Pregnant? Next Steps
- Support: Early registration ensures you get your scans and health checks at the right time
- Notify Us Early: Contact your GP or Midwife as soon as you have a positive test
- Self-Refer Online: Most NI Trusts allow you to register directly for maternity care without seeing a GP first
- Folic Acid: Take a daily supplement (ideally 3 months before and 12 weeks into pregnancy)
- Check Medications: If you take regular medicine, book a GP appointment to ensure it is safe for pregnancy.
Antenatal Care
Contact a midwife or GP as soon as you know you’re pregnant—ideally by 10 weeks. Early registration helps tailor your care, with guidance, routine checks, and optional scans to support your health and your baby’s development, while ensuring any extra support is in place.
Self Refer to Maternity using the link above.
The role of the Midwife
A midwife is a highly trained healthcare professional who specialises in supporting you through a healthy pregnancy, birth, and the early days of motherhood. Working closely with your GP and hospital consultants, they provide expert clinical care and guidance.
What the Midwife Provides:
- Antenatal Care: Most routine check-ups now take place at hospital-based clinics or local satellite clinics. These appointments monitor the health of both you and your baby.
- Health & Wellbeing: Your midwife offers practical advice on nutrition, exercise, and the effects of smoking or alcohol to ensure the best start for your baby.
- Early Detection: They are trained to identify potential complications early, making specialist referrals to hospital consultants if necessary.
- Postnatal Support: Following the birth, your midwife will provide essential care and support for you and your newborn for at least the first ten days after delivery.
How to Access Midwifery Services: You do not usually need a GP referral to see a midwife. Most Health Trusts in Northern Ireland now encourage online self-referral as soon as you have a positive pregnancy test. Please contact the practice or visit your local Trust website for direct registration details.
Soon after birth
You will receive a Personal Child Health Record (PCHR or “red book”) to track your child’s development—please bring it to all appointments.
Your baby will have a general physical examination, and a newborn hearing screening will be carried out.
Days 0–5
Your midwife will visit you at home and offer the day 5 “heel prick” (blood spot) test to screen for rare but serious conditions.
Days 6–10
The midwife will check that you and your baby are well and, if appropriate, transfer your care to the health visiting service.
10–14 days
A health visitor will visit to support you, answer questions, and provide advice on feeding, routines, and local services.
6–8 weeks
Ongoing support continues, including discussion of your wellbeing and your baby’s development, along with information about the childhood immunisation programme.