Your 31-week appointment: results, checks and your birth plan

If this is your first baby, you’ll be offered an appointment at 31 weeks. It’s a chance to go over your 28-week results and start getting ready for the birth.

Who has a 31-week appointment?

The NHS says you’ll be offered an appointment at 31 weeks if this is your first baby. If you’ve given birth before, your next appointment after 28 weeks is usually at 34 weeks.

What happens

The NHS says your midwife will ask about your health and wellbeing, and:

check your blood pressure and test your pee (urine)
measure your bump to check your baby’s growth
talk about your baby’s movements
ask about your mental health
go over any screening results
discuss preparing for the birth, your preferences for birth and knowing when you’re in labour

Your results from 28 weeks

NICE, which writes the guidance midwives follow, says your midwife should talk to you about the results of any tests from your earlier appointments. At 31 weeks, that includes the blood tests from your 28-week appointment, which check your iron levels, blood group and antibodies.

If your iron is low, your midwife or GP will talk to you about treatment. See anaemia and iron tests in pregnancy.
If you had a glucose test for gestational diabetes, ask about that result too. See gestational diabetes explained.
If you’re rhesus negative, you can ask about anti-D and your baby’s blood group result. See rhesus negative blood and the anti-D injection.

If you haven’t heard about a result, ask your midwife what it showed and what it means for you.

Bump, blood pressure and urine

NICE says your bump is measured at each appointment from 24 weeks, unless you’re having regular growth scans, and the measurement is plotted on a growth chart. If it’s larger or smaller than expected, you may be offered an ultrasound scan. Your blood pressure is checked and your pee is tested for protein, which are checks for pre-eclampsia. See urine tests and blood pressure checks.

Your birth plan

The NHS says your midwife will discuss preparing for the birth and your preferences for birth. NICE says that from 28 weeks your midwife should talk with you about coping in labour and creating a birth plan, and that at 31 weeks your birth preferences are confirmed, including the benefits and risks of each option.

You might want to talk about where you’d like to give birth, how you might cope with labour and the pain relief you’d like to know more about. NICE says these conversations carry on at later appointments. See writing a birth plan, where to give birth and pain relief in labour.

Knowing when labour has started

The NHS says your midwife will talk about knowing when you’re in labour. NICE says this is also a time to keep talking about the weeks after the birth. See signs of labour.

Between appointments

Call your midwife or maternity unit straight away, day or night, if you’re worried about your baby’s movements or they slow down. NICE says you can contact maternity services at any time of day or night about this. See your baby’s movements in pregnancy.

Call your midwife or maternity unit straight away if you have signs of pre-eclampsia. The NHS lists a severe headache that doesn’t go away with simple painkillers, vision problems such as blurred vision or flashing lights, pain below your ribs, sudden swelling of your face, hands or feet, heartburn that doesn’t go away with heartburn medicines, being sick, or feeling very unwell. The NHS says to call 111 if you can’t reach your maternity unit. See high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia.

Questions people ask

I’ve had a baby before. Will I have a 31-week appointment?

Not usually. The NHS says the 31-week appointment is for first babies. Your next appointment is usually at 34 weeks.

I haven’t written a birth plan yet. Is that a problem?

No. NICE says conversations about your birth preferences carry on from 28 weeks onwards, so you can talk it through at this appointment and later ones.

Will my bump be measured again?

Yes. NICE says your bump is measured at each appointment from 24 weeks, unless you’re having regular growth scans.

What if my 28-week blood test showed low iron?

Your midwife or GP will talk to you about treatment. See anaemia and iron tests in pregnancy.