You can discuss your options of place at birth at any time throughout your antenatal period. Also take time to read the birth place decision information leaflet.
Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well. Contact your midwife or maternity unit immediately if you think your baby’s movements have slowed down, stopped or changed. There are staff on the maternity unit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call our helpline on 0208 934 2802
Remember: It is not true that babies move less towards the end of pregnancy. You should continue to feel your baby move right up to the time you go into labour. Your baby should move during labour too.
DO NOT WAIT until the next day to seek advice if you are worried about your baby’s movements.
You can find more information about baby movements here
Two birth partners may be present during your labour and birth, one of which can stay with you throughout your stay on the maternity unit. You may have 2 visitors (including the birth partner) on the postnatal ward and any siblings of the new baby between 3pm and 8pm.
If you take your baby out in a car, they must be in a car seat. Your baby must always go in their seat, including when you bring them home from the hospital. It is illegal to have your baby in your arms in a vehicle.
The safest way for your baby to travel is in a rear-facing infant car seat either on the front or back seat. This is held in place by the adult safety belt. Only EU-approved weight-based car seats can be used in the UK. These have a label showing a capital ‘E’ in a circle and ‘ECE R44’. Please ensure:
– The car seat is fitted correctly
– If you place a rear-facing infant care seat in the front passenger seat the air-bag must be deactivated if there is one fitted
– You should not buy a second-hand car seat as it may have been damaged in an accident
One in four women experience domestic abuse or domestic violence at some point in their lives. This may be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological abuse. Thirty percent of this abuse starts in pregnancy, and existing abuse may get worse during pregnancy or after giving birth. Domestic abuse during pregnancy puts you and your unborn child in danger. It increases the risk of miscarriage, infection, premature birth, and injury or death to the baby.
If you are pregnant and being abused, help is available for you. You can speak in confidence to:
– Your GP
– Your midwife
– Your obstetrician
– Your health visitor
– Your social worker
Or you can call the confidential 24-hour National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247. This helpline is free, and run in partnership between Refuge and Women’s Aid. If you are in immediate danger call 999.
When you drink, alcohol passes from your blood through the placenta and to your baby. A baby’s liver is one of the last organs to develop fully and does not mature until the last half of pregnancy. Your baby cannot process alcohol as well as you can and too much exposure to alcohol can seriously affect your baby’s development. Because of this risk, the Chief of Medical Officers for the UK recommend that if you’re pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol to keep risks to your baby to the minimum.
For women who have a regular monthly menstrual cycle, the earliest and most reliable sign of pregnancy is a missed period. Sometimes women who are pregnant have a very light period, losing only a little blood. Some of the other early pregnancy signs and symptoms are listed below. Every woman is different and not all women will notice all of these symptoms.
Feeling sick and vomiting
– You may feel sick and nauseous, and/or vomit. This is commonly known as morning sickness, but can happen at any time of the day or night. Around half of all pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting, and around three in 10 women experience nausea without vomiting.
– Find out more about coping with nausea and morning sickness in pregnancy. If you’re being sick all the time and can’t keep anything down, please contact your GP.
Feeling very tired
– It is common to feel tired, or even exhausted during pregnancy, especially during the first 12 weeks or so. Hormonal changes taking place in your body at this time can make you feel tired, nauseous, emotional and upset.
Changes in your breasts
– Your breasts may become larger and feel tender, just as they might do before your period. They may also tingle. The veins may be more visible, and the nipples may darken and stand out.
Passing urine more often
– You may feel the need to pass urine more often than usual, including during the night.
Other signs of pregnancy that you might notice include:
– constipation
– an increased vaginal discharge without any soreness or irritation
– a strange taste in your mouth, which many women describe as metallic
– craving new foods
– losing interest in certain foods or drinks that you previously enjoyed, such as tea, coffee or fatty food
– losing interest in tobacco
– having a more sensitive sense of smell than usual, for example to the smell of food.
The more active and fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight. It will also help you to cope with labour and get back into shape after the birth. Keep up your normal daily physical activity or exercise (sport, running, yoga, dancing or even walking to the shops and back) for as long as you feel comfortable.
At Kingston Hospital we have a range of wellbeing classes for pregnant women.
