Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice the NHS provides to pregnant women over the age of 40.

The advice about the care that healthy women should receive during pregnancy is set out in ‘Antenatal care for uncomplicated pregnancies’ clinical guideline 62 produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The guideline aims to ensure that pregnant women are offered regular check-ups, information and support. NICE has also produced guidelines on diabetes in pregnancy, hypertension in pregnancy, multiple pregnancy and ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage.

During a women’s pregnancy she should be offered a series of antenatal appointments to check on her health and the health of her baby and to provide information for example, about a healthy pregnancy diet or antenatal screening. The exact number of antenatal appointments and their frequency will depend on a women’s individual situation.

A brief guide to what usually happens at each antenatal appointment is available at the NICE website:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG62/ifp/chapter/Antenatal-appointments-schedule