To refuse this.

[Stripedtights]

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?

I think you should grow up sweetie

Prepared to be flamed, but I'm with the OP here. I don't buy the idea that it's in case you have a leaky boiler. Surely most people now have CM detectors in their homes, so they could double-check that you have. They could even offer one free if pregnant women (or even all parents) don't have one at home, if it's such a health risk - or at least send the HV with one.

Everybody knows that this is really to catch you out if you're a smoker and lying about it. As the OP says, what non-smoker is going to suddenly BEGIN smoking when she finds out that she's pregnant?

They should have posters and leaflets very prominently in the waiting area (as they already usually do anyway). By all means, they can ask you if you smoke and then, when you say no, follow it up with a quick "That's excellent to hear - we always have to just ask because some mums-to-be don't realise the harm that it does to the baby or they do smoke and think we'll be cross with them when our only concern would be to offer practical help in stopping."

No, you don't have to accept the test, but then that goes down in your notes and we all know what likely conclusions they'll automatically draw from that.

To all PPs who are asking what the OP's problem is, can I ask you all to post in this thread all details of your family income and outgoings, to the last penny. Of course, you'll need to prove it by uploading all payslips, bills and receipts. Naturally, you're perfectly at liberty to decline this request, but I'll make a record of that if you do, because what possible reason could you have for doing so unless you're committing tax or benefit fraud........?

I did say I wasn't believed very early on in the thread I also said she was pretty dissapointed that I tested negative for smoking if that isn't snotty behaviour what is. I was asked the question I told the truth I did the test proved myself not that I needed to and it still wasn't good enough. That's being snotty.

if it's such a health risk

Of course, it IS unquestionably a big health risk and very important to monitor. I meant if it's such a common occurrence that they discover pregnant women are suffering from CM inhalation. Anyway, if that's their true concern, why wouldn't they test the dad as well, if he's going to be living in the same house as the baby at any time?

I’ve just had an assessment for a hip replacement and had to do it. I gave up smoking in 1978

I did say I wasn't believed very early on in the thread I also said she was pretty dissapointed that I tested negative for smoking if that isn't snotty behaviour what is.

Why wouldn't she believe that you did have a working CM monitor at home when you confirmed that you did, if THAT is their main reason for asking....?

They can say what they like, but we all know what they're driving at - and to be apparently HOPING to find a pregnant woman who is putting her baby at risk rather than being glad to learn that she isn't?

Does she have a part-time job as a police traffic officer? If so, is she one of those who routinely stops black or Asian people when she has very good reason to suspect them of driving-whilst-non-white, and then being angry when she finds the vast majority are perfectly normal, law-abiding citizens going about their day in exactly the same proportions as white people?

Keep this kind of stress up op and you'll need a blood pressure test not Co monitong!!
As everyone has said just refuse it

I think you should grow up sweetie

EXACTLY proving the OP's point that pregnant women are so often infantilised and assumed not to know their own minds....

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Precisely what I thought. The diminutive "sweetie" - urgh. Deciding one does not want or need a specific medical intervention doesn't make you a child. It's an individual choice, like all healthcare.

It isn’t compulsory if you don’t want to do it they can’t make you. It isn’t anything to get worked up about though. Weirdly they only did it in my second pregnancy, when I had my third they didn’t do it anymore.

They do not test for drugs in the blood. They would have to inform you of this and they don’t therefore it doesn’t happen. They rest for diseases such as HIV and syphilis as well as your iron but not whether you’ve been sniffing coke or not .

I had a reading of 5 in my pregnancy last year despite not smoking for about 13 years and never being around smokers, I don’t actually know anyone who smokes... I have a CO monitor in my house too which has never alarmed me to anything plus gas check was up to date. All I could think was the fact I work in a busy city centre filled with pollution and also that I walk past smokers to get in and out of work every day. I explained all of this but was still sent smoking cessation leaflets in the post . Really pissed me off.

Er, I was quoting the ops reply to me with the word 'sweetie' actually, and as for grow up, I stand by that, the op has been told repeatedly that the test is not just to catch out smokers, and is not compulsory.

I'm not getting overly worked up about it just though it was worth mentioning really. It's quite interesting to see the different responses and I think what is quite clear is that different areas handle this very differently.

Fair enough, deadringer - I didn't see that.

The idea that a midwife has enough thinning time to make a personal vendetta against you over a bog standard test is quite something OP. They see hundreds of women a week and you are one of many, some with profound issues and some without. A complex case is much more likely to pique their interest than some spiky wazzock getting offended over a bog standard 30 sec test they do with everyone. You clearly have a chip on your shoulder about it because you didn’t have it with your previous pregnancy. Rather than getting into a beef about it, why not thank your lucky stars that our wonderful NHS is improving testing all the time so that you and your baby have the best care possible?

