A calm guide to your maternity notes and the questions to ask at each appointment

What your maternity notes actually are

Your maternity notes are the running record of your pregnancy. You'll usually be given them in an app, a book or folder, or through a secure website, and they'll hold your appointment dates, scan results, test results and useful contact numbers such as your maternity unit and early pregnancy unit.

The reason midwives ask you to keep them with you at all times, right up until you have your baby, is straightforward: if you ever need urgent care and you're not with your usual team, whoever sees you can quickly read your pregnancy history rather than starting from scratch. It's worth getting into the habit of popping them in your bag whenever you leave the house, alongside your keys and phone.

Why the notes matter more than they might seem to

It's easy to think of maternity notes as paperwork to be filed away, but they're really a communication tool between you and every professional you see during pregnancy. Because appointments can happen in different settings, hospitals, GP surgeries or community clinics, your notes are often the one consistent thread that ties everything together.

NICE's national guideline on antenatal care (NG201), developed with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, sets out that pregnant women should be offered regular check-ups, information and support throughout pregnancy. Your maternity notes are essentially where that ongoing care gets recorded, so bringing them to every appointment helps your team build an accurate picture over time.

What to expect appointment by appointment

Knowing roughly what each appointment covers can make it much easier to prepare questions in advance rather than trying to think of them on the spot. If this is your first baby, you'll usually be offered at least 10 antenatal appointments and 2 ultrasound scans; if you've had a baby before, it's usually at least 7 appointments, as you typically need fewer.

Your first midwife appointment, often called the booking appointment, usually happens between 8 and 12 weeks and can take around an hour. It covers your health history, lifestyle, home situation and any extra support you might need, alongside checks on your blood pressure and urine, and a blood test to check your blood group. From around 25 weeks onwards, appointments tend to follow a familiar rhythm: blood pressure, urine, measuring your bump, discussing your baby's movements, and checking in on your mental health.

• 8 to 12 weeks: booking appointment, health history, screening information, blood pressure and urine checks
• 11 to 14 weeks: dating scan, checks baby's due date and development, optional screening for certain conditions
• 16 weeks: reviews earlier screening results, blood pressure and urine checks
• 18 to 21 weeks: detailed scan checking baby's development
• 25, 28, 31, 34, 36, 38 and 40 weeks: ongoing checks plus growing conversations about birth preferences and preparing for labour

Questions worth bringing to your appointments

Appointments can move quickly, especially later in pregnancy when there's a lot to cover in a short slot. Writing questions down in your maternity notes beforehand, or in a notes app on your phone, means you're less likely to leave feeling you forgot to ask something important.

It can help to think in terms of three simple categories: understanding what's happening now, understanding what's coming next, and understanding what to do if something feels wrong between appointments. You don't need a long list, just a few questions that matter to you at that stage.

• What does this test or scan result actually mean for me and my baby?
• What should I expect at my next appointment, and is there anything I need to prepare for it?
• Who do I contact, and how quickly, if I'm worried about something before my next scheduled visit?
• Are there any changes to my pregnancy care plan based on what we've discussed today?
• Is there anything in my notes I should double check or update, such as contact details or a change in circumstances?

If something feels unclear or you're worried

It's completely normal not to take everything in during an appointment, particularly if you're tired, anxious, or juggling other things on the day. If you re-read your notes afterwards and something doesn't make sense, or a result raises a question you didn't think to ask at the time, you don't have to wait until your next scheduled appointment. You can contact maternity services at any point in pregnancy if you're worried about your health or your baby's health.

For anything that touches on your specific health, symptoms, or a result you're unsure about, your midwife, GP, health visitor or maternity triage team are the right people to talk it through with, since they know your individual circumstances. If you'd like more general reading to sit alongside your appointments, our /blog has further guides on pregnancy topics you might find useful as you go along.