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Original poster

Overdue pregnant dont like my midwife

21 replies

monikagabi · 05/02/2021 00:12

Hi,m 40+3 pregnant,m fed up by now tbh,
I had phonecall from community midwife when i was about 18 weeks pregnant,she said she will be seeing me till end of pregnancy,i was like yeah ok.i have seen her 2x since then,she is either on leave or busy all the time.2 weeks ago i was on my 38 week check up(she wasnt there again) i was told to make apt at 40 weeks with her,when i send her a message about it she didnt answer and i had to call her last week to actualy get answer that she is again on leave this week and she will not be able to see me,but someone may give me a call on saturday to come to hospital and get checked...is this normal?never had that before...(have 3 kids already)m bit of a risk as i have bleeding disorder,should i complain about the midwife?

OP posts:

heyjude12 · 05/02/2021 00:35

What do you have to complain about. She is entitled to have leave. You can ask to see anyone else in the department if you have concerns. Stop trying to destroy someone's career

Original poster

monikagabi · 05/02/2021 00:50

Obviously u not read it?she is never there,n m not trying to destroy someones career.
If someone says ill be there for you,but doesnt answer the phone,constantly away,thats no good to me,what is the point of having her as midwife???

OP posts:

heyjude12 · 05/02/2021 00:53

I did read it. You don't know why she is off. If you go into labour or need check ups there will be an alternative midwife there. You sound like a petulant child

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zymummy · 05/02/2021 00:55

We all get told we have designated midwives but if I'm honest. I haven't heard of mine since the booking appointment... I wouldn't make a complain.. but if you are feeling frustrated with being overdue and sort of waiting with no appointments made, why don't you go in the triage and ask for reassurance of movement. I did that with my first born.. they told me they would induce me the next day!

(That's if you want things moving quickly)

Kroptopbelly · 05/02/2021 00:55

You are saying that you are thinking about complaining that your naked midwife takes leave?

As it happens, I have loads of leave to take as I have been unable to take it through the year due to pandemic, staff off sick with covid or isolating has meant low staffing levels so taking leave was not an option.

So if I were your midwife and you complained, I would be absolutely gutted and kicked in the teeth to be honest.

So no, don’t complain, have some understanding and look a bit further than the end of your nose. She isn’t avoiding you on purpose after all.

PeggyHill · 05/02/2021 00:55

Doesn't sound normal to me but I'm not I'm in the UK.

Can you ask for a different midwife?

Kroptopbelly · 05/02/2021 00:56

Naked midwife!!!! I have NO idea why my prediction text put that!!

Inkpaperstars · 05/02/2021 01:01

I don’t know really but I think any kind of continuity with midwives is incredibly rare right now, I am actually surprised you have seen the same one twice. I am high risk and have only had one face to face appt which was with someone I have never spoken to (before or since) and phone calls have all been different people. I technically have a ‘named’ midwife but that’s never met her. It’s not great, I agree. But it think it is a bit of a norm right now.

Kitkat151 · 05/02/2021 01:01

That’s the way the cookie crumbles....sometimes you see the same midwife every time....sometimes you have a different one nearly every time.... why would you complain?

PeggyHill · 05/02/2021 01:12

@Kroptopbelly

Naked midwife!!!! I have NO idea why my prediction text put that!!

Inkpaperstars · 05/02/2021 01:12

Continuity isn’t nothing, it can improve safety and outcomes, but I don’t think there is much going on anywhere especially right now so I don’t think the OP’s situation is unusual.

BritInAus · 05/02/2021 01:41

Surely if you want the same midwife every time you pay to go private? Otherwise, you get whoever is available. It's not as if nobody will be there if there's an issue / when you are in labour.

BoomBoomsCousin · 05/02/2021 06:25

I think it's reasonable to complain about the service by the department as a whole, though I wouldn't expect it to do much. It doesn't sound like you have grounds to complain about the individual midwife except that she should have had some form of process set up to let you know she was away when you called to make the 40 week appointment.

Mrbob · 05/02/2021 06:28

I don't think it is unreasonable to expect to have access to a midwife during pregnancy! Especially one that said she would be available. If she isn't available she should have contacted all her patients and advised them who would be covering or the person covering her should have made contact

SnuggyBuggy · 05/02/2021 06:34

Like most HCPs they aren't going to be sitting by the phone all day taking calls. That simply isn't a realistic expectation. Obviously like any other employee they are allowed to take leave too.

Do you have a more general number for booking appointments?

Perpetualheadache · 05/02/2021 06:48

She could be off for any number of reasons. Surely it can't be hard to think of some of them? What if she's ill? What if someone in her family is dying? But yes, poor you.

PurBal · 05/02/2021 06:58

I've never seen the same midwife twice. Not even sure who my designated midwife is. Don't think I've net her to be honest.

carnations23 · 05/02/2021 07:58

If you have a bleeding disorder have you not got a birth plan sorted with haematology ?

I've a bleeding disorder as well , not as far along as you but I'm monitored every 6 weeks and a plan will be put in place when I'm a bit further along.

trevthecat · 05/02/2021 08:02

With my first two it was the same midwife, with my 3rd I never saw the same midwife twice. And I had extra appointments due to issues! It's unfortunate but with pressures of the job, annual leave and now with covid it's just one of those things

Violetroselily · 05/02/2021 08:25

How many times were you expecting to see her you've seen her twice since 18 weeks - so your 28 and 34 week appointments maybe? How many has she actually "missed"

Flittingaboutagain · 05/02/2021 08:31

We're supposed to get designated midwives for a reason. It does impact on patient experience and safety, same as having a designated GP does too. I think it is reasonable to flag up that the team must be so stretched covering the work between them that they can't maintain continuity. Jan to March is the time when they'll also be trying to use it or lose it with leave so don't make it personal, make it about the service and wanting continuity.

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