Your appointments

We provide care for you before, during, and after pregnancy, and we have a wide number of specialist clinics. Your booking appointment will be your first appointment that you will have with your midwife.

Your first appointment

We support the government’s target for all women to have booked their antenatal care by 10 weeks and six days of pregnancy. We aim to let you know the date of your first booking appointment within two weeks of referral.

You are welcome to bring someone else with you to your appointment. If you ask for a chaperone, we will provide one for you.

Please remember to check your appointment letter for anything specific you have been asked to take with you. In addition, it would be helpful if you could bring the following:

• Your NHS number – this can be found on your medical record card, or you can get it from your GP
• Your full address and telephone number(s)
• Your appointment card and appointment letter
• Your GP’s name and address
• A list of questions you may want to ask

If you are pregnant or have had a baby in the past 12 months, you qualify for free prescriptions. All you need is a maternity exemption certificate signed by your doctor or midwife. This certificate entitles you to free prescriptions and NHS dental care. You can get the maternity exemption certificate application form (FW8) from your GP's surgery.

During your appointment

As we are a teaching hospital, medical and midwifery students may be present at some appointments, but we will ask your permission before involving a student in your care.

Your first antenatal appointment is known as the booking appointment. This takes place ideally by 10 weeks of pregnancy, either at one of our hospitals or at a community clinic. At this appointment the midwife will officially register your pregnancy. You will be asked to fill in a booking form to give us information about your current and past pregnancies, as well as your medical history and that of your partner and family. We will also take blood tests.

Your midwife will check the progress of your pregnancy and your health at each appointment. You will be given lots of information at the booking appointment to explain what each antenatal appointment entails. You will be required to provide a urine sample at each visit. We also offer several blood-screening tests as part of your antenatal care and you will be offered screening tests, in early pregnancy. All of the dates for your tests will be explained to you fully by your midwife at your first appointment, it is very important that you make a note of the dates to ensure you do not miss any appointments.

Appointments during your pregnancy 

If needed, test results will be discussed at follow-up appointments. You will have a number of standard antenatal appointments at various points in your pregnancy. Your appointments may vary slightly, depending on how your pregnancy is progressing, but antenatal appointments generally include:

• <10 weeks: Booking appointment (your first appointment)
• 12 weeks: Screening/dating scan
• 16 weeks: GP/midwife appointment
• 20 weeks: Hospital scan
• 25 weeks: Midwife appointment (for first baby)
• 28 weeks: Midwife appointment
• 31 weeks: GP appointment (for first baby)
• 34 weeks: Midwife appointment
• 36 weeks: Midwife appointment
• 40 weeks: Midwife appointment (for first baby)
• 41 weeks: Midwife appointment

Your midwife will discuss this with you and ask if you have any questions about your care plan.

Our clinics

Your appointments will take place at one of our antenatal (pregnancy) clinics, which are held at two hospital locations and at other locations throughout the community.

To see the contact details for the antenatal clinic team, please visit the contact our maternity team page.

Community clinics

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust offers midwife-led care in the community through several ‘midwifery group practices’. These are teams of midwives in the local area surrounding our hospitals. The midwives will see you for your initial booking appointment and the following antenatal appointments. You will still need to attend the hospital for ultrasound scans, and if you are having a glucose tolerance test.