
Can I whiten my teeth while pregnant?
23rd June 2022
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In this article
Finding out you’re pregnant can be both exciting and a little scary, especially if you're unsure what to do next. As a first step, contact the NHS to register your pregnancy so you can begin your antenatal care, which will be provided by a particular hospital or NHS Trust.
If you know of a local hospital or birth centre where you'd like to receive your maternity care and give birth, you can contact the midwives who work there directly. Otherwise, you can go through your GP or Children’s Centre.
As long as you’re healthy and your pregnancy is progressing as expected, you’ll have most or all your antenatal appointments with a midwife (or team of midwives).
However, depending on where you live, some of your antenatal appointments may be with your GP, and if you’re at a higher risk of pregnancy complications, you may see a consultant who specialises in pregnancy and birth.
The appointments can take place in different locations, including your GP surgery, children’s centre or your own home. If you have requests about where you want to be seen, you can ask your midwife or doctor for your local options.
At your booking appointment you’ll get your own timeline of appointments drawn up.
In general, as long as you’re healthy and your pregnancy is progressing as expected, you’ll see your midwife (or team of midwives) around 10 times if it’s your first baby, and seven times if you’ve given birth before.
Here's a week-by-week breakdown of antenatal appointments and scans:
You can find out more details about what will happen at each routine appointment in our pregnancy week by week guide.
At the booking appointment, your midwife will want to get an overview of your health and medical history to plan your maternity care.
You'll be asked questions about:
Your midwife will also do a few routine checks, some of which will be repeated at later antenatal appointments. They will:
All the information gathered during your booking appointment will help medical staff to identify any factors that may increase the risk of complications during your pregnancy or birth.
This means they can provide you with the right maternity care and support throughout your pregnancy.
Your midwife will also calculate your estimated due date, based on the date of your last period. This will be confirmed when you're given a dating scan – this happens between weeks 10 and 14.
At the booking appointment, you’ll have a first discussion about where you’d like to give birth: at home, at a birth centre or in a hospital labour ward.
Don’t worry if it sounds daunting to think about where to give birth so early on in your pregnancy. You can change your mind later if you decide you'd like to have your baby somewhere else that better suits your needs and preferences.
If you don’t yet know where you want to have your baby, use our where to give birth tool to explore the different options.
Your midwife will write information about your health, family history and preferences for the birth in a booklet, known as your maternity notes.
At the end of the appointment, you’ll be given the booklet – this also contains your own timeline of antenatal appointments, as well as details of who to call if you have any questions or concerns in between appointments.
Every time you have an antenatal appointment or receive maternity care at a hospital, records of your and your baby's health will be written down in your notes.
As well as bringing the notes with you to every antenatal appointment and visit to the maternity unit, you're also encouraged to carry the booklet with you day-to-day and if you go away on holiday – in case you need emergency care.
Some of the abbreviations used in maternity notes are listed at the end of this article.
Ideally, the booking appointment should take place by week 10 of your pregnancy, so there’s plenty of time to fit in your first ultrasound scan and any other recommended screening tests before the end of the first trimester.
The appointment probably won’t be much earlier than eight weeks, as the risk of miscarriage is higher before this point. If you haven’t booked in with the NHS until 12 weeks or later, you should have your booking appointment as soon as possible.
It may take up to an hour, as there’s a lot to cover during this first visit. In some places, this will be split into two shorter sessions – you’ll be told what to expect when you register your pregnancy and the appointment is scheduled.
If your booking appointment is at a local hospital, you may have a dating scan at the same time. Otherwise, this will take place during the next few weeks. You should be able to book a time with your midwife during this appointment.
As well as having an idea of what your midwife will want to discuss at this first meeting, it’s good to spend some time before the appointment thinking about any questions you’d like to ask. Write these down so you don't forget.
To help you prepare, you should also:
You can ask your partner or a friend to attend the appointment with you. They can give you support, help to take notes and remember things for you. Be aware though that the midwife will be asking you some personal questions, and may request that the other person to leave the room at certain points.
Anything discussed with your midwife is completely confidential.
Your booking appointment is the perfect time to raise questions or voice any worries you’ve been having in the early weeks of pregnancy.
Your midwife can offer advice on everything, from what foods to avoid and how to cope with pregnancy symptoms, to finding mental health support services and giving up smoking.
You might like to ask:
If it’s not brought up during the appointment, you should also ask your midwife for:
Your midwife or doctor will continue to do a number of routine checks to make sure you’re healthy and your baby is developing well throughout the rest of your pregnancy. Your midwife will:
From your 28-week appointment onwards, your midwife or doctor will also:
Midwives are experts in straightforward pregnancies and births, so they are a great first port of call for questions about random symptoms you’re experiencing or anything that’s worrying you.
