What to do when I first find out I’m pregnant

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Book your first appointment (your booking appointment)

The easiest way to get a midwife appointment is to set up your Electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) by completing the Maternity Patient Contact online Form below.

This will go straight to the Maternity IT team who will organise your registration and inform your local midwives of your pregnancy. The midwives will then be in touch to arrange an appointment.

Alternatively, you can visit your GP surgery who will pass your details on for you.

Set up your Electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR)

The maternity Electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) is a web-based solution that allows people under our care to view their maternity notes online.

At the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, we use Euroking, a secure maternity IT software, to record the majority of your maternity care.

After you’ve had an appointment or spoken to us, your midwife or maternity support worker will record the data and you’ll be able to see it in your ePHR.

What will you see in your ePHR?

You will be able to see summaries of the following:

• antenatal appointments with your community midwife
• antenatal visits to the Delivery Suite at the Royal Cornwall Hospital
• antenatal visits to Maternity Triage (previously DAU) at the Royal Cornwall Hospital
• a summary of your labour and delivery notes including caesarean section
• birth information about your baby(s)
• information about your discharge to the community midwife team after you’ve given birth
• postnatal contacts with the midwifery team
• information about when we discharge you from the service
• you will not be able to see any sensitive information such as social concerns, or disclosures about domestic issues.

How can I get access?

You can only access your ePHR for your current pregnancy by completing the Maternity Patient Contact Form:

Or you can:

• email the Maternity IT Team at rcht.maternityit@nhs.net
• call the Maternity IT Team on 07557 172389.

If you call, we’ll check your details and add your email address to the ePHR system.

This has to be your personal email, we don’t allow work or general email addresses to make sure your personal healthcare data stays secure.

After we have received your email or you have spoken to us, we will authorise your account.

You will then get an email from cwlmaternity.phrreg@nhs.net asking you to verify your email address and create a password for your ePHR.

You must verify your details within 72 hours. If this expires then please call us and we can resend the verification email.

If you have problems setting it up, please call 07557 172389.

Stay healthy during your pregnancy

There are lots of things you can do to stay healthy during pregnancy. Please see the following guides and information resources:

• Your pregnancy and baby guide gives week-by-week guides, videos, health advice and information about your NHS pregnancy journey
• Common pregnancy symptoms guide from the NHS on common pregnancy symptoms and how to manage them
• Screening tests for you and your baby leaflet from the NHS on the screening you will be offered during and after your pregnancy.
• Pregnant? There are many ways to help protect you and your baby leaflet about the vaccinations you’ll be offered during pregnancy and for your baby after their birth.
• Stop smoking in pregnancy information from Healthy Cornwall.
• Eating well for a healthy pregnancy practical guide from the First Steps Nutrition Trust.
• Information on alcohol in pregnancy guide from Royal Cornwall Hospitals on alcohol in pregnancy.

Mental wellbeing

The most common complication of pregnancy and birth is related to mental health.

If you or your partner are struggling with mixed emotions, sadness, irritability and exhaustion, you are not alone.

You may also experience a lack of interest or pleasure in the things that you usually enjoy or in looking after your baby.

For most women and their partners these emotions are relieved by spending time with family and friends, and with adequate support to allow you to rest and sleep.

For around one in five women symptoms are more persistent and need additional support and treatment.

The most important thing is to talk with the people around you and with your midwife, health visitor or GP about how you feel. Your midwife is there to support you with your mental health as much as with your physical health.

We also offer a number of specialist services to support your mental health during and after pregnancy. These include:

• The Perinatal Mental Health Team who you can contact through your midwife or directly by sending an email to rcht.pmhmidwives@nhs.net.
• The Birth Reflections Service offer you support and a debrief if you experienced trauma during a previous birth. You can contact the birth reflections midwives at rcht.birthreflections@nhs.net.

Further resources on mental wellbeing

• Maternal Mental Health in Cornwall Facebook page run by Midwives alongside the Maternity Voices Partnership that provides pregnancy and postnatal mental health support during the Covid pandemic
• Outlook Southwest offer psychological therapy services for people in Cornwall and the Isles
• Tommy’s Pregnancy and Post-birth Wellbeing Plan is a two-page plan that helps you start thinking about how you feel emotionally and what support you might need in your pregnancy and after the birth. It’s also helpful in working out how to start a conversation with your partner, friend, midwife, health visitor or GP.