serious health problems. Although the overall risk of DVT is low for pregnant and postnatal women, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms and how to reduce the risks. You will receive a number of assessments at your initial appointment with the community midwife, including an assessment for DVT. For further advice please talk to your Midwife or Consultant.

Further information and resources