For example, your midwife can:
Sometimes, the most difficult conversations are also the most important. During appointments with your midwife, you should feel able to bring up any problems that you’re having. This might include:
You may have heard of postnatal depression, but feelings of anxiety or depression are also common when you’re pregnant, especially if you have suffered from mental illness earlier in your life. Talking to your midwife about your feelings can get you the help you need.
One in four women experience domestic violence during their lifetime and the threat is higher during pregnancy. So, if this is happening to you, first of all know that you’re far from alone. Your midwife can refer you to specialist services and suggest options to keep you safe.
You’re probably aware that smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs during pregnancy can have a negative effect on your baby, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to stop. By talking to your midwife you can be referred to services that can help you give up, and plan for the safe birth of your baby.
Midwives are there to support you throughout pregnancy and to help you and your baby get the best start in life together. Your midwife will do their best to help you, or refer you to someone who is better placed to do so.
You can also download this checklist to keep at hand on your phone.
Remember, there are no stupid questions. Your midwife is likely to have heard it all before and would much rather you ask too many questions than too few.
When you’re pregnant, you have a legal right to paid time off work for every antenatal appointment that your midwife or doctor recommends. You should also be paid for the travel time.
Your partner has the right to take unpaid time off work to come with you to two appointments, although some employers may allow the time off with pay.
At the front of your maternity notes, your midwife or doctor will write down contact information for your midwifery team as well as triage at your local hospital, so you always have a way of getting advice when you need it.
If you have any concerns, it’s always better to speak to someone and put your mind at rest rather than waiting weeks until your next appointment.
When you have your antenatal appointments, your midwife or doctor will often write details about your health or observations about your baby as abbreviations in your maternity notes. These can seem a little cryptic if you haven’t seen them before. Here’s a quick run-through of some of the codes you may come across as you look through your notes.
When your baby’s due and whether you’ve been pregnant or given birth before can all impact your maternity care needs.
LMP - Last menstrual period. Used to calculate your due date before your dating scan.
EDD - Expected due date.
How many weeks pregnant you are - For example, 16+4 (16 weeks and four days pregnant).
Gravida or G - Whether you’ve been pregnant before.
Primigravida - Pregnant for the first time.
Multigravida - You’ve been pregnant before.
Parity or P - How many times you’ve given birth before.
Nulliparous - Never given birth before.
Primipara or primip - Have given birth to one baby before.
Multipara or multip - Have had two or more babies before.
Your blood pressure and urine samples will be tested throughout your pregnancy, and other tests such as blood checks will also be done occasionally to make sure the pregnancy’s progressing as expected.
NAD - No abnormality detected (your urine test was normal).
Tr (trace) - Small amount of protein or glucose was found in your urine.
+, ++, +++ - Greater amounts of protein or glucose have been found in your urine. This can be a symptom of pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes.
BP - Blood pressure. If your blood pressure is higher than usual it could be a sign of pre-eclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Oed - Swelling (oedema) can also be a symptom of pre-eclampsia.
Hb - Haemoglobin. If your iron levels are too low you might need treatment for anaemia.
VE - Vaginal examination. Sometimes done in pregnancy to check whether your cervix has started to efface and dilate.
A doppler or stethoscope will be used to record and measure your baby’s heart rate, and your midwife or doctor will ask you whether you’re feeling any movements.
FHH or H - Foetal heart rate heard. This will be accompanied with beats per minutes (BPM).
FHNH or NH - Foetal heart rate not heard. This isn’t unusual in the first and sometimes second trimester, but your midwife may like you to come for an extra check-up.
FMNF - Foetal movements not felt. Many women don’t start to feel movements until 20 to 24 weeks.
The midwife or doctor will also check how much of the baby’s head is in your pelvis (how engaged they are) when you’re in the later stages of your pregnancy.
5/5, NE, NEng, Not Eng or 'free' - Your baby’s head is above your pelvis.
4/5 - Your baby’s head is above your pelvis.
3/5 - The head is lower but still mostly above the brim.
2/5 - Your baby’s engaged and mostly below the brim.
1/5 or 0/5 - Your baby’s head is deeply engaged and hardly palpable from above.
Your midwife will palpate (feel) your tummy to see which position your baby’s in throughout pregnancy and ahead of the birth.
Ceph, C or Vx - Cephalic (head down).
B or Br - Breech (head up with their bottom or feet in your pelvis).
R or Tr - Transverse (lying across your belly).
L or Long - Vertical.
O or Obl - Oblique or diagonally.
OA - Occiput Anterior (head down, facing your back).
OP - Occiput Posterior (head down, facing your front).
OL - Occiput Lateral (head down, facing your side).