What Might Come Next?
Ongoing maternity care, scans, screening, tests and your choices
You've had your first maternity appointment.
You've taken those first steps into maternity care, and now you might be wondering:
What happens next?
There isn't one single maternity journey that looks exactly the same for every woman.
Your care can depend on your individual circumstances, the maternity service caring for you and the conversations you have with your maternity team.
So this isn't about telling you exactly what will happen.
It's about giving you a sense of some of the things you may encounter as your pregnancy continues.
Ongoing maternity care
Your first appointment is only the beginning of your maternity care.
As your pregnancy progresses, you'll have further contact with your maternity team.
These appointments can be opportunities to talk about how your pregnancy is progressing, receive information, discuss your care and consider what comes next.
Some appointments may feel familiar.
Others may introduce something new.
Your care may also change as your pregnancy develops or if your circumstances change.
You may sometimes see different members of the maternity team too.
Your scans, screening and tests
During pregnancy, you may be offered different scans, screening and tests.
Some of these may be familiar to you. Others may be completely new.
Screening can sometimes raise questions because it gives information about the likelihood of certain conditions rather than telling you for certain that something is present.
If you're offered screening or another test, your maternity team can explain what it is for, what the results may tell you and what your options are.
You can ask for information to be explained in a way that makes sense to you.
Understanding what is being offered is part of being involved in your care.
CherisHer will also explore some of these topics through CherisHer Conversations, so you can spend a little more time understanding the things you may come across during pregnancy.
Your choices
As your pregnancy continues, you may find yourself having more conversations about your care.
You may be asked about your preferences.
You may be offered different options.
You may have questions about why something has been suggested or what your choices are.
Your choices can also change as you learn more, your circumstances change or your pregnancy develops.
Being involved in your maternity care doesn't mean having everything decided from the beginning.
It means having the opportunity to understand what's being discussed and take part in conversations about your care.
Things may not always go exactly as expected
Sometimes your maternity journey follows the path you imagined.
Sometimes it takes a different direction.
An additional appointment, scan, test or conversation may become part of your care.
This doesn't necessarily mean your whole pregnancy has changed. It may simply mean that your maternity team wants to look at something more closely or talk through what happens next.
If something changes, it's okay to ask what has changed, why it has been suggested and what happens next.
Your maternity team can give you information specific to your circumstances.
Your experience may be different from someone else's
You may hear other women talking about their pregnancies.
Their appointments.
Their scans.
Their choices.
Their experiences.
It's natural to compare.
But your maternity care may not look exactly like someone else's.
Different women can be offered different care depending on their individual circumstances.
So rather than wondering:
“Why isn't my pregnancy happening exactly like hers?”
you can come back to:
“What does this mean for me?”
What comes after this?
As your pregnancy continues, the focus may gradually move towards preparing for birth.
That can be a whole new part of the journey.
Preparing for Birth will explore that next stage, from thinking about what matters to you, to understanding birth preferences and preparing for the experience ahead.
And after birth, there is another chapter still to come.
CherisHer reminder
Your first appointment was the beginning, not the whole story.
As your pregnancy continues, there will be more conversations, more information and more choices to understand.
Take each part as it comes.
Keep exploring
Preparing for Birth
What might help you feel more prepared for the next stage of your journey?
CherisHer Conversations
Short conversations exploring some of the words, processes and experiences you may encounter during maternity care.
More Than a Maternity Appointment
Because maternity care is more than what happens inside the appointment.