Pregnancy will bring changes to your relationship, especially if this is your first baby. Some people cope with these changes easily, others find it harder.
It is not uncommon for couples to have arguments and disagreements during pregnancy, however much they’re looking forward to having a baby. Some of these may be nothing to do with the pregnancy, but others may be caused by one of you feeling worried about the future and how you’re going to cope. It is important to realise that during pregnancy there are understandable reasons for the odd difficulty between you, and good reasons for feeling closer and more loving.
If feeling down or being anxious is affecting your everyday life, please speak to your midwife or GP. You do not have to have a particular mental health problem to be offered help dealing with worrying thoughts or feelings.
Find out more about mental health problems and pregnancy.
A healthy diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but especially vital if you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Eating healthily during pregnancy will help your baby to develop and grow, and will keep you fit and well.
You will probably find that you are more hungry than usual, but you do not need to ‘eat for two’ – even if you are expecting twins or triplets. Have a healthy breakfast every day because this can help you to avoid snacking on foods that are high in fat and sugar.
Eating healthily often means just changing the amounts of different foods you eat so that your diet is varied, rather than cutting out all your favorites. Should you develop gestational diabetes, you will need to closely monitor your diet and your doctor or midwife will give you further advice. Eating a variety of foods will help your baby to get the range of nutrients that it needs to develop and be healthy. These include:
– Fruit and vegetables: try to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day to provide the vitamins and minerals your baby needs.
– Starchy foods (carbohydrates): such as bread, potatoes, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta and noodles. Try to eat wholemeal versions to give you a sustained release of energy, if you can.
– Protein: foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, pulses and nuts. Protein provides the building blocks for your baby to grow.
– Dairy products: includes milk, cheese and yoghurt.
– Try to only eat a small amount of foods that are high in sugar or fat.
You don’t need to go on a special diet, but it’s important to eat a variety of different foods every day to get the right balance of nutrients that you and your baby need. You should also avoid certain foods in pregnancy because they might make you ill or harm your baby. Make sure you know the important facts about which foods you should avoid or take extra care with when you’re pregnant. Foods to avoid are:
– Some types of cheese i.e soft cheese with a rind or a mould such as Brie, Stilton and Goats cheese.
– Pâté
– Raw or partially cooked eggs
– Liver
– Raw or undercooked meat
– Supplements containing vitamin A
– Some types of fish
– Raw shellfish
– Cold cured meats
– Unpasteurised milk
– Foods with soil on them
– Caffeine
– Please see foods to avoid in pregnancy for more information.
Weight gain is a normal part of pregnancy, however gaining too much weight can put you and your baby’s health at risk. BMI (Body Mass Index) is a measure of your weight in relation to your height. Your midwife will calculate this with you at your first appointment.
A high BMI, over 30kg/m2, predicts your risk of developing complications during pregnancy or ill health later in life.
Attempting to lose weight during pregnancy is not advised, but limiting weight gain during pregnancy can be helpful. The heavier you are at your booking appointment, the less weight you should gain during your pregnancy.
If your BMI is 30kg/m2 or more, you should aim to gain no more than 5-9kg over the course of your whole pregnancy.
A Guide to Nutrition and Weight Management in Pregnancy
Can we help further?
If you feel you would like support or input regarding managing your weight during pregnancy, please contact us on 0208 973 5277 to arrange an appointment with a Dietitian.
Other useful websites
www.nhs.uk
www.healthystart.nhs.uk
www.readysteadybaby.org.uk
More info here
Mr Nick Anim at Kingston Hospital offers private obstetric care, notably in BMI Coombe Wing, which is located on Level 7 of Esher Wing, in Kingston Hospital.
Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life. It is never too late to stop smoking. Every cigarette you smoke in pregnancy harms your unborn baby as cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals. They restrict the essential oxygen supply to your baby, so their heart has to beat harder every time you smoke. When booking at Kingston, you will be given the opportunity to attend the Smoking Cessation Clinic.
Second-hand smoke can also cause low birth weight and cot death. Babies whose parents smoke are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia during the first year of life. More than 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year due to the effects of second-hand smoke. More information about smoking in pregnancy, benefits on stopping smoking, secondhand smoke and smoking cessation can be found here.
It may be difficult to understand some of the abbreviations that midwives, obstetricians or your GP has used in your maternity record. View our abbreviations list and if you are still unsure, please speak to your midwife, obstetrician or GP.
