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Pregnancy journey

Personal care plans 

Personal care plans will help you explore, understand and record your individual choices for pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. Everyone and their family is different, with individual needs, which have an influence on care and preferences. 

You can choose the provider of your antenatal, intrapartum (labour and birth) and postnatal care. 

You can make decisions about the support you need during birth and postnatally; and where you would prefer to give birth, whether this is at home, in a midwifery unit or in an obstetric unit, after full discussion of the benefits and risks associated with each option.

The animation here  gives more information on what is included in the personal care plan document and how and when you should use it. Please take a few minutes to watch it.

The animation is also available in Romanian (Romaneasca) and Polish (Polska) and linked to below. 

Romanian FlagPlanuri de îngrijire personală pentru sarcină și naștere - Varianta romaneasca: aici 

Polish flag borderPlany osobistej opieki nad ciążą i porodem - Wersja polska: tutaj 

Please follow the link: here to access your personal care plan document, which is designed to be printed and written in, and includes sections on:

  • Health and wellbeing in pregnancy
  • Personalised birth preferences
  • Dads, partners and co-parents
  • After your baby is born
  • Birth afterthoughts.

There are translated versions of the personal care plan document that can be accessed below. 

An editable pdf version of the personal care plan document can be downloaded here or updated in Internet Explorer. 

This visual birth plan has been developed to be used in place of, or alongside the written version of the personal care plan document, for those whose first language is not English or those who would prefer to communicate through images rather than words. 

Supplementary sheets have been developed to sit alongside the main personal care plan document:

Please remember that decisions regarding care should be made in partnership with your midwife and other health professionals and those close to you (such as family and friends). 

2019-07-03 (7)

Your baby is now officially an embryo and is about the size of a poppy seed.

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/4-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (4)

Your baby is now the size of a kidney bean and weighs 1g. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/8-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (6)

Welcome to the second trimester!

Your baby is about the size of a small lime and weighs approximately 14g.

You have hopefully seen your midwife for your 'booking in' appointment, if you have not yet seen a midwife please make an appointment quickly, so you can have all of your choices about screening tests explained and offered to you.

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/12-weeks-pregnant/ for more information. You can also link to the 'Pregnancy Journey' area here.  

2019-07-03

Your baby is about the size of an avocado and weighs approximately 100g. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/16-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (2)

Your baby has grown in length and is now the length of a small banana and weighs approximately 300g. Around this time you will be offered your '20 week' scan, also known as the 'anatomy' or 'anomaly' scan.Click here for more information about screening. 

This is a also a good time to talk and sing to your bump as your baby can now hear sounds. This is great way for you and your partner/family to bond with your baby.

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/20-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (8)

Your baby has grown again to the approximate length of an ear of sweetcorn and weighs about 600g. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/24-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (1)

Welcome to the third trimester!

Your baby is now approximately the weight of an aubergine; about 1kg and approximately 37cm in length. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/28-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (3)

Your baby now weighs approximately the same as a coconut; around 1.5kg. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/32-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (5)

Your baby is now around the same size as a lettuce, approximately 47cm long and weighs around 2.6kg. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/36-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.

2019-07-03 (9)

Your baby is now the weight of a small watermelon which is approximately 3.3kg and around 50cm in length. 

Please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/40-weeks-pregnant/ for more information.