The ANNB department is a specialized department that offers women and their family’s support through pregnancy and antenatal screening, and when a congenital or genetic condition might be suspected or diagnosed.
Support may be in terms of giving advice and/or counselling to aid decision making. It may be supporting women through diagnostic procedures for example amniocentesis, or signposting women and their families to other resources of advice and support. Often we make referrals to other hospitals that may specialize in specific conditions for further assessment.
We have obstetric consultants that have a special interest in fetal medicine that can offer prenatal diagnosis tests for example amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, along with specialist advice, further ultrasound assessment and diagnosis.
We have a well trained professionals in our departments such as ultrasound, genetics, paediatrics, community midwives and the specialist bereavement midwife.
The ANNB department is run by antenatal screening coordinators, whose role is to implement, oversee, and audit locally the National Screening Committees programmes in line with published working standards, along with providing education and training to all staff involved in the screening process.
We endeavour to provide support for women and their families through what can be a very stressful and traumatic time. Our aim is to make the process as smooth as possible, with choices and decisions made in line with women and their family’s values and beliefs. We are available to any woman who need professional antenatal advice or wishes to discuss her screening options and/or results, and can be used as a resource by women and staff who wish to learn and understand more about screening in pregnancy.
