to expect my midwife to explain my appointments?

[BigMama99]

I've had a letter in the post today following my blood tests last week for a Consultant led appointment at an ante-natal clinic. I have no idea if this is routine, why I have this appointment, what the appointment is for etc. It just came in the post. I literally just says 'please attend for an appointment with the consultant team at the ante-natal clinic'

It's for 20 days time exactly at which point I will be 17 weeks.

AIBU to be completely stressing regarding not knowing what this appointment is for? I've never had a baby before and am not going to sleep tonight as I'm so scared my blood tests have come back and this is what this appointment is in regards to. It seems like a lifetime to wait until tomorrow to call them.

Sorry if I seem a little neurotic however after three miscarriages I don't seem to be coping with pregnancy very well...

If you have a history of recurrent miscarriages, your notes will most likely have been submitted for consultant review, and the consultant who reviewed your notes has decided to see you in view of this- not all would want to see you. Your midwife may not have been notified of this by the consultant (certainly they wouldn't in the trusts I have worked in), and so therefore she maybe hasn't told you because she doesn't know. it's not necessarily that she's not doing her job correctly, though I absolutely agree ideally you should know why you've been sent an appointment. in some trusts community midwifery staff and hospital obstetric staff don't communicate as often as you'd think, so it's unlikely the consultant will have informed the midwife.

I really don't want to throw the midwife under the bus here because I know what it's like to work in a busy clinic, and sometimes you're so anxious about trying to keep your appointments to time and not keep women waiting that you let things slide. But unless the midwife is very new to the trust she should know the care pathways in place at that trust and flag up any deviations from routine care at the booking appointment, or as they arise. So at the first appointment, if she knows that 3 miscarriages triggers a consultant appointment (even one booked automatically by the system) then it would have been nice to mention that. Or whilst taking the bloods, talk through the implications of the results, e.g. "Any urgent concerns about the bloods, we'll call you; if something's borderline or just needs a review, we'll send a letter." I don't give perfect care by any means, but explaining what's going on should be a baseline, especially if you know it's the first time going through the maternity system.
OP, call them this morning if you're still feeling anxious - someone should be able to look up the reason for the appointment on the system for you. And next time you're in the hospital, get the admin staff (probably a better bet than the clinical staff) to set up your online access so you can see your notes from home.

Just spoke to the hospital. They said that something in my notes has triggered the system so I need to see a consultant. They couldn't tell me what. Might be my miscarriages, might be my abnormal smear test. Feeling a bit better but still a bit confused. If you are consultant led, can you still give birth in a midwife led unit? I really don't want to give birth in a hospital unless I have to..

If you are consultant led, can you still give birth in a midwife led unit? I really don't want to give birth in a hospital unless I have to..
Difficult to say. Different trusts will have different guidelines around recommended place of birth - but they are just that: guidelines and recommendations, not laws. It will also depend on why you're seeing the consultant, and what plan they put in place for you. So a woman whose consultant-led because she has cardiac problems and a pacemaker will receive different recommendations than one who's consultant-led because she's 42.
If your appointment is due to either your previous miscarriages or any issues with your cervix, their primary concerns will probably be around preterm birth (and don't worry, they can help you minimise the chance of that happening). If baby stays in until 37 weeks, prematurity is no longer an issue, so you should be treated the same as anyone who had been midwife-led from the start. If you were to labour before 37 weeks they would strongly recommend you give birth in the hospital so that the paediatricians are available to check baby over and give them any extra care they might need.