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Questions worth taking to each visit

Three questions at a time, written down, in the order that matters to you.

Lesson 5 of 5

9 min Text

What this lesson says

  • Keep one running list and take three questions per visit
  • Ask what each test and measurement is for, and what the result was
  • Ask about cost early and in whole amounts, including the parts that are not included
  • Say if you would rather speak in your own language, or be seen by a woman
  • Write down what you understood before you get home

This is general education. It is not advice about your own situation, and it does not replace seeing a clinician.

Written lesson.
  1. 1. Antenatal care is a series of short appointments rather than one long one, which changes the tactics. A list of fifteen questions gets you through two. A running list, with the top three marked for this visit, gets you through all fifteen across the pregnancy.
  2. 2. Good recurring questions: what were my blood pressure and haemoglobin today, and how do they compare with last time? What is this test for, and when will the result come? Is there anything in my results so far that you are watching?
  3. 3. On money, ask early and in whole amounts: what the delivery is likely to cost at the place we are planning, what is not included, what a caesarean would cost if one became necessary, and what happens if the baby needs to stay longer. Saying that cost is a constraint is clinically relevant information, not an embarrassment — a clinician who knows will plan differently.
  4. 4. Practical requests are ordinary and worth making: to speak in your own language, to be seen by a woman, to have somebody with you or to have them step out for part of the visit, and to have the plan written down rather than explained. Ask when you book as well as on the day.
  5. 5. Before you leave each appointment, say the plan back in your own words. It takes twenty seconds and it catches misunderstandings while the person who can correct them is still in the room. Ask her to write down anything you will not remember.
  6. 6. When you get home, write three things: what you understood, what is still unclear, and what to ask next time. That list is what turns a vague unease into three answerable questions — and it is the thing that makes the next short appointment count.
  7. 7. Everything in this course is general education written from published guidance. It is not antenatal care, it cannot assess you or your pregnancy, and it does not replace the person looking after you.

All lessons in this course

  1. 1 The first trimester: booking, the early tests, and the symptoms nobody warns you about 12 min
  2. 2 The second trimester: scans, iron, and what the check-ups are for 11 min
  3. 3 The third trimester: monitoring, planning, and the decisions that come up 11 min
  4. 4 Warning signs at every stage, and what counts as today 9 min
  5. 5 Questions worth taking to each visit 9 min Reading now

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