Fetal medicine

Most pregnancies will only require care from a midwife and sometimes an obstetrician.  Very occasionally we may identify a concern with your baby’s growth or development that requires input from a specialist fetal medicine consultant.

At Hereford County Hospital we do not have this facility on site. It is therefore, at times, necessary to refer you to another hospital.  In most cases this will be to Worcester Royal Hospital, but occasionally can be to Birmingham Women’s Hospital.

The referral will be explained and completed by one of the antenatal screening midwives and is sent via email to the appropriate hospital with your consent.  The fetal medicine midwife from Worcester or Birmingham will contact you by phone and offer you an appointment usually within about five working days depending on the reason for referral.

On attending the appointment the fetal medicine specialist will complete their own scan to confirm our initial findings.  They will fully explain the findings of this scan and may, if appropriate, offer you further testing.  This can be in the form of blood tests, further scans or genetic testing like amniocentesis.  If further testing is offered it will be explained fully.

Further tests are only offered when it is thought to be in the best interests of you and your baby, they are optional, and will only be performed with your consent once you fully understand any risks and benefits attached.

Once your fetal medicine consultation is complete they will produce a written report and recommend a plan of care for the remainder of the pregnancy.  This could be shared care with Hereford and the fetal medicine unit, all care referred back to Hereford or, very occasionally, care may be transferred to the fetal medicine unit in full.  In all cases you should continue to receive routine antenatal care from you community midwife.

Being referred for a specialist opinion can be worrying and stressful, but most babies will continue to grow, develop and be born healthy despite needing this referral in pregnancy.  Some babies will need extra care and support and a fetal medicine referral can help to ensure that support is in place when babies are born.  Anybody being referred to a fetal medicine unit will have direct access to the antenatal screening midwives for the remainder of their pregnancy for further support and information.