Antenatal Care & Support
Antenatal Care & Support
Throughout the antenatal period I will provide care for you in the relaxing environment of your own home.
Your care includes:
- Monitoring the progress of your pregnancy, ensuring you are cared for safely, professionally and with kindness.
- Looking after your physical and emotional wellbeing, ensuring all clinical care is undertaken diligently by:
- Monitoring your blood pressure;
- Pulse;
- Assessing your urine;
- Discussing concerns or niggles you may have, and;
- Discussing and explaining all the findings and advising you appropriately.
- Monitoring the wellbeing of your baby:
- By measuring their size to ensure they are growing well and in accordance with personalised guidelines;
- Palpating (feeling) your abdomen to determine the position your baby is lying in;
- Listening to your baby’s heart rate using a pinard and soinicade (gold standard of care), and;
- Discussing and explaining all the findings and advising you appropriately.
- The National guidelines, recommendations and screening tests will all be discussed – what this means for you and why they are recommended.
- Also sign posting you to the evidence surrounding these recommendations, so you can make an informed choice about your care.
I am there for you as an individual and not as a number in the system – I have plenty of time to spend with you exploring any questions, concerns or general conversations you may wish to have. If there is something I don’t know or are unsure of (contrary to popular belief midwives don’t know everything!), I will spend time finding the answer for you, researching the evidence, or if it falls outside the sphere of normal midwifery care, I can put you in touch with other professionals who may have a deeper expertise in the subject you need information about.
Of course, I would like to think your pregnancy will progress smoothly and without a hitch, but a midwife’s role is to observe, advise and act if things deviate from normal.
Some of the things I do really well, behind the scenes, is to work cooperatively with the NHS system. I can act on your behalf to liaise with Community Midwives, escalate to the senior management or obstetric teams, if you want me to. I can chase up screening results, ensure you speak with the appropriate people for your care needs and work to get individualised care plans implemented for your specific circumstances.
I have excellent links with all the local NHS Trusts (hospitals), and not only am I able to refer you if necessary, I can also attend these appointments with you, where reasonably possible (and if you want me to).
It is ideal to book with a local NHS Trust or a Trust of your choice (I can help with this) in case there is the need for additional clinical support. This is of course your choice to make.