Antenatal care

Up close pic on baby bump of a woman having an ultrasound

For most women in Guildford and its surrounding areas, routine antenatal care is usually provided by a community midwife. These clinics generally take place at your local Maternity Hub or GP surgery.

Our community midwives work in small teams offering antenatal (before birth) and postnatal (after birth) care to women in a defined area. Many of our teams provide continuity of carer which provides care from the same midwife or team of midwives during your pregnany, birth and the early parenting period. We hope to make this model of care available to all women over the next two years.

Ultrasound scans and any appointments with an obstetrician (a doctor who specialises in pregnancy and birth) will happen in our Antenatal Clinic, which is located on level B.

All treatments, including ultrasound scans and routine appointments, for those women who fall outside of the community midwife boundaries will also take place in the Antenatal Clinic.

You may also be seen in our Acute Assessment Unit (AAU) if you have any concerns that your GP or midwife feel need assessing, or our Planned Assessment Unit (PAU) if you are exeriencing a complex pregnancy.  Both of these units are located on our St Catherine's Ward.

A nominated supporter may stay with you overnight in both our antenatal and postnatal ward areas - this must be the same person for the whole night. The expectation is that they will provide you with support overnight, as such we are unable to provide sleeping facilities. An agreement contract will be given to them to agree and sign that informs your partner of the considerations we ask them to follow during their stay. This is to ensure the safety, privacy and dignity of all our mothers, babies and staff overnight and we welcome your support in this matter. This provision is currently suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but is under constant review and will be reinstated as restrictions ease.

Moving house during pregnancy?

If you move house during pregnancy so that you come under a different GP catchment area, please ensure that you register with your local GP as soon as possible and make an appointment to see your new midwife at the local maternity Hub or GP Practice.

Antenatal Clinic

We are a busy, friendly Antenatal Clinic which is located within the Outpatient Department, situated behind Marks and Spencer. The clinic is open Monday to Friday during office hours. 

Please ring 01483 406717 to speak to a member of the Antenatal Clinic team. During busy periods an answerphone service operates, so if you require urgent advice please call 24/7 advice line Call a Midwife on 0300 123 5473. 

We provide routine midwifery clinics to our out of area women during the mornings, whilst our team of obstetric consultants offer care and clinics for high risk pregnancies during the afternoons, from 2pm on Tuesday to Friday. 

For women in the local area, routine antenatal care is provided by our teams of community midwives, within your GP surgery or maternity hub. Your community midwife will provide you with this information during your booking appointment. 

For women with multiple pregnancies, you will receive consultant-led care provided in the Antenatal Clinic. For further information, advice and tips regarding mutiple pregnancies and what to expect, please look at Tamba. 

We are also able to provide the whooping cough and the flu vaccination by appointment in the Antenatal Clinic. To book, please ring 01483 464 004. 

For support with smoking cessation, please visit www.oneyousurrey.org.uk.

Birth Options Clinic

If you have had a caesarean section in a previous pregnancy you will be booked to have your care led by a named consultant obstetrician. At around 20 weeks, you will be offered an appointment to meet your Consultant or a member of their team to discuss your previous pregnancy and options for birth this time. 

You may choose to have a Vaginal Birth After Casearean (VBAC) or a booked (Elective) Caesarean Section. 

If you feel you would benefit from discussing your previous birth experience and your options for birth in this pregnancy, we offer a Birth Options Clinic with Consultant Obstetrician, Matthew Koomson. Referral can be made by your community or antenatal clinic midwife.

The Jasmine Team

The Jasmine Team provide a valuable resource to our women who have mental health concerns. They work within the Safeguarding Team. 

We have a Teenage Support Midwife, Ruth Breen, who works with our teenage mums through their pregnancy and prepare them for parenthood. Ruth works alongside Obstetric Consultant, Matthew Koomson during his Friday afternoon clinic. 

