First antenatal visit and screening choices
AMC Clinical practice station
Counselling & explanation · 2 min to read · 8 min to perform
Take a brief relevant history.
Grace LimHi doctor. I'm eleven weeks and everyone keeps telling me different things about tests. I really don't know what to do.
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Open the full station (charts, voice, result letter) →The task
You are a general practitioner. Grace Lim, aged 33, is 11 weeks pregnant with her first baby, confirmed by an ultrasound done elsewhere. This is her first antenatal visit with you. She is alone. Take a brief relevant history. Then discuss the screening tests for chromosomal conditions that are available in early pregnancy, so she can decide what she wants, and give her the key advice for a healthy pregnancy and the next steps in her care. The examiner will not take part in the conversation.
What this station tests
- Screening gives a chance, not a diagnosis; make this distinction early and use plain language.
- Keep counselling non-directive: your job is to inform the choice, not make it.
- A high chance result is not a diagnosis. Explain which tests carry a miscarriage risk and which do not.
- Cover the basics of a healthy pregnancy: folate, alcohol, smoking, listeria, vaccines and mood.
- Ask about safety at home at the first antenatal visit.
Sources for the clinical content
- RANZCOG: Screening and diagnosis of fetal structural anomalies and chromosomal conditions (C-Obs 35)
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby: Nuchal translucency scan
- Australian Immunisation Handbook: Vaccination for women who are planning pregnancy, pregnant or breastfeeding
- NHMRC: Iodine supplementation for pregnant and breastfeeding women
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Pregnancy and healthy eating
An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.