To find out how NHS Number is used in practice Jas, a member of the NHS Number team at NHS Connecting for Health, has agreed to let us follow her through her pregnancy to see how her (and her baby's) NHS Number is used.

This page will be updated regularly as Jas goes through the various stages of her pregnancy and Julie Tindale, the National Clinical Lead for Midwifery at NHS Connecting for Health will provide her comments on Jas's experiences.

For more information on the NHS Number and babies download a copy of the NHS Number and babies leaflet (PDF, 1.3Mb).

Read Jas's diary entries

• 8 April 2009: Jas visits her GP
• Early April 2009: birth weight and health visitor visit
• 31 March 2009: Jas has Nihal's birth registered
• 24 March 2009: Jas's routine midwife visit
• 19 March 2009: baby Nihal arrives
• February 2009: the 29 week ante-natal visit

Meet Jas

Jas, NHS Number

Hi I'm Jas and I work for NHS Connecting for Health on the NHS Number programme. I am currently pregnant with my second child.

I already have a son who is just over three years old and when I was pregnant with him I must admit that I was completely unaware of the NHS Number and how it is used within the NHS.

I had no idea that my NHS Number was unique to me and that my son was also allocated an NHS Number when he was born and that this would be his number from birth for the rest of this life.

I agreed to write this diary as I wanted to find out how my own NHS Number is used during my pregnancy and how my baby will be allocated an NHS Number after he or she is born.

Hopefully other mums-to-be will read this diary and realise the advantages of using their NHS Number and how important it is.

Meet Julie

Julie Tindale

I'm Julie Tindale and I am the National Clinical Lead for Midwifery for NHS Connecting for Health and the Clinical Lead representing the NHS Number programme.

I have been a registered Nurse since qualifying as a Midwife in 1980 and have practiced in a variety of settings in hospitals and the community. I was commissioned as a Nursing Officer in Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service and have also worked in Germany as a Community Midwife for the Soldiers Sailors Airman's Families Assoication.

I worked for three years in Saudi Arabia as a Midwife for the National Guard. Most recently, I have worked in Birmingham for the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.

I believe the NHS Number is a tool that should be universally adopted and actively used in health care settings. This will mean that as a unique patient identifier the NHS Number, which is issued to newborn babies will link their health care information throughout their life.

Better and safer care will result from the ability to connect information to any care, screening or monitoring across organisational boundaries.