As for people lying about smoking - PF COURSE THEY DO. Do you really live in a bubble to think they don’t? My own bloody sister did. As a result didn’t get the additional monitoring, scared herself shitless when the baby was measuring small and now lives her life guilty symptom spotting her poor kid for lifetime damage. This test would have identified her addiction, referred her for treatment and my niece would have had additional monitoring to check on her growth.

You are so determined your are right you aren’t even paying attention to the replies on here. 🙄

Fair enough, deadringer - I didn't see that.

Neither did I, so apologies on that count - but I still hold to my opinion that telling a fully-functioning adult to 'grow up' just because she wants to have a say in her personal health provisions rather distasteful.

I had a reading of 5 in my pregnancy last year despite not smoking for about 13 years and never being around smokers, I don’t actually know anyone who smokes... I have a CO monitor in my house too which has never alarmed me to anything plus gas check was up to date. All I could think was the fact I work in a busy city centre filled with pollution and also that I walk past smokers to get in and out of work every day. I explained all of this but was still sent smoking cessation leaflets in the post hmm. Really pissed me off.

But surely you realise that, at that time, you were a pregnant woman and not a 'normal' adult who could be trusted to understand basic facts and tell the truth....

As for people lying about smoking - PF COURSE THEY DO. Do you really live in a bubble to think they don’t?

I don't recall any part of the OP where she stated that she didn't believe anybody would ever lie. I'm very sorry about your sister and even more so about your niece, but could she not read the massive posters plastered everywhere in the waiting room or understand that there would be a good reason for being asked about smoking? I'm amazed that a HCP didn't pick up on the obvious external signs of a regular smoker and challenge her gently but firmly about her claim that she didn't when it must surely have been evident in her breath, clothes and fingernails. It sounds like they took the easy route out and neglected to provide her with the help that she clearly needed.

If they asked you your occupation and you said 'teacher', they'd have no reason to doubt you. If, however, you said "I'm Napoleon - can't you hear everybody else in this hospital shouting it to you?!", would you expect them to just write '250-year old French Military Leader' in the 'occupation' box? I'm not being flippant, but it's dangerous to just treat everybody as a set of boxes to be ticked rather than an individual - as the vast majority good HCPs would agree.

The CM test can reveal hidden issues that the mother might be unaware of. Those issues can then be corrected.

It's very unlikely that a drug or alcohol test will reveal accidental drug or alcohol consumption that the mother is unaware of. That is the difference.

Nothing is compulsory! If you have a CO detector in your home, then refuse the test. I would. All the sheeple make me laugh, they're assuming you're a liar. And we have it from an HCP her/himself, the assumption is that the majority of patients lie. You see it all the time: you get any test result that's skewed and are immediately assumed to have brought it on by lifestyle. I had raised liver enzymes and haven't drunk a drop of alcohol in 25 years, but wasn't believed until gallstones were found all in my gallbladder and one nasty one seemed to like my bile duct.

As for people lying about smoking - PF COURSE THEY DO. Do you really live in a bubble to think they don’t? My own bloody sister did. As a result didn’t get the additional monitoring, scared herself shitless when the baby was measuring small and now lives her life guilty symptom spotting her poor kid for lifetime damage. This test would have identified her addiction, referred her for treatment and my niece would have had additional monitoring to check on her growth.

But what you are missing here is that, as sad as this was for your sister, it was her choice to lie. As a patient, it is my right to disclose or not disclose things relevant to my health. Doctors and midwives can ask, but they have no right to my information.

So testing to ascertain something they can ask the patient, but not telling the patient that that is why you are testing, is unethical medicine.

I refused the test for gestational diabetes. I was a normal weight based on my BMI and my weight gain during first trimester was totally fine. The only reason they wanted to do the test is cos my DM has type 2 diabetes. Because she's obese, an ex smoker and never eats vegetables.

WeBuilt

I don't recall any part of the OP where she stated that she didn't believe anybody would ever lie.

OP said 'What the hell is it with healthcare professional's not believing their patients?' which is basically the same as saying she thinks patients don't lie.

And dead ringer was probably telling OP to grow up because of the 'sweetie' comment which was pretty childish.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll Yes, absolutely. Of course she could. She knew all the risks and didn’t admit it because she was worried she was going to treated differently. She put her own need above her baby. Don’t be sorry about her - she lives with that stupid mistake and rightly so. It was a terrible decision that she had the choice not to make.

The OP referred to not believing people lie on page one in one of her replies because she couldn’t understand what they would achieve from it. Ironically, they achieve the same thing she’s raiking against; ‘interference’.

As others have said, you can decline any test. That’s all she has to do. Moaning about it on here doesn’t even achieve anything, anyway.

I'm sure there was a thread on here a little while ago where a lady had lied about not smoking and was then found out. She was mortified obv...
Anyway - if you don't want to have it don't. I wouldn't decline just because that specific MW was snooty. Who cares what she thinks!