All pregnant women are advised to have some baseline screening blood tests. These are to check your blood group, exclude maternal anaemia and important infections that could be passed on to the fetus. Baseline assessment of thyroid function and iron levels is also advised. A urine test to exclude asymptomatic infection is also recommended.

Later in pregnancy, further testing for gestational diabetes and blood group incompatibilities will be requested.

At approximately 36 weeks of gestation, we recommend that you have a swab test to check for carriage of Group B streptococcus. This bacteria is of no consequence to an adult woman, but can potentially infect the baby during birth.