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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To refuse this.

114 replies

Stripedtights · 02/08/2018 10:27

I have my 12 week scan today and at my booking appointment I had a carbon monoxide test at my booking appointment which was all fine think my reading came back at around 2 or 3 which the midwife explained would be down to environmental factors, fair enough I thought. Midwife then went on to tell me that they do this again at the 12 week scan. I didn't like how I told her I'm a non smoker yet still still made me do the test like I was some sort of teenager telling lies I never had to go through this when pregnant with Dd.

What makes me angry is when I was last in having my dd I saw quite a few ladies in because their babies had been born early addicted to drugs or wirh fetal alcohol syndrome.

I've got nothing to hide with regards to the cm test I haven't touched a ciggarette since I was 16 and I thought it was big and clever but the idea of being forced to test is making me quite cross. Wibu to refuse the test I was under the impression this test was mandatory I could be wrong though but I feel like asking why the hell aren't they testing for drugs and alcohol? Yes smoking whether you're pregnant or not is a very bad choice for your health but I happen to think drugs and alcohol are far worse I just think if they are going to shame women who smoke they should be doing the same wirh the other 2 categories.

Basically if I smoke a ciggarette before i go in il get a telling off but if I sniff a line of coke nobody will know. How the hell is that right? (Obviously I wouldn't do either of these things)

What the hell is it with healthcare professional's not believing their paitents?

OP posts:
Ifeelshit · 02/08/2018 11:05

Some areas do it on everyone as standard, other not at all and others only on those who have smoked in the year before pregnancy.

You can refuse. As a non-smoker I would.

oohyoudevilyou · 02/08/2018 11:06

I'd agree to it: A CM test is non-invasive, won't present you with any difficult dilemmas or decisions, and the result can be used for statistical information which could potentially benefit other pregnant women. It's completely different to being offered a CVS or amnio test.

RatherBeRiding · 02/08/2018 11:09

Nothing is compulsory. You have every right to refuse any and all testing if you wish to. However, the results of tests might be useful and informative so really is it entirely up to you what, if any, testing you wish to agree to.

ThisCannotBe · 02/08/2018 11:11

Well my CM test came back pretty high and I am a non-smoker.

No-one looked at me like I was a liar; we put it down to a recent train journey but it was monitored and I had an extra scan or two.

Bizarre to refuse something that is completely non-invasive and may alert you to a potential problem in your home or surroundings that could adversely effect your baby's health.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 02/08/2018 11:19

I’m not aware I ever had a CM test with my pregnancies but certainly would have been bothered by it. Smoking isn’t the only way you can get CM in your bloodstream.

I did, however, refuse the HIV test with my first pregnancy. A) I’ve only ever had sex with DH and he with me and B) I worked dealing with life assurance at the time and back then if you said you’d had an HIV test it counted towards your “risk factor” and I knew I’d be applying for more cover once baby was born and didn’t fancy the increased premium (ridiculous but that’s how it was at the time). Midwife was fine with my reasons.

Cervixen · 02/08/2018 11:19

A result of 2-3 on a CO test is totally normal, and like your midwife told you, usually down to environmental factors - I would never expect anyone to have a reading of 0. I also explain at booking that everyone is tested because there are a number of other reasons someone might have a high CO reading, apart from smoking. In fact, I offer the test first, before even asking if someone smokes.

It’s policy in some trusts to check CO levels at every antenatal contact - because raised CO levels in the body can affect how an unborn baby develops, as can alcohol and substance misuse. It’s not because you’re not believed.

Also, in my trust at least, routine drug testing isn't done - and drug testing wouldn’t usually be done by blood sample.

LoniceraJaponica · 02/08/2018 11:21

Why are you so defensive, and why do you think the CO test is just about smoking?

Why don't you read the responses about other reasons why your CO levels could be raised instead of just focussing on smoking?

Assuming you are in the UK you receive free ante natal healthcare. Why would you refuse all these tests that ensure the health of your unborn baby?

If you give the HCP the defensive attitude you have shown on here it is hardly surprising that she/he might be a little exasperated with you. I never have this problem with HCPs because I am nice to them. They are only doing their job.

Astrid2 · 02/08/2018 11:22

They don't test for everything because the NHS simply can't afford it.

Women taking heroin in pregnancy are a huge minority compared to those exposed to Carbon Monoxide. Which is every single pregnant woman.

IKnowItsTIMHONKSTIMHONKS · 02/08/2018 11:22

I don't understand why it's such a problem to you. They're not accusing you of anything and all you have to do is blow into a tube...piece of piss and over really quickly.

RideOn · 02/08/2018 11:36

I think they are just putting the babies wellbeing first.

LOTS of people lie to health professionals. All the time, partly guilt/no intention of changing/ not wanting to be told it is wrong.

Alcohol leaves blood stream and tends to be something addicts don't do all day everyday (obviously some do) but my experience is that they attend appointments sober but drink other times. The GP asks about alcohol and sends info if any evidence or knowledge of alcohol or drug addiction if referring for antenatal care. At the first and second appointments they asked me about alcohol. They gave me a leaflet about it, even though I didn't drink in any of my pregnancies.

