They showed up announced?!

They’re maybe concerned that the reason you’re also ill is because of GD and so quite concerned about finding out if you have it or not as can have serious implications for the baby too such as not being able to breathe on delivery. I’d try not to get too worked up about it all, just state to your midwife next time how you are being made to feel and she’ll probably explain why they appeared.

I'm type 2 diabetic, and have to use a particular brand of tester as it's like getting blood out of a stone otherwise.
https://www.accu-chek.co.uk/products/lancing/fastclix

Otherwise ring your GP surgery and ask them for single disposable hospital grade ones, they're vicious but work.

You are ill and failing to do what you need to do - not testing for GD that’s serious.
I hope you feel better soon OP but don’t moan because the midwives are looking after you because you aren’t .

Pregnant women have the right to refuse medical care as long as they have capacity. I think you are making up the law.

But the op has never refused care.

This is nothing like that tragic case which I suspect was a lot more complicated and probably involved failures of multiple services somewhere along the way.

If I'd just woken up to an unannounced visit I wouldn't have known if I was coming or going?

I wouldn't be surprised if you get a social services referral from them.

It's a safeguarding concern missing appointments for the welfare of both baby and mum. Their tact wasn't professional but definitely they've referred you

My sister was horribly patronised by midwives about her gestational diabetes and taking antidepressants. She's a nurse! Who had discussed it all very throughly with her doctors. But that wasn't good enough for those bullies.
Some health professionals are appalling - a friend of mine saw four members of staff surround a frail elderly patient and threaten her with being charged for her hospital bed if she didn't sod off and free up the space. The poor woman needed home care to be arranged before she could leave. The hospital issued a half-hearted apology but you wonder how many other vulnerable patients have been threatened and harassed - these people clearly felt entitled to behave in such a disgraceful manner

Forgot to mention, in this weather, warm your hands up with warm water and make sure you drink plenty before trying to test. Then stand up and make sure your hand is hanging down by your side to get the blood flowing before pricking it.

YABU. You are not coming over well on your later posts either.

The midwives are doing their job and it sounds like they were met with hostility (you said you wouldn't have let them in if you had a choice) so probably not surprising they were defensive and demanding.

You are making poor excuses for not doing the GD finger-pricking - it's not exactly difficult, even if you are sick and in bed. Anyone can collect the lancets for you or just order online for next day delivery.

The baby's health needs to be taken seriously and if you are sick, then even more reason for them to check on you. Most people would be grateful that medical professionals are going out of their way to check up on sick people.

I have only skimmed, so apologies if someone else has suggested this, @Snowedon - but did you know that deacon will send you a free, wearable glucose monitor to try out? I use them for type 2 diabetes, and they are really easy to apply and to use - you get the readings to an app on your phone. Freestyle Libre do the same thing. The deacon sensors last 10 days, and the Freestyke Libre ones last a week, so you could get 17 days of blood sugar monitoring for free.

You’re under 4 different teams? It sounds like they had a genuine concern for your wellbeing and, though you have reasons, you haven’t been testing for GD. If you’ve been ill for weeks I’d have thought you’d be glad that someone had come to check on you and your baby.

The OP refers to 'free will and rights' which implies all the rights are on her side. She does not mention the responsibilities that come with rights. Personal responsibilities are important. a person has the right to refuse medical care unless they are pregnant and more than 24 weeks and the baby is healthy. The midwives were acting responsibly in trying to ensure that the OP takes care of herself and her baby.
Do you remember the frantic search for Constance Marten when she went missing heavily pregnant. Now I hope that the OP is nothing like Constance, I am sure she is not. But that particular case is a reason why Health Authorities believe it is their responsibility to check on the welfare of pregnant mothers.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/28/missing-couple-constance-marten-and-mark-gordon-arrested-search-for-baby-continues

Thank you

@RawBloomers

But seeing as GD can (potentially and rarely) have serious, including fatal, consequences for a pregnant woman or her baby, banging on about free choice rather than taking personal responsibility for her own health and her baby's does seem like a pretty bizarre outlook to have. Perhaps the midwives spoke bluntly about the risks and it did come across as rude. But at least they have given the OP the information to make an informed choice.

OP referred to “free will” and “rights”, not “free rights”. That’s what she has as an adult in a free society. She does not have any responsibility to herself to look after herself that she doesn’t place on herself - it is entirely up to her whether she does so or not and she reaps the consequences of her decision. That is what free will is about. She gets to set her own standard for how well she looks after herself. The extent she’s prepared to put up with inconveniences, pain, or other negative consequences of acting in order to off set risk. That is all her choice. Not yours and not the NHS’s.

Having a family, she may have to live with upsetting her partner (or not) if her choices are out of whack with his values. But that’s something for her to negotiate with him and any fall out a consequence she has to live with. It’s not your choice and it’s not the NHS’s.

YABU.

Your pregnancy needs more monitoring now that you've developed GD. You missed an appointment and weren't checking your sugar so your GD is unmonitored.

If you're so unwell you can't go get lancets or have someone else get them, that's a problem.

So you have multiple problems going on. This is a good thing they checked.

If OP wants advice on her GD there are far more supportive places to post for that

OP posted about these midwives’ attitude. Is there a reason you’re going on about her GD rather than sticking to the subject? It’s telling that even though she’s had two midwives at her home, you think there will be lots of stuff you can tell her to do (in a pretty condescending way, in part) that they must not have. Yet you have nothing to say about the support she received from them.

Absolutely this.
Put in a complaint OP.
Put a red mark by their name by email a formal complaint.
It might make them think twice next time.
Maybe it wont.
But I find putting pen to paper via emailing a complaints system satisfying.
Then forget about it.
Tell those youblive with never to allow anyone into the house before gaining your permission.

@Snowedon
These 'free rights' you refer to, what about the assumed responsibilities? Responsibilities like doing the regular blood tests you were asked to do. You sound only interested in being given endless 'free rights'. Being an adult means taking responsibility for medical issues.
It's like school children banging on about their rights and forgetting about their responsibilities to themselves and others.