Midwifery and consultant-led antenatal care
Antenatal care refers to the care you receive in your pregnancy before your baby is born.
At your first appointment your midwife will recommend either midwife led or consultant/ obstetric led antenatal care. This will depend on a variety of factors including your physical or mental health, family history, or events in a previous pregnancy.
If there are no identified risk factors then your antenatal care will be provided by the community midwifery team.
Community Midwifery
You will have a named midwife who works within a team of 5-10 others. Our community midwifery teams run from several bases through Nottingham City and the surrounding area.
When you have confirmed that you are pregnant with a home test (usually around 6 weeks from the first day of your last period) please contact your local team to request a booking appointment.
You can do this by contacting your GP surgery, or telephoning our community team directly at their relevant base (see further contact details)
You will receive a number of routine appointments with your community midwife during your pregnancy.
Your first appointment
Your midwife will go through your medical history including family history, previous pregnancies, and social circumstances, smoking and alcohol use.
They may then refer you to Obstetric team, Antenatal care or one of our Specialist services.
They will discuss your options for place of birth and preferences and will measure : your weight & height and calculate your BMI. They will ask for a urine sample, and offer a carbon monoxide (CO) check.
They will give you a hand held maternity booklet, which you should carry with you at all times during your pregnancy.
Contact us in the community
Arnold
Byron Court, Brookfield Road, Arnold, NG5 7ER
Tel: 0115 883 1700 or 0115 833 31862
Beeston
Beeston HC, Dovecote House, 38 Wollaton Road, NG9 2NR
Tel: 0115 925 4281
Bestwood Park/Sherwood
Southglade Access Centre, Southglade Road, NG5 5GU
Tel: 0115 876 1890
Carlton
Park House Health & Social Care Centre, Burton Road, NG4 3DQ
Tel: 0115 961 7616
Clifton
Clifton Cornerstone, Southchurch Drive, NG11 8EW
Tel: 0115 878 3601 or 0115 878 3602 or 0115 878 3603
Hucknall/Eastwood
Hucknall HC, 54 Curtis Street, NG15 7JE
Tel: 0115 883 2127 or 0115 883 2139
Mary Potter
Mary Potter Centre, Gregory Boulevard, Hyson Green NG7 5HY
Tel: 0115 883 8411 or 0115 883 8412 or 0115 883 8413 or 0115 883 8414
Radford
Radford HC, Ilkeston Road, NG7 3GW
Tel: 0115 883 4027 or 0115 883 4028 or 0115 883 4029
Rushcliffe
Keyworth Primary Care Centre, Bunny Lane, NG12 5JU
Tel: 0115 883 7000
Stapleford
Stapleford Care Centre, Church Street, NG9 8DB
Tel: 0115 875 4900
Strelley/Bullwell
Broxtowe Children’s Centre, The Cornerhouse, 18 Strelley Road, NG8 3AP
Tel: 0115 883 3368 or 0115 883 3369
Teenage Midwives
Old Basford HC, Bailey Street, NG6 0HD
Tel: 0115 883 215 or 0115 883 216 or 0115 883 217
The Valleys (Sneinton and St Ann’s)
St Ann’s Valley Centre, 2 Livingston Road, St Ann’s NG3 3GG
Tel: 0115 883 8752 or 0115 883 8742
West Bridgford (inc Meadows mws)
West Bridgford Health Centre, 97 Musters Road, West Bridgford, NG2 7PX
Tel: 0115 883 7300
Wollaton
Wollaton HC, Wollaton Vale, NG8 2GR
Tel: 0115 883 3117 or 0115 883 3118
Obstetric team care
If you are under Obstetric Team Care (also known as Consultant-led Care) during your pregnancy, labour or after the baby is born, the lead professional is a Consultant Obstetrician.
You will usually be under Obstetric Team Care if you have additional factors to consider during your pregnancy or delivery. The team also work closely with the Midwifery Teams.
During labour, if things are progressing normally, you may be looked after by midwives with minimal involvement from the Obstetric Team.
Appointments
You will be seen in a Consultant-led Antenatal Clinic in either QMC or City Hospital to assess the implications of the underlying medical factors.
You will be given advice regarding any additional blood tests, medications or scan appointments and sometimes there may be discussion about the mode and timing of birth.
Each woman is different and some may continue to need more hospital appointments and scans whereas some others may be discharged back to midwifery led care.
Does this affect the place of birth?
Not in all situations. A recommendation will be made about place of birth depending on your circumstances.
You can discuss your preference regarding place and mode of birth with the team of midwives/doctors based in the hospital. We aim to support your choice and consider your preferences where possible.
Scans and screening tests
A number of tests are offered for you and your baby during pregnancy and tests are also offered for your baby after birth.
See the leaflet Screening tests for you and your baby (available in a number of different languages).
If you have factors in your history that mean you may have higher chance of developing diabetes in pregnancy you will be offered a screening.
See more info here:
Screening for gestational diabetes in pregnancy [pdf] 276KB
Ultrasound scans
All pregnant women are offered two routine ultrasound scans, a dating scan and an anomaly scan. These will be performed by one of our sonographers.
You may require additional scans to monitor your baby’s growth during pregnancy. Your midwife or obstetric doctor will explain why these are necessary.
If your baby is breech at 36 weeks
3-4 of every 100 babies are breech (bottom first) at 36 weeks gestation. Your midwife will check for this at your routine 36 week visit, however is not always possible to tell if a baby is presenting breech.
If the baby is breech, you will be offered a scan to confirm this. For more information:
Babies sometimes turn to head down on their own. The closer you are to your due date, the less likely this is. Turning the baby by external cephalic version (ECV) before labour avoids the small risk of complications during birth.
We offer an ECV service at both QMC and City Hospital. If ECV is unsuccessful, you will need to plan either a caesarean section or vaginal breech birth.
Antenatal Clinic
If you are referred to the Obstetric Team, you will be given an appointment in Antenatal Clinic. This may coincide with your dating or detailed scan.
If you are attending clinic for both a scan and clinic visit, your first appointment may take 2-3 hours
On arrival please check in at reception. One of our midwifery support workers will check your blood pressure and test your urine. Please bring a sample with you to each visit.
The clinics are led by a Consultant Obstetrician, along with midwives and other obstetric doctors.
We have a vaccinator in clinic most days who can administer the flu and whooping cough vaccines. You do not need to make an appointment for this, ask the reception.