To log a complaint about my midwife?

[BlueBiscuit26]

My DS was born pre term (only just). Currently 36 weeks with my second. I was hospitalised last week after a growth scan due to threatened pre term labour - I was having contractions and was 2-3cm dilated on examination. The doctor who examined me at the hospital said given my history of pre term birth, I should have been under consultant led care. My midwife said she had referred me to the hospital pre term birth clinic during my first trimester and after I had chased her a few times to follow up as I hadn’t heard from them after a few weeks, I called the pre term birth clinic myself who said I didn’t need to be under their care as I delivered my first after 34 weeks. I explained this to the doctor at the hospital (who said he couldn’t see it on my notes) and he said it wasn’t the pre term birth clinic anyway, but I should have been under consultant led care, referred by my midwife, whereby I should have been seen and scanned more regularly, with potential intervention taken to try and prevent a pre term birth this time around. I was discharged from hospital after 3 days as my labour has not yet progressed from latent/early labour to active labour, but could still deliver pre term. The whole experience of going in for a growth scan to then be hospitalised was unnecessarily distressing at this stage in pregnancy. AIBU to complain about my midwife?

I can understand why you are worried. I would caution that often doctors/hcps give you their opinion rather than verifiable facts (which is annoying!). So perhaps in that doctors opinion you should have been under consultant care but in your midwife’s opinion you didn’t need to be. A complaint would (you would hope!) look at all that objectively and if your MW did fail to refer in a clear cut case that would be addressed with her.

There will be a protocol based on your history that would decide if you needed to be under consultant led care or not, if midwives refer out of protocol often the referral is simply declined so it may be why you weren’t seen by the preterm birth clinic.

you could write in and ask what should have happened- because either you weren’t seen appropriately or you were made worried by the implication that your care was lacking and neither of those were ideal.

What exactly would you be complaining about? She referred you to the pre term birth clinic, they didn’t take you in their case load. If there was a concern then surely the referral to this clinic should have flagged it up? I can’t see what your midwife has done wrong - maybe the doctor you spoke to was wrong!

It sounds like your midwife referred you appropriately, preterm birth clinic triaged you as per their criteria and felt you didn’t need their care (a lot of PTB clinics wouldnt see someone who birthed >34 weeks last time), I also am not sure you have any ground for complaint? Rather, the doctor has just introduced confusion for you which is a bit annoying.
glad things have settled down for you.

Actually I think it sounds like the doctor might have been wrong here. The criteria for referral on the basis of pre term birth in your hospital was a pre term birth before 34 weeks. The midwife made a referral and it was rejected on this basis. Unless you had other factors that made you high risk and needing consultant led care? I was referred to 2 consultants with my second, one for each of the things that might have made me high risk (previous significant tear and anaesthetic problems) and both discharged me back to midwives following review

What exactly makes you want to complain about her? She referred you to a service you who then told you they wouldn’t treat you. How is that her fault?

Don’t make life difficult for yourself at this stage of pregnancy OP. You’re trying to find an issue where there isn’t one

Surely the route to consultant-led care for preterm birth risks is through the pre-term birth clinic? So your midwife did the right thing.

most don’t have any additional stuff if your last baby was born 34 weeks+

I would go to PALS rather than make a formal complaint. And I would explain the situation rather than frame the complaint about your midwife.

I don't understand the grounds for complaint against the midwife. She referred you and it was the pre term birth clinic who said you didn't need to be under their care. If they were wrong in that, the issue lies with them.

Don't be utterly ridiculous and completely spiteful. You're slightly early but nothing out of the ordinary. I can't believe that you're even thinking about it 🙄

Complain about what?

Thank you all for the mostly balanced responses. Baby is currently measuring around 2 and a half weeks behind based on my growth scan, so this coupled with the risk of pre term birth has naturally caused some anxiety in the last week, and the doctor left me questioning if something different should have been done. Sounds like this isn’t the case though, and isn’t worth taking any further

I agree with pp - raise the issue with PALS, not as a complaint against the midwife but as a potential systems issue that your situation has highlighted. If the consultant is right that you should have been on a different pathway then someone needs to assess what should have happened and when to make the system safer for others in future.

You're now 36 weeks and it seems that everything is OK, many women get a bit of a scare before term, good luck. I wouldn't be complaining about anyone, it seems you were just borderline on needing extra monitoring or not.

Your midwife referred you correctly. If the preterm specialists felt you should have been seen or referred onto a consultant they would have done that. If you felt uncomfortable at any point over the last 36 weeks you could have asked to have been referred directly to a consultant. You didn’t. You and baby haven’t come to any harm apart from the anxiety you’re causing yourself.

Iv found dr/consultants have very different ideas at times to the rest of the professionals involved in maternity care

I was berated by one for being comsulant led when he said I didnt need to - I hadnt asked for comsulant care, mw was forced to put me through as comsualnt care as my GP wouldnt do shared care with hospital in a different trust- in live on border of two trusts