Vitamin supplements
Eating a healthy, varied diet in pregnancy will help you to get all the vitamins and minerals you need. There are some vitamins and minerals that are especially important.
It is best to get vitamins and minerals from the food you eat, but when you are pregnant you will need to take some supplements as well which are:
– 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day throughout your pregnancy and if you breastfeed
– 400 micrograms of folic acid each day. Ideally you should take this from before you are pregnant until you are 12 weeks pregnant
Do not take: vitamin A supplements, or any supplements containing vitamin A, as too much could harm your baby.
You can get supplements from pharmacies and supermarkets, or your GP may be able to prescribe them for you. If you want to get your folic acid or vitamin D from a multivitamin tablet, make sure that the tablet does not contain vitamin A (or retinol).
Folic acid
Folic acid is important for pregnancy as it can help prevent birth defects known as neural tube defects, which can cause conditions such as spina bifida. You should take a 400 microgram folic acid tablet every day while you are trying to get pregnant and until you are 12 weeks pregnant. If you didn’t take folic acid before you conceived, you should start as soon as you find out that you are pregnant. You should also eat foods that contain folic acid, such as green leafy vegetables and brown rice. Some breakfast cereals, breads and margarines have folic acid added to them. Find out more about healthy eating in pregnancy here.
Some women have an increased risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect (NTD). You will need to take a higher dose of 5 milligrams of folic acid every day if:
– you or your partner have a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida
– you have had a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect
– there is history of neural tube defects in your family or your partner’s family
– you have diabetes
You may also need to take a higher dose of folic acid if you are taking medication for epilepsy or your BMI is 35 or more.
If any of the above applies to you, talk to your GP as they can prescribe a higher dose of folic acid. Your GP or midwife may also recommend additional screening tests during your pregnancy.
All employed pregnant women are entitled to 52 weeks (one year) of maternity leave, regardless of the length of time they have how long they’ve worked for their employer. This is made up of 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks of additional maternity leave. You have a range of rights during this period and can also request that your employer provides flexible working arrangements if you decide to return to work at the end of your leave. Find out more about statutory maternity leave.
The Gov.uk website has an online tool that can give you personalised guidance on maternity rights.
Your employment terms, for example your pension contributions, are protected while you are on statutory maternity leave. If you are made redundant while on maternity leave, you also have extra rights.
Working when pregnant
If you are pregnant, your employer must protect your health and safety, and you may have the right to paid time off for antenatal care. You are also protected against unfair treatment.
If you enjoy your work and like the people you work with, you may have mixed feelings when you go on maternity leave. Try to make the most of these few weeks to enjoy doing the things you want to do at your own pace. It is also a good opportunity to make some new friends. You may meet other pregnant women you want to keep in touch with at antenatal classes, or you may get to know more people living close by.
Find out more about your employee rights when you’re on maternity, adoption or parental leave.
Attending antenatal and postnatal care when you are pregnant and have a new baby is really important to ensure the wellbeing of you and your baby.
If you are well, you should attend your antenatal care as normal.
If you or a member of your household have COVID-19 symptoms, and you have an appointment due in the next 14 days you should call 020 8934 2358 Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 4.00pm, for advice. A midwife will discuss your appointment with you and arrange the right place and time to come for your appointments. You should not attend an antenatal clinic appointment if you or a member of your household feels unwell.
If you can’t get through on this number, you can call your midwife and leave a message for them. Your midwives contact number is recorded on the front cover of your maternity notes. Our midwives will return your call as soon as possible, but if your call is urgent, please do contact the 24 hour maternity triage service on
Tel: 020 8934 2802.
Midwives and doctors will continue to see you at the hospital and in the community clinics. They will be delivering some antenatal appointments by phone and you will be contacted directly if your appointment will be by phone.
Please follow this link for national up to date information on COVID-19 and pregnancy:
Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19:
Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Guidance for people with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19, or a positive test result for COVID-19:
People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Birth partners and visitors:
Two birth partners may be present during your labour and birth, one of which can stay with you throughout your stay on the maternity unit. You may have 2 visitors (including the birth partner) on the postnatal ward and any siblings of the new baby between 3pm and 8pm.
