Your Pregnancy and Baby Guide

Welcome to the pregnancy and baby guide

Am I pregnant? What should I be eating? Is it normal to be this tired? How can I help my partner during labour?

Whatever you want to know about getting pregnant, being pregnant or caring for your new baby, you should find it here.

You'll find detailed week-by-week guides and lots of expert videos, parents' tips and interactive tools to explore.

Before you start, why not:

• work out when your baby is due with our due date calculator
• download a birth plan template to fill in and save

Finding your way around

Use the purple tabs at the top of the page to see a full menu for each section of the pregnancy and baby guide. Just hover over them and our mega menus will appear.

If you can't find what you are after, try the 'search' box at the top of the page.

Want to know if you're really pregnant?

Find out about:

• signs and symptoms of pregnancy
• finding out if you're pregnant
• positive pregnancy tests
• help if you're not getting pregnant.

Keeping well in pregnancy

• everything you need to know about a healthy pregnancy diet and supplements in pregnancy
• smoking and drinking can harm an unborn baby: read our stop smoking and alcohol pages for help trying to quit

Pregnancy (antenatal) care and the baby's development

• find out as much as you can about what's happening inside you in the first few weeks of pregnancy
• how to cope with all those common pregnancy problems, like morning sickness and tiredness
• find out all about NHS pregnancy appointments you’ll be offered
• what you'll be offered at your appointments, including ultrasound scan and checks and tests, including screening for Down’s syndrome

Vaccinations in pregnancy

Why it's recommended that women have:

• the flu vaccine in pregnancy
• whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy

Coronavirus advice

If you're pregnant and worried about coronavirus (COVID-19), you can:

• get advice about coronavirus and pregnancy from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Labour and birth

Find out all you need to know about labour and birth, including

• where you can have your baby - for example, either in a hospital, midwife-led unit, or at home
• what pain relief is available, such as gas and air (entenox) and epidural
• signs that labour might be starting

Your new baby

When your baby arrives, you can find advice on all the essentials of baby care, including:

• breastfeeding
• bottle feeding
• changing nappies
• washing your baby.

Plus:

• how to cope with a crying baby and settling your baby into a good sleep routine
• possible changes to your body after pregnancy and your relationships after a baby, and the symptoms of postnatal depression
• feeding twins and multiples and sleep issues with twins and multiples

Feeding, teething and tantrums

• find out about parenting, including support and services for parents, keeping fit, and going back to work
• know the signs of serious illness in babies and symptoms of infectious illnesses such as chickenpox
• find out how to keep your baby safe, and what to do if your baby has an accident
• at 6 months old your baby will need to start solid foods, so be prepared with our weaning tips and first food ideas
• as your baby becomes a toddler, get tips on teething, the importance of play, temper tantrums and potty training

Last Updated: 16/04/2021 14:52:52
The information on this page has been adapted by NHS Wales from original content supplied by NHS website nhs.uk