To ask you to calm me down?! (Pregnancy related)

[NoLongerPembroke]

I am 11 weeks pregnant with my first. I'm 39 and we were going to attempt IVF, but a miracle happened. We are so happy.

I had my first midwife appointment last week and she was lovely. Took lots of blood and urine for tests.

Today, I got out of work and there's an email from a specialist midwife who has been trying to ring me, asking me to call her back for a 'telephone conversation and to offer me an appointment'.

It's too late to ring her back today, so it'll have to be tomorrow. But I am in pieces. I keep bursting into tears. Something has clearly gone wrong, hasn't it? I don't even want to tell DH. I'm just so sad!

Completely normal - It's because you're considered a geriatric mother Congrats on your pregnancy OP!

Firstly, congratulations. Secondly, please take a deep breath.

it could be any one of many things - maybe the geriatric team due to your age, diabetes due to high blood sugar, I’ve even had a specialist midwife call me because I wasnt immune to Rubella and needed to have an MMR, or you are rhesus negative and they need to tell you and talk about your options.

They aren’t testing for anything nasty, please try not to worry. I know that’s hard, but stay calm and call them in the morning. At this stage if something has gone wrong, there is sadly nothing that can be done and you being stressed and upset all night won’t make any difference. I mean that very kindly, try and rest, eat a nutritious meal and wait for morning.

Don't worry! It's because you're 'old'! (Gently trying to make you laugh, you'll be given extra attention because of your totally normal to have a baby these days age)

Even your lovely comments are making me cry. I'm an emotional wreck. I have no idea what's wrong with me. I'm not usually like this!

Ah, love. Please don't!

You'll be fine!

When is the scan?

Please don’t worry. I am pregnant through IVF. I know how everything is a worry when youve struggled with infertility but there’s nothing to suggest anything has gone wrong here. Telephone consultations are standard procedures. It’s okay Mumma.

I'll go out on a limb and say hormones 😁

It's scheduled for 12 December. Which now feels a really long way away!

Surely it is just getting in your next round of appointments- 12 week scan etc?

All already scheduled!

Ok great. Get through tonight.

Call the lady in the morning and then if you want to/can, book a private scan. That's what I did at 10 weeks for no good reason other then I just jolly well couldn't wait until 12 weeks.

Perhaps they are shifting appointments around if there is staff absence etc?

Also, logically, there's nothing REALLY dreadful they can pick up just from urine and blood on a first go.

Blood they will re-do and combine with a scan (the Nuchal scan).

I also agree that if you can afford it you should book in for a private scan. It's a lovely moment to see that heartbeat, and it'll reduce the torture of waiting until the 12th!

You're an older first time mother, which means you need extra care and attention and the very good news is, your local maternity service is rolling out the red carpet for you, right on cue.

It could sincerely be something as simple as low iron! Deep breaths

I got called back in because my folic acid levels were low from that first blood test despite taking supplements so they just wanted another blood test to check again. My sister also got a call because she’s rhesus negative and they needed to discuss that with her. It will be something and nothing I’m sure.

It hormones! It’s a good thing. It goes with pregnancy. Roll with it.

but don’t watch any emotional films or you’ll risk dehydration from crying so much.

This is what happened to me! Blood test revealed very low iron.

With my last baby they had to do my booking in bloods three times due to errors from the lab. The normal response from the midwife is whenever they do bloods or urine tests if you don't here from us all is ok.

So each time I saw my midwife call - I was oh no but it was her to ask me to come back and do the bloods again.

So it could be something and nothing

Probably because of age and to book you in with a consultant.

I'm an anxious person so totally get your worries. Do you have access to the badger notes app or any app or do they go through paper?

If it's the app sometimes they update it in the antenatal care summary section but they don't always! So if you have an app and it isn't there don't worry either.

I’m a midwife.

Like others have said the ‘specialist’ midwife will be due to something like age, BMI, if you’ve any history of anxiety etc. depending on what specialist roles your hospital offers as they are all different.

Your blood results take a few hours. If there was anything wrong with those you would have heard well before now and we don’t test for anything that would require a specialist midwife really.

Try not to worry and congratulations

Oh what a lovely reassuring post.

hope all is ok today @NoLongerPembroke

I had something similar and it was thrush so just had some thrush - good luck 😉