Skip to main content
N I Direct government services

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
  • Contacts
  • Help
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Translation help

Translate this page

Select a language

  • Afrikaans — Afrikaans
  • Albanian — Shqip
  • Amharic — አማርኛ
  • Arabic — العربية
  • Armenian — Հայերեն
  • Assamese — অসমীয়া
  • Aymara — Aymar aru
  • Azerbaijani — Azərbaycan dili
  • Bambara — Bamanankan
  • Basque — Euskara
  • Belarusian — Беларуская
  • Bengali — বাংলা
  • Bhojpuri — भोजपुरी
  • Bosnian — Bosanski
  • Bulgarian — Български
  • Cantonese — 廣州話
  • Catalan — Català
  • Cebuano — Sinugbuanong Binisayâ
  • Chichewa — Chichewa
  • Chinese (Simplified) — 简体中文
  • Chinese (Traditional) — 繁體中文
  • Corsican — Corsu
  • Croatian — Hrvatski
  • Czech — Čeština
  • Danish — Dansk
  • Dhivehi — ދިވެހި
  • Dogri — डोगरी
  • Dutch — Nederlands
  • English — English
  • Esperanto — Esperanto
  • Estonian — Eesti
  • Ewe — Eʋegbe
  • Filipino — Filipino
  • Finnish — Suomi
  • French — Français
  • Frisian — Frysk
  • Galician — Galego
  • Georgian — ქართული
  • German — Deutsch
  • Greek — Ελληνικά
  • Guarani — Avañe’ẽ
  • Gujarati — ગુજરાતી
  • Haitian Creole — Kreyòl ayisyen
  • Hausa — Hausa
  • Hawaiian — ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
  • Hebrew — עברית
  • Hindi — हिन्दी
  • Hmong — Hmoob
  • Hungarian — Magyar
  • Icelandic — Íslenska
  • Igbo — Asụsụ Igbo
  • Ilocano — Ilokano
  • Indonesian — Bahasa Indonesia
  • Irish — Gaeilge
  • Italian — Italiano
  • Japanese — 日本語
  • Javanese — Basa Jawa
  • Kannada — ಕನ್ನಡ
  • Kazakh — Қазақ тілі
  • Khmer — ភាសាខ្មែរ
  • Kinyarwanda — Ikinyarwanda
  • Konkani — कोंकणी
  • Korean — 한국어
  • Krio — Krio
  • Kurdish (Kurmanji) — Kurdî
  • Kurdish (Sorani) — کوردی
  • Kyrgyz — Кыргызча
  • Lao — ລາວ
  • Latin — Latina
  • Latvian — Latviešu
  • Lingala — Lingála
  • Lithuanian — Lietuvių
  • Luganda — Luganda
  • Luxembourgish — Lëtzebuergesch
  • Macedonian — Македонски
  • Maithili — मैथिली
  • Malagasy — Malagasy
  • Malay — Bahasa Melayu
  • Malayalam — മലയാളം
  • Maltese — Malti
  • Maori — Māori
  • Marathi — मराठी
  • Meiteilon (Manipuri) — ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ
  • Mizo — Mizo ṭawng
  • Mongolian — Монгол хэл
  • Myanmar (Burmese) — မြန်မာစာ
  • Nepali — नेपाली
  • Norwegian — Norsk
  • Odia (Oriya) — ଓଡ଼ିଆ
  • Oromo — Afaan Oromoo
  • Pashto — پښتو
  • Persian — فارسی
  • Polish — Polski
  • Portuguese — Português
  • Punjabi — ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
  • Quechua — Runa Simi
  • Romanian — Română
  • Russian — Русский
  • Samoan — Gagana Samoa
  • Sanskrit — संस्कृतम्
  • Scots Gaelic — Gàidhlig
  • Sepedi — Sepedi
  • Serbian — Српски
  • Sesotho — Sesotho
  • Shona — Shona
  • Sindhi — سنڌي
  • Sinhala — සිංහල
  • Slovak — Slovenčina
  • Slovenian — Slovenščina
  • Somali — Soomaali
  • Spanish — Español
  • Sundanese — Basa Sunda
  • Swahili — Kiswahili
  • Swedish — Svenska
  • Tajik — Тоҷикӣ
  • Tamil — தமிழ்
  • Tatar — Татар теле
  • Telugu — తెలుగు
  • Thai — ไทย
  • Tigrinya — ትግርኛ
  • Tsonga — Xitsonga
  • Turkish — Türkçe
  • Turkmen — Türkmençe
  • Twi — Twi
  • Ukrainian — Українська
  • Urdu — اردو
  • Uyghur — ئۇيغۇرچە
  • Uzbek — Oʻzbekcha
  • Vietnamese — Tiếng Việt
  • Welsh — Cymraeg
  • Xhosa — IsiXhosa
  • Yiddish — ייִדיש
  • Yoruba — Yorùbá
  • Zulu — IsiZulu
  • Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. Health and wellbeing
    3. Living well
    4. Pregnancy and trying for a baby
    5. Care during pregnancy

    Antenatal care

    Antenatal care is the care you receive during your pregnancy. You’ll be offered a series of appointments with a midwife or, if needed, a doctor (obstetrician). They will check that you and your baby are well, give you information about being pregnant and answer any questions you have.

