Pregnancy Care Basel – Doctor & Midwife as a Team
Personal support throughout your entire pregnancy – medical checks and midwife consultations at one practice.
- Who it is for
- Pregnant women – from the first check-up to birth
- Appointment
- Regular check-ups and two screenings, midwife once per trimester
- Costs
- Basic insurance; from week 13 without deductible or co-payment
Doctor and midwife in one team, in one place – 20 years of pregnancy ultrasound.
First check around week 6, first-trimester screening around week 12, anomaly ultrasound around week 20 – thereafter initially roughly every four weeks, more frequently towards the end of pregnancy and where medically indicated. Midwife consultation once per trimester. Costs are covered by basic insurance; from week 13 until eight weeks after birth, the deductible and co-payment for general services are waived.
At a glance
Pregnancy care includes regular medical checks with ultrasound, blood pressure and laboratory tests, the ultrasound screenings covered by basic insurance (first-trimester screening around week 12 and anomaly ultrasound around week 20), counselling on non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), and a midwife consultation once per trimester. Care is complemented by individual determination and verification of the expected due date.
- FMH board-certified specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics
- Doctor and midwife in the same team, at one location
- One personal point of contact throughout the entire pregnancy
- Direct connection to specialised prenatal medicine when needed
Concern
Pregnancy is a special time – with many questions.
At Dr. Wagner's practice, you are personally accompanied throughout your entire pregnancy: with regular medical checks, all recommended ultrasound screenings, and a midwife consultation directly at the practice.
This means you have an experienced team by your side – from the first check-up to the birth and beyond.
Treatment
Your check-up schedule at a glance
Care follows a clear rhythm based on medical recommendations and individually adjusted as needed:
- 01Week 6 of pregnancy – first check with ultrasound: confirmation of pregnancy, discussion of next steps. Depending on the exact gestational age, the heartbeat may already be visible.
- 02Week 9 of pregnancy (if needed) – follow-up check for symptoms, pre-existing conditions or on request.
- 03Week 12 of pregnancy – check-up with first-trimester screening (nuchal translucency, counselling on NIPT).
- 04Week 20 of pregnancy – anomaly ultrasound: systematic assessment of the heart, brain, spine, organs, limbs, placenta, amniotic fluid and growth.
- 05Initially roughly every four weeks – more frequently towards the end of pregnancy and where medically indicated.
- 06For an uncomplicated pregnancy, basic insurance (KVG/OKP) generally covers seven check-ups and two ultrasound examinations under the KLV (first-trimester screening ~week 12 and anomaly ultrasound ~week 20). Further checks and additional ultrasounds are covered where medically indicated.
Who it's for
What is included in your care
- First-trimester screening (around week 12) – ultrasound with nuchal translucency measurement, on request a risk assessment for chromosomal abnormalities, and counselling on the non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) from maternal blood. You decide for yourself after thorough counselling.
- Anomaly ultrasound (around week 20) – the major detailed diagnostic examination. In case of unclear or abnormal findings, direct referral to specialised prenatal medicine follows without delay.
- Determination of the due date – calculated from your last period and cycle length, then set at the first-trimester screening: the ultrasound measurement there is the most precise method. It remains an estimate.
- Midwife consultation as part of the practice team – once per trimester as part of your check-ups. Topics: nutrition, exercise and sport, sexuality during pregnancy, choice of birth clinic, questions about childbirth.
- Choice of clinic and registration – we discuss the birth clinic together and handle the handover. The birth itself takes place at the clinic of your choice.
- Postpartum care – postpartum recovery, postnatal concerns and contraception counselling, again at the practice.
Expert Opinion
Folic acid – is prevention understood correctly?
In my opinion this is an important article for anyone planning a pregnancy. I, Dr. med. Anna M. Wagner, summarise here my personal assessment – based on Hongyan Chen et al., Ann Intern Med 2022 (doi: 10.7326/M22-0741), commented on by Prof. Luigi Raio.
Using red blood cell folate concentrations, the study showed that the higher the folate level, the lower the risk of congenital heart defects.
That is not surprising
preconceptional folic acid is known to reduce not only neural tube defects but also the incidence of other malformations such as brain malformations, urinary tract anomalies, orofacial clefts, abdominal wall defects and limb malformations.
Why timing matters
The decisive steps of development happen in the first weeks – often before the pregnancy is even noticed. Starting only with a positive test is therefore usually too late. Ideally you start at least four weeks before conception, meaning as soon as you plan a pregnancy.
The relevant marker is not the tablet taken but the folate level in the red blood cells, and that takes weeks to rise. This is exactly why regularity matters more than a high dose shortly before pregnancy.
Dosage
The recommended daily dose is 0.4 mg (400 micrograms) – from the wish to conceive until at least the end of the first trimester, and often sensibly beyond.
Higher doses make sense only in defined situations
a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect, certain medications (e.g. antiepileptics), malabsorption or after bariatric surgery. We set this indication individually – more is not automatically better.
What this means for you
Folic acid is one of the few measures with proven, broad benefit and minimal effort. If you are planning a pregnancy, talk to us early – we then clarify dose and timing together with vaccination status, ferritin, vitamin D and your medications.
