Antenatal care
Revise booking, routine screening, scan timing, risk assessment, folic acid, vitamin D, prescribing safety and when primary care should escalate symptoms in pregnancy.
MRCGP AKT maternity and reproductive health revision
Maternity questions test whether you can apply ordinary primary-care judgement safely in pregnancy: recognise escalation thresholds, avoid unsafe prescribing and handle postnatal symptoms without missing serious disease.
Quick answer
For AKT maternity and reproductive health revision, prioritise antenatal care, early pregnancy pain or bleeding, ectopic pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, postnatal bleeding, mastitis, postnatal mental health and contraception after pregnancy.
What to revise first
Early pregnancy problems
Know the approach to pain or bleeding in early pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy clues, miscarriage pathways, rhesus status themes and urgent assessment thresholds.
Hypertension and pre-eclampsia
Focus on blood-pressure thresholds, proteinuria, headache, visual symptoms, epigastric pain, reduced fetal movements and same-day maternity assessment triggers.
Gestational diabetes
Cover risk-factor screening, OGTT timing, previous gestational diabetes, BMI, family history, higher-risk ethnicity and postnatal follow-up after pregnancy.
Postnatal care
Revise the first 8 weeks after birth, secondary postpartum haemorrhage, mastitis, perineal pain, postnatal depression and red flags in mother or baby.
Contraception after pregnancy
Link postpartum timing, breastfeeding, VTE risk, UKMEC safety categories, emergency contraception and when long-acting reversible contraception is safest.
Red flags to recognise quickly
- Early pregnancy pain, shoulder-tip pain, syncope, collapse, heavy bleeding or suspected ectopic pregnancy
- Headache, visual symptoms, epigastric pain, vomiting, hypertension, proteinuria or suspected pre-eclampsia
- Reduced fetal movements, severe abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding later in pregnancy or ruptured membranes
- Fever, rigors, worsening abdominal pain, offensive lochia, heavy postnatal bleeding or suspected sepsis
- Mastitis with systemic symptoms, breast abscess suspicion or symptoms not improving with appropriate treatment
- Postnatal psychosis, suicidal thoughts, thoughts of harming the baby or rapidly deteriorating mental state
Why maternity questions catch candidates out
The trap is treating pregnancy as a normal version of the same presentation. AKT stems often ask what changes because the patient is pregnant or recently postnatal: medication safety, threshold for same-day assessment, safeguarding, VTE risk, mental-health urgency and who needs maternity-unit input.
AKT maternity and reproductive health FAQ
Is maternity and reproductive health high yield for the MRCGP AKT?
Yes. Maternity and reproductive health is a named RCGP curriculum topic. AKT questions can test antenatal screening, prescribing in pregnancy, early pregnancy bleeding, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, postnatal care and contraception safety.
What maternity topics should I revise for the AKT?
Prioritise antenatal care, early pregnancy pain or bleeding, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia symptoms, gestational diabetes risk factors, postnatal bleeding, mastitis, postnatal mental health and contraception after pregnancy.
How does early pregnancy bleeding come up in AKT questions?
Early pregnancy bleeding questions often test whether you recognise ectopic pregnancy risk, assess pain and haemodynamic stability, arrange urgent early-pregnancy assessment, and avoid falsely reassuring from bleeding pattern alone.
What postnatal red flags are high yield for the AKT?
Know heavy or worsening bleeding, fever, offensive lochia, severe pain, sepsis symptoms, mastitis with systemic illness, suspected breast abscess, postnatal psychosis and suicidal or intrusive harm thoughts.
Official sources
This is revision guidance, not official RCGP advice. Check current RCGP, NICE, UKMEC, local maternity pathways and BNF guidance for clinical decisions. Last reviewed June 2026.
October sitting
Oct 26
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days
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