4. Pregnancy and Childbirth

Pregnancy and Childbirth

UK sources of information and / or support

See also the Patient.co.uk pages on breastfeeding, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and pre-eclampsia.

Patient UK

Has several leaflets on pregnancy.

The Pregnancy Book

Information from the Department of Health.

Maternity and early years: making a good start to family life

Policy document from the Department of Health.

Maternity matters: choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service

Policy document from the Department of Health.

Emma's Diary

A step-by-step pregnancy guide, produced by the Royal College of General Practitioners in association with Lifecycle Marketing.

Healthy Start

Healthy Start gives pregnant women and children under 5 in low income families vouchers for free milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and infant formula milk.

National Institute for Clinical Health and Excellence (NICE)

Has patient guides, which complement guidelines of the same name for health professionals, on:

Postnatal care overview

NICE Pathways are for people who use NICE guidance.

Eating while you are pregnant

Information from the Food Standards Agency. 

Association of Radical Midwives 

The association of midwives and others in the UK committed to improving the maternity care provided by the NHS.  

Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services

AIMS provides information and support for parents and professionals.

Babyworld

Parenting website for new and expectant parents to find advice and support.

BirthChoiceUK

Helps women in the UK choose where to give birth using information about maternity care, maternity statistics and research-based information about childbirth.

Disability, Pregnancy & Parenthood International

DPPI is a small UK-based registered charity, controlled by disabled parents, which promotes better awareness and support for disabled people considering, during and after pregnancy. 

Doula UK

Doulas support women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood. Doula UK provides informatio to parents and support to doulas.

Go Folic!

Led by the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus and the Scottish Spina Bifida Association, Go Folic! encourages women to take folic acid before getting pregnant to help reduce neural tube defects in babies.

Home Birth Reference Site

Summaries of research, and information on booking a home birth in the UK.

LIFE

Supports vulnerable pregnant mothers and young families through difficult times.

Multiple Births Foundation

Information and support for parents and professionals involved with multiple births. 

National Childbirth Trust

The National Childbirth Trust is the leading charity offering information and support in pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood. 

Ready, Steady, Baby

Offers a guide to pregnancy, birth and parenthood. 

The Birth Trauma Association

Aims to support women suffering from post natal PTSD (post traumtic stress disorder) and to offer basic advice and support to women who are traumatised by childbirth, but who do not have PTSD.

Twins and Multiple Births Association

TAMBA is a registered charity in the UK for all parents with twins, triplets, quads, sextuplets or more. 

Tommy's

Funds research into the causes of stillbirth, miscarriageand premature birth and provides information for parents-to-be.

UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative

Working with the UK's health services to ensure that all parents are enabled and supported to make informed choices about how they feed and care for their babies. Lots of information on breast feeding. 

UK Vasa Praevia Awareness Group

Raises awareness and provides information about vasa praevia.

RCOG Patient Information

Information on pregnancy and childbirth from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

MIDIRS Informed Choice Leaflets

A set of evidence-based leaflets produced by the Midwives Information and Resource Service.

Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association Information for Mothers

A range of information on anaesthesia and pain relief during labour.

Pregnancy - I am Pregnant, is it safe for me to travel by air?

Frequently Asked Questions of the The Aviation Health Unit.

Pregnancy and Arthritis

Information from the Arthritis Research Campaign.

Pregnancy

Patient experience from Healthtalkonline.

Making Decisions About Birth After Caesarean

Patient experience from Healthtalkonline.

Pregnancy

Patient experience from Youthhealthtalk.

Medicine Guides

The emc Medicine Guides has information on:

NHS Choices

Has information on:

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

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