We support the 'Every Mum' movement 

This movement was founded by Olivia Siegl, a mum-of-two and survivor of Postnatal Depression and Postnatal Psychosis following the birth of her two children. She has used her experience of maternal mental health to create a global movement to empower mother's to take care of their maternal mental health. 

Olivia invites you and 'Every Mum' out there, to join forces with her to help 'Every Mum' be mentally prepared for motherhood, and support 'Every Mum' experiencing maternal mental healh issues.

To show or get support, and to find out more, please click here. 

A guide to routine appointments

 

 

Weeks of pregnancy

Appointments 

Before 12 weeks 

Information on diet and lifestyle considerations, pregnancy care services, maternity
benefits and screening tests.
Measure your blood pressure, height and weight. Calculate BMI.
Test your urine for the presence of protein.
Offer of screening tests and making sure you understand what is involved before you
decide to have any of them.
Find out if you need additional care.
Offer of help to stop smoking.
Offer of an ultrasound scan for Nuchal Translucency and to estimate when your
baby is due.
Offer of an ultrasound scan at about 21 weeks to check the physical development of
your baby.

16 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test your urine.
Review and discuss results of all screening tests.

21-23 weeks 

Ultrasound scan to check the physical development of your baby. 

25 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Mat B1 issued.

28 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Blood screening test to check for anaemia, antibodies and blood glucose level.
If your blood glucose is raised a glucose tolerance test (GTT) will be performed.
A GTT will also be performed if your BMI is greater than 30, if you have had a
previous big baby, have a multiple pregnancy, have a family history of diabetes,
you are older than 35 years or you are of Asian or Afro Caribbean ethnicity.
Anti D injection offered if Rhesus negative.

31 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Review results of screening tests taken at 28 weeks.

34 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Blood screening tests for anaemia.
If rhesus negative, blood screening for antibodies and Anti D injection offered.
Review results of screening tests taken at 28 weeks.

36 weeks 

Measure the size of your abdomen.
Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Check to see if your baby is head first (presentation). Discuss the options to turn
your baby if it is feet/bottom first (breech).
Review results of screening tests taken at 34 weeks.

38 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Check presentation your baby.

40 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Check presentation of your baby.

41 weeks 

Measure blood pressure and test urine.
Measure the size of your abdomen.
Check presentation of your baby.
Discuss option of membrane sweep.
Discuss induction of labour.

 

Women with complicated pregnancy will need to see the obstetrician more frequently. This will be dicussed with you by your midwife or doctor. 

Consultant-led care

The majority of women will have no complications in pregnancy and will only see a midwife. For those women with existing medical problems or who develop problems during their pregnancy, they will be paired with a named consultant depending on those medical or obstetric needs.

Consultant clinics are held in the afternoon, except for the two outreach clinics heal at a maternity hub which are in the morning.

Miss Hutt and Miss Roberts also undertake fetal medicine scan lists two sessions each a week.

We have a team of ten obstetric consultants, each have a different interest/ specialty in pregnancies that are identified as being high risk. Please see below for the list of specialties that are covered. This is not exhaustive but are some of the reasons an appointment would be needed to discuss your pregnancy and develop a plan of care.

Please see our consultants and their specialties below:

Dr Karen Morton

Dr Karen Morton
Diabetes/ Endocrine Disorders

Miss Renata Hutt

Miss Renata Hutt
Fetal Medicine/ Complex Multiple Pregnancy

Dr Matthew Koomson

Mr Matthew Koomson
Teenagers/ Maternal medicine

Mr Osama Abughazza

Mr Osama Abughazza
Emergency Gynaecology

Miss Chimwemwe Kalumbi

Miss Chimwemwe Kalumbi
Early Pregnancy Unit

Miss Annette Reid

Miss Annette Reid
Obstetrics/Gynaecology

Mr Andrew Kent

Mr Andrew Kent
Gynaecology

Mr Paul Curtis

Mr Paul Curtis
Infertility/ Multiple Pregnancy

Dr Hema Ganesh

Miss Caroline Everden