MEET YOUR HEALTHCARE TEAM

A team of people will look after you throughout your pregnancy, so you’ll have plenty of support along the way. They’ll give you tips and advice, as well as health and screening tests to help make sure you have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

A team that’s right for you

If you are generally fit and healthy and you are not expected to have any problems during your pregnancy, you will be looked after by your community midwife. If your pregnancy is expected to be more complicated, or if for whatever reason you need some extra input, you will usually have a consultant obstetrician (a doctor who specialises in pregnancy and birth). Lots of women have a consultant for varying reasons in their pregnancy such as, being over 40, having a previous cesarean, having type 1 diabetes or having a BMI that is below or above the range that is deemed normal by BMI. 

On Team Mum, you will have…

Your GP

Once you find out you are pregnant you should call your GP surgery and let them know. If you are on any medication, you should book an appointment with your GP. If you aren’t then in many places you can book in straight with a midwife rather than seeing a GP first. You can also find out about your local maternity services by going online on the NHS website. 

Your GP doesn’t usually hold a main character role in your pregnancy. They will help you to manage any pre-existing health conditions you might have, or any that are more likely to crop up when you are pregnant, such as things like urinary problems. 

Your midwife

A midwife is a health professional who is trained to look after mothers and babies throughout a normal pregnancy and birth for up to 28 days after the birth (although many are discharged from their midwife around day 10 post natally). Midwives can work in hospitals or in the community, where they see you at your GP surgery or at home.

Usually, the midwife you see whilst you are pregnant won’t be the midwife that you have during your labour. In most areas, community midwives who work in the community (at your GP surgery or visit your home) do the antenatal, pos natal visits and home births. Then you have hospital midwives who you will see in labour or if you need to come into hospital for whatever reason in your pregnancy, such as reduced baby movements.

The exception to this is if you have a “continuity team” in your area. Continuity teams are midwives that work in small teams, who see the women in their care through their antenatal appointments, birth and postnatal visits too.

Your community midwife will provide or organise most, if not all, of your care, including your antenatal appointments. They’ll check your, and your baby’s health and talk through any test results with you.

Your midwife will be a wealth of information throughout your pregnancy and will also help you to plan how you give birth.

When you are ready to have your baby, if everything is going well, a midwife will look after you during labour and they will help you give birth. After the birth you will be visited at home by your community midwife. Further appointments to check on you and your baby’s wellbeing, will be organised and they may be in your home, at the GP surgery, or in a community centre.

Sonographer

A sonographer is a health professional who is trained to do ultrasound scans. You will be offered a number of scans during your pregnancy to see how your baby is growing and developing.

Physiotherapist

A physiotherapist is a health professional who is trained to help you cope with the physical changes that come during and after your pregnancy, and after you give birth. In pregnancy, you don’t routinely see a physiotherapist. However if you feel like you would benefit from their input, for example if you have  pelvic girdle pain, then you can self refer to a physiotherapist in your area. After you have your baby too, you also don’t routinely see a physiotherapist unless you had a more severe vaginal tear. If you are finding that you are struggling with urinary issues, vaginal pain or bodily aches and pains then see a physiotherapist. 

Obstetrician

If you have had problems in a previous pregnancy, you have a medical condition, or your midwife is concerned about you or your baby’s wellbeing during your current pregnancy you will be referred to see an obstetrician. They will also be the one to do a caesarean birth if you need to give birth this way. 

Anaesthetist

An anaesthetist is a hospital doctor who specialises in pain relief and anaesthesia. They will help you with pain relief during labour and giving birth. If you have an epidural during labour, the anaesthetist will give you this. During your cesarean birth, you will have an anaesthetist there to give you a spinal anaesthetic, or less commonly a general anaesthetic. You may be invited for a 36 week appointment with an anaesthetist. This is just so they can have a discussion with you about your options for anaesthesia should the situation arise. Not everyone has this anaethetsis appointment, it is usually for those who have had previous problems with anaesthetic, those who have had back surgery/ back issues or if you have a raised BMI.

Paediatrician

A paediatrician is a doctor who specialises in the care of babies and children. Sometimes, midwives call a paediatrician to your birth for example if you are going birth prematurely or if baby has one a poo inside you during labour. You may also see a paediatrician within the first 72 hours for babys NIPE check. This stands for Newborn and Infant Physical Assessment and is done between 6hours and 72 hours after baby is born. This is done by a paediatrician in hospital or a midwife who is specifically trained in NIPE’s. 

Health visitor

Health visitors are specially-trained nurses or midwives who can give you support and information while you are pregnant and afterwards, all the way up to your child's fifth birthday. You’ll sometimes meet your health visitor in your pregnancy. They will come out to your home to visit you when baby is 10 days old. If all is well then its at this time that the midwife will hand over care to the Health Visitor. You can see your health visitor at drop in centres in your local area where you can get your baby weighed and chat to them about any concerns that you may have.