Going straight to a midwife will help you get early access to all maternity services. Alternatively please contact the Community Office on 0116 258 4834.

Signs of pregnancy
The following signs could mean you are pregnant. To be sure, take a pregnancy test.
 missed period
 feeling sick
 changes in your breasts
 wanting to go to the toilet more often
 constipation
 tiredness
 a strange taste in your mouth
 craving new foods or losing interest in others that you previously enjoyed.

Pregnancy test
A pregnancy test is carried out on a urine sample. In Leicester City you can get a free test from:
 your GP surgery, click here to find your nearest GP surgery
 Urgent Care Centre (next to A&E)
 children's centres, click here to view all centres in Leicester                                                          family planning clinic at St. Peters Health Centre.

You can also get a test to do at home from a pharmacist. There will be a charge for this. To find your nearest Pharmacy, click here.

Coping with morning sickness
To ease the symptoms of morning sickness, you could try the following:
 get plenty of rest
 drink little and often
 eat small frequent meals that are high in carbohydrate but low in fat
 eat cold meals rather than hot
 eat plain biscuits 20 minutes before getting up
 avoid any food or smells that trigger your symptoms
 avoid drinking drinks that are cold, tart or sweet.

Foods to avoid
Here are some foods you should not have too much of:
 fatty food (margarines and spreads, cooking oil, crisps
 sugar (chocolate, sweets cake, fizzy drinks)
 caffeine (tea, coffee, cola)
 oily fish (mackerel sardines, trout, fresh tuna)- oily fish is very good for you and your baby, but don't have more than two portions a week.

There are some foods you should avoid altogether:
 soft cheeses
 liver and foods made with liver (like liver pate)
 raw eggs- so make sure the yolk is cooked through when you cook eggs
 shark, marlin and swordfish.

Folic acid
During the first 12 weeks of pregnancy you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid a day to reduce the risk of your baby having a neural tube defect such as spina bifida.

You can get folic acid tablets from any pharmacy or your GP with a prescription.

Harms of Smoking
Smoking harms your unborn baby by:
 restricting oxygen and growth
 making your baby's heart beat faster
 making the baby more prone to asthma attacks, chest infections, coughs, colds and hospital admission

Stopping smoking will have immediate benefits. Contact the local NHS Stop Smoking Service for support on 0116 295 4141.

 To calculate your due date, click here

 From conception to birth- To view how a baby develops at every stage in a pregnancy click here

 To download an interactive pregnancy desktop application which allows you to follow your pregnancy week by week click here

 To download a complete guide to a healthy pregnancy, labour and childbirth and the first weeks with your baby, click here

 Questions that you could ask your midwife or GP

 Pregnancy advice for dads

 If you are still at school and think you may be pregnant, click here

 Travelling during pregnancy

 To complete a Healthy eating self-assessment, click here