Weight and height for pregnant women - midwife booking appointment questions

Weight and height for pregnant women: You will be weighed at the booking appointment, but you probably will not be weighed regularly during your pregnancy. Your height will be measured along with your weight so that your midwife can calculate your BMI (body mass index). Most women put on between 10 and 12.5kg (22–28lbs) in pregnancy, most of it after the 20th week. Much of the extra weight is due to the baby growing, but your body will also be storing fat ready to make breast milk after the birth. Eating sensibly and taking regular exercise can help. It’s useful to know advices about what you should eat and about exercise.

In some areas, height, weight and BMI are used to produce a personalized growth chart for your baby’s development. However, other areas will use an average growth chart instead.

Pregnancy booking appointment questions    

You will be asked a lot of questions to build up a picture of you and your pregnancy.

This is so that you are given the support you need and any risks are spotted early. You will probably want to ask a lot of questions yourself.

You may be asked about:

• The date of the first day of your last period, to help work out when your baby is due

• Your health

• Any previous illnesses and operations

• Any previous pregnancies or miscarriages

• your and your baby’s father’s origins. This is to find out if your baby is at risk of certain inherited conditions, or if there are other factors, such as a history of twins

• Your work or your partner’s work and what kind of accommodation you live in, to see if there is anything about your circumstances that might affect your pregnancy

• How you are feeling and if you have been feeling depressed.

At the end of your booking appointment, you should understand the plan of care for your pregnancy and have your hand-held notes to carry with you at all times.

Your booking appointment is an opportunity to tell your midwife or doctor if you are in a vulnerable situation or if you need extra support.

This could be because of domestic violence.