Congratulations on your pregnancy! Whether it’s your first or you’re adding to your family, this is an exciting time. Here’s our guide to help you navigate the journey ahead in Guernsey.
Confirming your pregnancy
Getting that positive test can be very exciting but it’s also easy to become overwhelmed with what to do, especially if this is your first time. If everything has gone to plan and you’re not already under the care of a midwife or specialist, the next step is to confirm your pregnancy with a GP. If you’re not already registered with a GP surgery on island, you can find more information about the services here. Your GP will then refer you to the Community Midwifery Team, who will handle your antenatal care going forward.
To estimate your due date, you can use the free NHS due date calculator.
If you’re considering your options
If you decide not to continue with your pregnancy, it’s important to visit a GP to chat about your circumstances. You no longer need to see two GPs. Choices offers confidential support for reproductive and sexual health. Their leaflet on abortions can be found here, and they offer a free, confidential counselling service that can be accessed through their help line or by email.
Antenatal care
Throughout your pregnancy you will be under the care of the island’s maternity services. You’ll see a midwife at around 8-12 weeks pregnant for your booking appointment where you’ll receive information about healthy pregnancy and antenatal screening. This lasts about an hour and your midwife will also arrange your first scan. From there you’ll follow a schedule of appointments with your midwife throughout your pregnancy.
Antenatal classes and support
Great Expectations are antenatal classes for first-time pregnant women and their support person. The programme is delivered in partnership with Bright Beginnings staff, midwives and health visitors, and provides valuable information and practical skills to build confidence. The classes are by referral only, but your midwife can advise you of the booking process. Nurturing Birth & Beyond Guernsey (NBB) provides private antenatal education sessions in your own home. Learn more about their services here.
Planning for maternity leave
One thing you will need to think about is maternity your leave. Whilst there are legal stipulations when it comes to maternity leave timeframes in the Bailiwick, there are sadly no statutory obligations on employers to provide paid maternity leave. This means each employer will have its own policy, so check with your workplace. Expectant dads are also entitled to “maternity support leave,” which is a two-week period starting on the day the child’s birth or on the discharge from the hospital. To qualify, the partner must have 15 months continuous service at the beginning of the eleventh week before the due date.
For more details, refer to the States’ Employment Guide.
The finances
Managing finances with a new baby can be daunting, that’s completely natural.
All expecting mums are entitled to the Maternity Grant, a one-off payment made to pregnant women or new mums to help with the cost of having a baby. This grant and can claim from 26 weeks pregnant and you don’t need to meet any contribution requirements to claim it.
You can also receive the Maternal Health Allowance, a weekly payment based on contributions, starting from 11 weeks before your due date. After the birth, payments transition to the Newborn Care Allowance, which can be claimed by either parent. Both allowances combined can be received for up to 26 weeks.
Lifestyle and nutrition
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet during pregnancy is crucial for both you and your baby. For instance, limiting caffeine intake is advised. Use Tommy’s caffeine calculator to monitor your daily intake.
Guernsey’s Health Improvement Commission has a wealth of resources available for a healthy lifestyle. Its Eat Well @ home page offers a list of healthy, affordable and accessible ideas to help you to discover new recipes, many using store cupboard ingredients.
Prenatal exercise
Beau Sejour offers a number of pre & postnatal classes for expectant mothers. Pelvic Floor & Core aims to improve your core and pelvic floor health with this low-impact class designed for pre and post-natal women. Classes are held on Monday mornings for £6.50 per session.
Katie Brock of Yoga Elements offers prenatal yoga, both privately and in group classes.
Preparing for baby’s arrival
Are you considering using real nappies? If so, The Guernsey Real Nappy Network is a community group offering independent advice and practical support to parents and carers using real nappies in Guernsey. Trial kits are available for a two week period and the States of Guernsey offers £35 cashback per child towards the cost of real nappies. There’s also a Guernsey Nappy Chat page on Facebook where you can chat reusable nappies.
If you’re planning to buy anything secondhand, be sure to check out our When is Saving not Safe article.
Capturing memories
Island Ultrasound offers the opportunity to capture special moments beyond the standard hospital scans. They provide a range of additional services, including early viability scans, gender reveals from 16 weeks, and 3D/4D imaging to see detailed images of your baby.
Now’s a good time to consider whether you want professional maternity or newborn photos to capture these special moments. The trend is moving away from formal studio photography to more informal settings. Maternity photos can be a wonderful opportunity to capture the impending addition and it’s fair to say, most of us never take enough photos.
Believe it or not, if you’re wanting to book newborn photos, you’ll likely need to get yourself booked in as soon as possible. It might even be best to make enquiries once you’ve had your first scan.
IslandFamilies members can access exclusive discounts with local photographers:
Capture Me Happy: 10% off all bookings and a £20 voucher
Patois Photography: 10% off family sessions
A’Dora’Bubble Photography: £20 off Family Sessions and £25 off a cake smash
If you’re looking for something more unusual, Anita from Nurturing Birth & Beyond Guernsey offers a belly casting service creating a sculptural cast of a beautiful pregnant belly that you may choose to decorate or adorn the cast at a later date.
Do something for you
Pregnancy can be physically demanding, so treating yourself is important. Studies suggest that women who have a regular pregnancy massage experience less pain during labour and delivery, and may even cut the time of labour in general. This is thought to be down to reduced stress levels and less discomfort during pregnancy overall. But let’s face it, even if that wasn’t true, pregnancy is hard on your body and it’s a great opportunity to treat yourself. Plenty of providers on the island offer pregnancy massage but our members get 10% off all treatments at Sacred Roots which includes their pregnancy massage.
IslandFamilies has offers with a variety of local beauty salons who can help you treat yourself:
Nerine Beauty: 5% off all treatments
Divine Beauty Salon: 10% off all treatments
Magnifique Hair Salon: 10% off all massage
All Community Club offers mentioned in this blog post were correct at the time of publication. You can see all the up-to-date offer listings here.