    Beginning antenatal care

    It is best to begin your antenatal care as early as possible, so once you know you are pregnant you should get in touch with a midwife or your GP as soon as you can.

    It is important to tell your midwife or doctor if:

    • you do not speak or read English as your first language
    • there were any complications or infections in a previous pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, premature birth or postnatal depression
    • you are being treated for any long term conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or mental health problems
    • you, or anyone in your family, has previously had a baby with an abnormality, such as spina bifida
    • there is a history in your family of inherited disease, for example, sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis or MCADD
    • you are a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence
    • you have any children in care
    • you use any drugs, medications, or have been drinking while pregnant
    • you smoke

    Making the most of antenatal care

    Having regular antenatal care is important for your health and the health of your baby.

    Most antenatal services are offered in easily accessible community settings.

    Waiting times in clinics can vary, which can be hard if you have young children with you.

    Here are some suggestions to make your visits easier:

    • if you already have children, try to arrange for them to be looked after by someone else during your appointments – they are likely to get bored and restless
    • write a list of questions you want to ask and take it with you as a reminder – make sure you get answers to your questions or the opportunity to discuss any worries
    • if your partner is free, invite them to go with you – this can help them to feel more involved in the pregnancy

    Your antenatal team

    While you are pregnant, you should see some health professionals, led by a midwife or a doctor on a regular basis.

    Many mothers like to get to know the people who will care for them during the pregnancy and birth of their baby.

    The professionals you meet will introduce themselves and explain who they are and what their role is in your care.

    It might help to keep a note of who you see, in case you need to discuss anything they tell you later on.

    You are most likely to meet the following professionals during your pregnancy.

    Midwife

    Midwives are specially trained to care for mothers and babies throughout pregnancy and after the birth.

    They provide care for the majority of women at home and in hospital.

    Obstetrician

    An obstetrician is a doctor specialising in the care of women during pregnancy and after the birth.

    Your midwife or GP will refer you to an obstetrician if they have any concerns, such as previous complications or chronic illness.

    Anaesthetist

    An anaesthetist is a doctor who specialises in pain relief and anaesthesia.

    If you decide to have an epidural or require a caesarean, it will be an anaesthetist who provides the necessary pain relief.

    Paediatrician

    A paediatrician is a doctor specialising in the care of babies and children.

    If your baby has any problems you will be able to talk this over with a paediatrician.

    Sonographer

    Specially trained to carry out ultrasound scans, a sonographer will carry out your anomaly scan.

    Obstetric physiotherapist

    An obstetric physiotherapist is a specialist physiotherapist trained to help you cope with physical changes during pregnancy, childbirth and after.

    Health visitors

    Health visitors are specialist nurses who will offer help and support with the health of the whole family.

    A health visitor will come to see you in the first few weeks after the birth.

    Dietitian

    A dietitian may be available to advise you on healthy eating, for example, if you develop gestational diabetes or have a high BMI at the start of pregnancy.

    Antenatal education

    Antenatal education can help to prepare you for your baby’s birth as well as for looking after and feeding your baby.

    It can help you to keep yourself fit and well during pregnancy and give you confidence as well as information.

    You can find out about your options for labour and birth and meet some of the people who will look after you during labour.

    More useful links

    • Antenatal classes
    • Scans, screening tests and check-ups
    • Testing for abnormalities
    • Your choices for giving birth
    • National Childbirth Trust
    Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on X (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

    Care during pregnancy

    • Access to your maternity records
    • Antenatal appointments schedule
    • Antenatal care
    • Antenatal classes
    • Antenatal infectious disease screening
    • Help for young mothers
    • Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine for pregnant women
    • Scans, screening tests and check-ups
    • Tests to find abnormalities or chromosomal conditions
    • Twins and multiple pregnancies
    • Vaccinations in pregnancy
    • Whooping cough vaccination for pregnant women
    • Your booking appointment

    Help improve this page - send your feedback

    What do you want to do?
    Report a problem
    Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

    Messages

    You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

    Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

    What is your question about?

    What to do next

    Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

    If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

    Carer's Allowance

    Call 0800 587 0912
    Email 
    dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

    Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

    Call 0800 587 2750 
    Email 
    customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

    Disability Living Allowance

    Call 0800 587 0912 
    Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

    Employment and Support Allowance

    Call 0800 587 1377

    Jobseeker’s Allowance

    Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

    Personal Independence Payment

    Call 0800 587 0932

    If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

    For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

    For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

    For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

    If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

    • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
    • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

    If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

    For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

    Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

    For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

    For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

    For queries about your GRONI account, email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk.

    For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

    For queries about:

    • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
      contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
       
    • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
      contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

    If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

     

    For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

    For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

    For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

    If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

    If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

    For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

    For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

    For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

    If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

    Related sites

    • gov.uk
    • nibusinessinfo.co.uk

    Links to supporting information

    • Accessibility statement
    • Crown copyright
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy
    • Cookies
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • RSS