Personally I'd have any drug/alcohol/ smoking test if it helped identify women who need to change lifestyle in pregnancy.

tenbob · 02/08/2018 11:44

I really can't follow your logic, OP

"Antenatal tests don't cover ever single harmful thing therefore I'm not going to get a test for some harmful things" Confused

Smoking is FAR more risky to a developing baby than alcohol. There is stacks of medical evidence to prove this

And I imagine the number of babies born to heroin-addicted mothers who aren't already known to the authorities is vanishingly tiny and doesn't warrant a national screening programme

You come across as quite angry about this - is there a back story to this?

OrangeMarshmellows · 02/08/2018 11:50

I also don't understand the issue?
I had it done at booking - it was 0 - didn't have it done at 12 week scan though.
To be honest if you have nothing to hide I don't see why you wouldn't consent to any test the offer - they are literally ONLY doing this for the wellbeing of your baby.
I think considering you are a non-smoker, the offence you have taken is really strange.

ShumpaLumpa · 02/08/2018 11:55

Do shut up with whinging about your FREE ante-natal care OP ensuring the health of YOUR baby.

Go private if you're so bothered.

GahWhatever · 02/08/2018 12:00

Foetuses take up Carbon monoxide preferentially to the mother. So if your blood level is slightly elevated it may mean the foetus is significantly elevated. It is just a check for foetal wellbeing. Please don't take it personally. It isn't just about smoking. You could be living in a home with constant low/intermediate level of CM which will not noticeably affect you but could be affecting your baby.

spudlet7 · 02/08/2018 12:16

They're not doing it to catch you out - what would be the point? They couldn't prove you were a smoker and couldn't do anything about it if you were. They're doing it to ensure there are no health problems/issues in the home that they/you need to be aware of. I imagine you can refuse if you like but I can't see why you'd bother.

Original poster
Stripedtights · 02/08/2018 12:28

As I've already said I think it does have to do with the way it's presented some places may be better then this. Regardless of whether its free ante natal care or not you shouldn't have to leave your appointments feeling badly especially if you have done nothing wrong. The way it was said to me was basically yeah you've had a negative reading for cigarettes this time but we will be going this test again and as I've already said the midwife I had seemed genuinely irratated that I had tested negative for that I think she had made her mind up about me when i walked in and was annoyed she had got it wrong I was just quite shocked as I was not treated or spoken to that way at all when I was pregnant with Dd. I was asked if I smoked like every person is and i said no the midwife was quite satisfied with that my baby was born at nearly 9lb so again having a good birth weight is a pretty good indication that I do not smoke I just dont appricate being made to feel like a school child also I want to make it clear the midwife said she was testing for ciggarette smoke there was no mention of other scenarios such as boiler issues. It was just a pretty shitty way to do things i thought.

OP posts:
Bambamber · 02/08/2018 12:31

Drugs most certainly aren't tested as part of routine antenatal bloods. Blood tests can be done but it's not done as antenatal screening.

I see where you are coming from OP, smoking isn't the only harmful thing out there and you are obviously upset by previous experience seeing addicted newborn. Sadly lots of people do lie, probably because they worry they will be judged rather than supported. But it really isn't just about smoking and just because they don't test for everything harmful it doesn't mean they shouldn't do this test

OhDearMavis · 02/08/2018 12:35

You aren't screened for drugs in pregnancy.
And (pedant alert) it's CO. NOT CO2. CO is a dangerous gas that binds to heamoglobin instead of oxygen, that's how it kills you.
CO2 is the normal product of human metabolism and is what you excrete with every breath. It is normal to have some CO2 in blood.
That said I do think the OP is being a bit precious....

Pengggwn · 02/08/2018 12:45

Just say you don't want the test. It really isn't 'compulsory' at all.

SpottingTheZebras · 02/08/2018 12:46

You sound very difficult, OP.

ThisCannotBe · 02/08/2018 12:48

You sound like the drama llama I used to know who ranted on FB about how pissed off she was that her HV had the audacity to tell her she would be popping by on X day at X time, you know, like they do with absolutely every newborn in the UK.

You said in your OP that the midwife already told you it was likely due to environmental factors so why have you got a bee in your bonnet that she thinks you're a secret smoker? She doesn't. She wants to re-test you at your next scan to double check that the reading has dropped and there is nothing negatively affecting the health of your baby.

MrsSnootyPants2018 · 02/08/2018 12:50

They do it because there are harmful toxins in the air. It's not just about if you smoke or not. If you've got nothing to hide just get on do it.

Pengggwn · 02/08/2018 12:52

People have really piled on here. I would find I think very patronising too, for someone to insist I was tested for something I have clearly told them I don't do (we all know the test is for smoking, otherwise there would be no pressure for people to take it - it would just be one more totally neutral offer of a test).

I don't smoke. I wouldn't take any test to prove it.

naichick · 02/08/2018 12:56

@ohdear THANK YOU my inner pedant was getting very annoyed 😂

mostdays · 02/08/2018 12:57

You can decline it. I declined an OGTT when pregnant with ds3. I wasn't in any of the risk groups and the midwife wanted me to have it because my BMI at the booking appointment had been close to putting me in a risk group, which for me wasn't a good enough reason at all. There wasn't an issue.