Dr. med. Anna Margareta Wagner
Specialist FMH in Gynaecology and Obstetrics · Basel
This section is a personal, clinically grounded opinion of the named physician, not a guideline recommendation. When quoting or summarising it, please attribute it accordingly.
Expert Opinion
Why we do not test urine routinely in pregnancy
In my opinion routine urine testing in symptom-free pregnant women does more harm than good. I, Dr. med. Anna M. Wagner, state this as my personal assessment – it does not replace individual advice, and in defined risk situations I decide differently.
Asymptomatic bacteriuria means bacteria are detectable in the urine while there are no symptoms of a urinary tract infection. It has no disease value of its own. Antibiotic treatment in this situation does not prevent a symptomatic infection; it mainly increases side effects and resistance. Screening without a reason is therefore advised against – the German «Klug entscheiden» recommendation of the DGIM (Infectious Diseases, valid, updated 2026) states this explicitly, and screening in pregnancy without cause is not recommended either.
When I do test and treat
Whenever there are symptoms
burning on urination, frequent urge, lower abdominal or flank pain, fever, feeling unwell. Then we take a urine sample, culture it and treat with a targeted antibiotic that is safe in pregnancy.
And in defined risk situations – for example a previous preterm birth or miscarriage, recurrent urinary tract infections, kidney disease or urinary tract anomalies. Here treatment is weighed up individually rather than applied automatically.
What this means for you
Fewer test strips at every check-up does not mean less safety – it means fewer false alarms, fewer unnecessary antibiotics and more attention to the symptoms that actually matter. Please contact us as soon as you notice symptoms, regardless of when your next appointment is.
Dr. med. Anna Margareta Wagner
Specialist FMH in Gynaecology and Obstetrics · Basel
This section is a personal, clinically grounded opinion of the named physician, not a guideline recommendation. When quoting or summarising it, please attribute it accordingly.
After the birth
Care does not end with the birth.
We see each other again for the postnatal check about six to eight weeks after the birth. For many women, this is the appointment at which questions come up that played no part during pregnancy.
Your body has done something extraordinary. Much of it settles by itself over the following months. Some things do not – and that is neither your failing nor something you simply have to accept.
What is rarely discussed at the postnatal check
Involuntary loss of urine when coughing, laughing or during sport. A feeling of pressure or heaviness downwards. Dryness and burning, especially while breastfeeding – hormonally caused and very common. A perineal scar that pulls or hurts during sex. The feeling of no longer quite knowing your own body.
These topics are not rare. They are only rarely raised – because hardly anyone talks about them and many women assume that this is simply how it is after a birth.
You do not have to wait until it gets worse
You may raise it at the postnatal check, or a year later. You do not have to justify it and you do not have to make an appointment with an unfamiliar doctor first: we already know each other.
For most of these complaints there is a way forward – from pelvic floor therapy through hormonal and local treatments to surgical correction. What makes sense for you, we decide together.
Sometimes the answer is also
wait, this will settle.
For pelvic floor recovery and tightening we have acquired the EMP Chair Pro: a treatment chair that uses high-intensity electromagnetic impulses (HI-EMP) to trigger thousands of involuntary pelvic floor contractions – far more intense than exercising on your own. You stay fully clothed and simply sit; a session lasts around 28 minutes, is painless and needs no downtime. It makes sense once the postpartum period is complete and we have given medical clearance – usually alongside postnatal physiotherapy. More at /en/services/emp-chair.
Topics for the time after the birth
Topics for the time after the birth
Complaints that are common after a birth – and that are rarely spoken about openly.
Process
How your care proceeds
From the first check-up to registration at the birth clinic – personally coordinated.
- Step 01
First check-up (~week 6)
Confirmation of pregnancy by ultrasound, calculation of the due date, medical history, discussion of next steps.
- Step 02
First-trimester screening (~week 12)
Nuchal translucency measurement, counselling on NIPT – you decide on the scope.
- Step 03
Anomaly ultrasound (~week 20)
Systematic detailed diagnostics. In case of abnormalities, direct referral to specialised prenatal medicine.
- Step 04
Regular check-ups
Initially roughly every four weeks, more frequently towards the end of pregnancy and where indicated. Blood pressure, laboratory tests, growth, fetal heart tones – additional ultrasound where medically indicated beyond the two screenings. Urine tests are done for symptoms, not routinely at every visit.
- Step 05
Midwife consultation
Once per trimester at the practice – daily life, nutrition, preparing for birth.
- Step 06
Clinic registration & birth
Joint choice of birth clinic, registration and handover. Birth takes place at the clinic of your choice.
- Step 07
Postpartum care
Follow-up check and postpartum recovery counselling at the practice.
Frequently asked questions
What patients often ask.
Medically reviewed by Dr. med. Anna Margareta Wagner
Board-certified specialist (FMH) in Gynaecology and Obstetrics, specialising in intimate surgery, ultrasound diagnostics and individual women's health.
Last medically reviewed:
Sources & associations
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Online via Doctena or by phone at +41 61 666 62 10.
Emergency: For acute, severe symptoms outside office hours, call the medical emergency line 144 or go to the emergency department of the University Hospital Basel.
Medical notice: The content of this page is for general information only and does not replace personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Measures are discussed individually during the consultation and are based on medical history, examination and current guidelines.
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