First Appointment
You will be offered your first booking appointment between 8-10 weeks, where we will ask you questions about you and your family’s health, and also about any previous pregnancies.
Further information we require will be regarding your lifestyle (this includes diet, smoking, alcohol or drug use). With your consent, we will also take urine and blood samples and check your height, weight and blood pressure. This will allow us to tailor your care specifically to your individual needs.
You will be given a leaflet from your midwife outlining your scheduled visits and important contact details you might need throughout your pregnancy. You will be allocated to a team of midwives depending on the area in which you live, but some people may benefit from the involvement of other healthcare professionals such as a Family Nurse, an Obstetrician, the GP or Health Visitor.
Throughout your pregnancy, your midwife will provide encouragement, information and support to help you create your unique pregnancy plan, which covers your pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. Your primary midwife will discuss your care plan with you.
The team contact details are listed below:
- Beech – 01324 618360
- Cedar – 01324 618339
- Cherry – 01259 290292
- Chestnut – 01324 618352
- Elm – 01259 290322
- Juniper – 01786 454799
- Larch – 01324 618351
- Maple – 01786 434027
- Oak – 01324 618348
- Rowan – 01786 454746
- Willow – 01324 618358
Please be aware that the team phones are not manned at all times, but messages are checked at least twice a day. If your call has not been returned within 24 hours, please try again.
If you require more urgent advice, please contact maternity triage on 01324 567098.
Maternity Notes
Once you have had your pre-booking appointment, an electronic record of your pregnancy will be generated on a system called Badger Notes.
Pregnant women in Forth Valley can access a summary of their pregnancy notes through their mobile phone, tablet or computer. You should also be able to see your upcoming appointments and any blood or test results that have been taken. Before you register online, your midwife will provide you with a security phrase and record your contact details, including email address and phone number.
After your pre-booking appointment, you can visit the Badger Notes website to register, or you can download the Badger Notes app from the Apple App store or Google Play store. Once you enter your security phrase, you will be sent a security code to activate your account. Please remember to turn on ‘push notifications’ for the app, so that we can send you notifications with important information or updates.
Your Ultrasound Scans
Ultrasound scans are very important during pregnancy and tell us a lot of information about how your baby is growing and developing.
You will have your first scan around twelve weeks. This scan helps us date your pregnancy and work out an estimated due date.
You will also be offered screening as part of this scan. You will receive a leaflet regarding screening at your first appointment.
Screening Leaflet
If your BMI is increased, this may affect the quality of your scan. This is because the ultrasound wave has more body tissue to pass through, which may make the image quality poor, this includes the image on the picture you receive to take home.
You normally receive a second scan around twenty weeks, this is known as the anomaly scan. This scan takes a closer look at your baby and checks their growth and development. If all the necessary clinical views of your baby are not obtained you will receive one further appointment and the sonographer will explain to you what they have and haven’t been able to see. The sonographer will provide as much information and reassurance as they can, depending on the quality of the images obtained.
In certain situations, further scans might be offered to assess the ongoing wellbeing of your baby.