First antenatal apt 6 weeks away!

[Teaandcake90]

Hi all,

Recently found out I’m pregnant for the first time and used the online self referral to refer myself to antenatal services at my local hospital on Monday.

It’s now Friday and no one has contacted me but yesterday I got a slightly dodgy looking email with the initials of the trust and a link to activate my account.

I signed up to their online portal and saw there was an antenatal appointment booked for me for 21 November. This is more than 6 weeks after I submitted the referral (6 weeks yesterday).

AIBU to expect to be seen within a couple of weeks?

This is impossible to answer without knowing how far along you are.
My trust sees you for the first time between 8 and 10 weeks for booking in. So if you are 2 weeks pregnant then yes this would be normal in my trust.

Just call your GP surgery/antenatal centre (or whatever is in your area) to check, mumsnet can't solve this for you!

It depends how far along you are. My booking in appointment was at 10.5 weeks and they said that’s about average. And I was in the EPAU at 6weeks with bleeding and they still didn’t want to see me sooner. Call your GP. I didn’t speak to a GP (I was shocked when receptionist told me I didn’t need to for this) but the receptionist gave me a booklet with all the details for the different maternity services so I could choose which route I wanted to go down (community midwives, hospital midwives, which hospital I wanted to give birth in, even the neighbouring NHS Trust) as all did booking in differently. Once I’d decided I called the number to book in for the right service. I did that at 6 weeks and my appointment was still nearly 5 weeks away.

I think I was around 10 weeks before I saw the midwife with both my children. Just enough time to book a 12 week scan. I suppose there’s no reason to see a midwife any earlier.

We aren't seen till 12 weeks in Ireland for our first appointment

Yes, it isn't an emergency, OP (unless there's a drip feed coming). You're generally seen at a certain stage of gestation, rather than within a certain amount of time since you booked yourself in. I can't remember when mine was, but it certainly wasn't that long before the 12-week scan.

Thanks all! Sounds like it’s quite normal then. I’m 4 weeks (or just over) so it will be just after the 10 week point.

I just presumed they’d want to catch people as early as possible for a first appointment to give advice, make sure they’re taking folic acid etc. as thinking about the spectrum of people who get pregnant, some women might not be pro-active about those things especially if unplanned and living a more complex or chaotic life.

I thought they’d then book me in for the scan later.

My booking appointment was 11 weeks and first scan was 12 weeks. Depends on the trust.

All of the info is online so you’re expected to view that yourself and take any necessary steps to look after yourself, the first appointment is your booking appointment and is always 8-10 weeks x

Sounds pretty normal , my first appointments have always been around the 10 week mark and then scan at about 13 weeks .

Nope, 10 weeks is entirely normal for your booming appointment. You are expected to already know about folic acid etc as you're meant to be taking it when you start trying to conceive.

I’m a retired midwife. This is fine. You sound like a sensible person who probably knows how to access all the routine advice anyway. There are tests which need to be scheduled within certain timeframes and this will happen now you are in the system.

this is standard

As harsh as it sounds (and I don’t mean it to be at all!) miscarriages are very common before 12 weeks so i don’t think they like doing them until you are further along. It’d be quite painful to go to a booking appointment and then lose the baby personally. I had mine at 11 weeks. Once you’re pregnant you should visit the nhs website and it will explain what you can eat/should be taking vitamin wise and other things to tie you over until you get booked on.
Congratulations and good luck!

12 weeks is normal for a first app

I know this will sound a bit brutal, but I was told years ago now that they didn't book you in earlier because so many early pregnancies don't make to 12 weeks. Sad, but it makes sense.

As someone who has had several losses, I won’t even bother telling my GP or booking in until I’ve had a positive scan at 8 weeks.

Maternity care on the NHS is bare minimum OP - may as well get used to it now and make sure you are well informed yourself!

I realise it’s all online so it’s not that I feel I need anything from them - I’m just surprised they don’t want to see me as they have no way of knowing which women are looking up advice online!

I used to work as a social worker in domestic abuse and worked with many, many lovely but very disadvantaged women with children who I’m sure it wouldn’t have even crossed their mind to look up that info, let alone be pro-active enough to go out and buy the right supplements!

Therefore, I just assumed they’d offer an initial appointment earlier for those who might need more support.

That assumes everyone who is pregnant was trying to conceive.

I don’t think this is true. The NHS website says “You should contact your GP surgery or local midwife service as soon as you find out you're pregnant (before 8 weeks into the pregnancy). It's important to see a midwife as early as possible to get the antenatal (pregnancy) care and information you need to have a healthy pregnancy.”

Sure. But anyone who does it accidentally and hasn't made any preparation then the onus is rightly on them to have a quick Google about that they might need to do and crack on with the folic acid and not eating too much tuna etc.

There’s nothing they can really do for you anyway. Booking apt is data collection, take some bloods, wee dip etc. Scan booking is a separate thing. If you have an issue go to EPU, otherwise just chill and there’s nothing an appointment will help you with at this point really.

I was taking it as I was actively TTC but like I said in my previous post many, many women won’t be. There are people with so many other things going on in their lives this wouldn’t come onto their radar.

You seem to assume everyone who gets pregnant is an educated, middle class woman proactively TTC.

Given how important folic acid is in the first 12 weeks I’m surprised they don’t want to see people earlier (or even call them to give that advice over the phone before the appointment).

You sound lovely.

Nope, but what would be the point of an appointment just for a midwife to show you the NHS pages that tell you what not to eat and to take folic acid? If you can Google how to contact your midwifery service you can Google to see if there's anything you ought to be doing early doors.

Thanks. Not sure whats unpleasant about considering all women intelligent enough to know 2 minutes of asking someone or googling will tell them all they need to know at that point.