Knowledge Centre · Patient guide
Choosing Your Antenatal Care: What to Look For Before You Book
Before you choose an antenatal schedule, you choose who delivers it. What actually predicts a good experience, before you commit for nine months.
Who cares for you matters as much as what happens at each visit. Continuity of carer, cost clarity, and an honest conversation about birth outcomes are worth checking before you commit. Once you have chosen your team, our visit-by-visit schedule tells you what each appointment covers.
Continuity is the thing to check first
Ask whether you will be seen by the same team throughout, from your first visit through birth and afterwards, or whether that depends on whoever is on duty. Continuity of carer is associated with fewer avoidable interventions and a better reported experience, because the person seeing you at 32 weeks is the same person who saw you at 12.
What “team-based” antenatal care actually changes
A midwife holds the day-to-day relationship and most of your visits, while a specialist obstetrician is involved throughout and steps in directly wherever specialist input is needed, not only if something goes wrong. This is not a downgrade in specialist oversight. It changes who you see most often, not who is ultimately responsible for your care.
Ask about costs early, not at your due date
Your costs should be confirmed to you in writing before you commit, so there are no surprises closer to your due date, when you have far less time to switch providers if the numbers do not work for you.
A realistic word on birth outcomes
Every pregnancy is different, and a straight practice will say so rather than sell you a specific outcome. Overall, a realistic expectation for a caesarean birth is around 50%. That figure moves with your own history and how your pregnancy progresses, and it is worth discussing with your own team as your pregnancy goes on, not treated as a fixed target either way.
When to book, not just where
Booking your first antenatal visit by 10 weeks gives time for early screening tests that lose value the later they are done.
What to expect at Network One Health
Care is organised around one team, a midwife who knows you, with a specialist obstetrician overseeing your care throughout, from your first visit through birth and afterwards. Your costs are confirmed in writing before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How early should I book my first antenatal visit? By around 10 weeks, ideally. If you are further along, book as soon as you can rather than waiting for an ideal date.
Can I switch providers partway through pregnancy? Yes, particularly earlier on. Your records can be transferred, and continuity resets with the new team.
What if my pregnancy becomes high risk partway through? A team-based model with an obstetrician already involved throughout usually adjusts more smoothly, since your history is already known.
Ready to be seen? Ask us to call you or WhatsApp 071 224 2788.
Sources and guidance
- Your antenatal care, NHS
- Prenatal care, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
- Maternity care and continuity of carer, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
Your next step
Before you book anywhere, here is what one team, one agreed fee and continuity of carer actually looks like:
Or, if that is not quite you: Antenatal Assessment: confirm your pregnancy properly, scan, blood tests and a plan, in one visit, from r4,600.
Free, and yours to keep Work out your due date and see your visit dates →
Prices are what you pay, not an estimate. We confirm your own fee after a short eligibility and affordability check, and there is no obligation.
Rather just talk it through?
Tell us what you have read and what you are worried about. We call you back. You do not need a referral, and nothing is booked until you say so.
We call back Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, usually the same working day.