Your First Antenatal Appointment at Holles Outpatient Clinic - Midwife Led Clinic

Your appointment will take place in the Holles Outpatient Clinic on the ground floor of The National Maternity Hospital (please see map on how to get to The National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street in the Contact Us page here).

You should first check in at the Holles Outpatient Clinic reception desk. Our administration staff will confirm your personal details with you, your pregnancy will be registered on the hospital administration system and a healthcare record will be created for you.

Please make sure you complete and bring along your maternity registration form and your GDPR consent form which will have been sent to you either by post or by email.

The Midwife Sonographer will call you for your dating scan. Your dating scan aims to detect your baby’s heartbeat, calculate the expected birth date for your baby, your baby’s size and if you are expecting more than one baby.

Please have a full bladder for this scan. In early pregnancy, your womb can be quite small and lies quite low in the pelvis. A full bladder helps to push the womb upwards which helps the Midwife sonographer see your baby more clearly.

You’ll then be asked to give a urine sample. 

If protein is found in your urine your Midwife will send a sample of urine to the laboratory to check if you have a urinary tract infection. In later pregnancy, it may also be a sign of pre-eclampsia. If glucose is present in your urine, further tests will be carried out to check for diabetes in pregnancy.

You will be seen by the Midwife in our Midwife Led Clinic and a detailed history and assessment of your physical, mental and social health and wellbeing will be undertaken. You’ll be asked if you have or have had any medical conditions and/or surgical procedures. You will be asked about your family health history. You will also be asked about any previous pregnancies you have had.  

Mental health difficulties are very common during pregnancy. The Midwife will ask you how you are feeling to help identify women who may benefit from additional supports.

If you have any questions or any concerns about yourself or your pregnancy you can discuss these with your Midwife. Your Midwife may give you information on the following:

• Antenatal education and preparation classes at the NMH
• Breastfeeding
• Vaccinations needed during pregnancy
• Healthy eating in pregnancy and NMH Hollestic healthy eating app (including folic acid supplementation)
• Safe exercise in pregnancy
• Health and lifestyle during pregnancy - HSE.ie  (lifestyle advice, including smoking cessation, and the implications of recreational drug use and alcohol consumption in pregnancy)
• Screening for chromosomal abnormalities 
• Blood clots in pregnancy

Your Midwife will also direct you to the HSE’s ‘My Pregnancy book’ which is filled with expert advice from health professionals including doctors, midwives, nurses, physiotherapists, dietitians, psychologists and many more on pregnancy, birth and caring for your baby and yourself in the postnatal period.

 The Midwife will check your blood pressure (BP). This first BP reading is used as a ‘baseline reading’. Your blood pressure will be checked at all visits and compared to this reading. This is to monitor you for high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia.

Your Midwife will record your weight. Your height and weight are then used to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). Having a baseline of your BMI is important for a number of reasons including to calculate the correct amount of medication for you if needed.

You will also be offered a carbon monoxide breath test at your first visit to tell you if you have been exposed to levels of carbon monoxide. Cigarette smoking is the most common source of exposure to carbon monoxide.

You will be asked questions to see if you are at risk of developing a blood clot in pregnancy.

Any allergies you have will be recorded in your healthcare record.

Depending on your clinical history some women will require additional tests which may include a self-taken vaginal swab to check for GBS, MRSA, CPE/CRE. All women under 25 years of age will be offered a self-taken vaginal swab test to check for chlamydia.

Your Midwife will book your anomaly/anatomy scan. You will receive this appointment letter by post. Your anomaly scan is usually carried out between 20 and 22 weeks in our Fetal Assessment Unit. The purpose of this scan is to check the health of your baby, assess your baby's growth, confirm your due date and assess the amniotic fluid volume and location of the placenta (afterbirth).

Your Midwife will outline the plan of shared maternity care with your GP with you. Please see here for guide to your antenatal visits at the Midwifery Led Clinic in The Holles Outpatient Clinic.

Blood tests during pregnancy help to check you and your baby’s health. Your blood sample will also be screened for a number of infectious diseases. If you know your blood group is RhD-negative a sample will be taken to check your baby’s blood type. You will have your bloods taken in the phlebotomy room (blood room) located within the Holles Outpatient Clinic. Sometimes after reviewing your booking history, your Midwife will order additional blood tests and these will be explained to you. You will only be contacted regarding your blood results if they are abnormal and require follow up.

Your booking visit will then be finished.

You should return to the reception desk where you checked in and our administration staff will assist you to check out and schedule your next follow up appointment with the Midwife Led Clinic.