Antenatal Clinic

Every week the midwife I am working with runs an antenatal clinic. This is not a drop in clinic like you have with the Health Visitors but appointments made in advance. At the booking appointment, it is decided whether or not the woman will have consultant led care or midwife led care. It may well be that she only actually sees the consultant once during her pregnancy but the next appointment after the booking appointment is at the hospital so that she can see a consultant as well; this appointment is at approximately 16 weeks of pregnancy. If the woman is under midwife led care then the next appointment will be at the antenatal clinic run by the midwife at the children's centre.

So what is it that happens at these appointments and why? Well in part it's an opportunity for the woman to ask any questions she has - whether they are about labour, or something she has been experiencing in pregnancy. It's also a vital appointment for the midwife to make some important checks. So at each appointment the woman's urine is tested for glucose and protein; and depending on the dipsticks being used it may also be tested for leukocytes, blood and ketones. Glucose may show up in the urine if the woman has eaten a lot of sugar prior to providing the specimen but it can also be an indicator for gestational diabetes. Protein can be a side effect of discharge but can also be an early indication of pre-eclampsia. Leukocytes and blood can indicate a urine infection. Ketones in your urine indicate that you are burning fat which could just mean you're hungry and need to eat something; they are often present in women who are suffering from morning sickness or hyperemesis. The main thing to be careful of is dehydration in this case. However if the woman is diabetic then the presence of Ketones is an indication that glucose levels are too high and there is not enough insulin.

Blood pressure is also monitored - it is taken at the booking appointment and at every appointment thereafter. High blood pressure can be an indication of pre-eclampsia but it can also be a side effect of hot weather. In the 2nd trimester it is quite common for blood pressure to drop and for women to suffer low blood pressure. It's always important not to just look at blood pressure results on their own but to look at the whole picture - one high result with no other symptoms is not necessarily a concern. Whereas a result that may be within normal guidelines but is high for that woman who is also showing protein in her urine is a concern. In this
circumstance, the woman would be sent to the hospital for monitoring or a blood test or both.

The other part of the antenatal appointment is measuring the woman's bump, checking the baby's position and listening in to the heartbeat. The bump is measured after 16 weeks of pregnancy to ensure that the baby is growing and that the baby is, to the best you can tell, growing accordingly to gestation. The position can generally be ascertained from around 28 weeks. This can sometimes provide an answer for women experiencing a lot of back pain and confirm whether they can feel feet or a bottom. At around 34 weeks it is hoped that the baby will be in the ideal position for birth but prior to that the baby can be in any position it likes. Identifying the position of the baby also helps to find the best place to find the heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat gives reassurance to the mother but also provides the midwife with an indication of how the baby is doing.

So this gives you just a glimpse into what may seem so routine but is actually so very important. For most pregnant women, all the checks are normal and are reassurance but a midwife is there for them too as well as those for whom it is most definitely not routine. Something that women often find after their appointment is that when they read through their notes they don't always understand what has been written so next time I'll cover those abbreviations and what they really mean.