Hi all! I've got my 12w ultrasound next Tuesday and then my first antenatal appointment with Canberra Hospital on Wednesday. What should I expect at that appointment and how long will it be? (need to tell work how late I will be)

We found out we were pregnant from 4 weeks and I am so happy to be finally seeing our baby!!! It has been the longest 12 weeks of my life!!!! This is my first baby so everything is new to me

Congratulations, how wonderful!

At the first antenatal appointment, they will probably firstly just get you to fill out a few forms with all your information (official part) and give you some pregnancy literature. You will then see a midwife or equivalent depending on the hospital/facility. They will do a fairly detailed session with you about your health past & present, family details, and may do a questionnaire on your mental health also. They will probably also listen to bubby's heartbeat just to check all going well there.

I think it all up took about an hour & a half, but it depends on how thorough they are, and how busy they are (you may have to wait).

Make sure you have any questions ready!

Good luck.

Congratulations, its such an exciting time.

At the first appointment they will go into detail on your health and your family history. They will also discuss courses that are available and they will fill in the pre admission paperwork.

I would allow and hour for the appointment and maybe another hour on top of that because they don't usually run on time with appts.

Good luck!

Congratulations!!!!!

I had mine about 10wks ago and it was 1.5hrs plus the wait. I am with the FMU midwife so the wait is a little different. But when I had to see the antenatal nurse the other day she was running about 45mins late. She was very apologetic though, which is nice as some people don't care that they keep you waiting!

The best thing that happened in my appt was they booked ALL my appt's for the rest of the preganacy then it is great for planning as I have 2 other kids, one with a lot of appts herself!

The other thing I would let you know is to get there early as parking is at a premium close to the clinic. We have a mobility sticker and it still takes us ages to find a park. You can walk from the multi-story carpark but you will walk the entire length of the hospital - not ideal when you get to 30+wks preg!

Am loving the public system though I am a convert as I went private with my first two and am now kicking myself for the waste of all that money

I am not sure if they will do an ultrasound at that appointment. But they will listen for the heartbeat!

I think they give you a referral for the 20 week scan, and you can ask for the NT 12 Week scan if you want to go through all that.

Congratulations and good luck

Thank you ladies! That was very helpful and now I am even more excited