Just had an absolutely awful 25 week midwife appointment! Arrived to be told (after waiting for 10 mins past my appointment time) that my midwife wasn't there as she'd had to attend a home birth. A locum midwife had been sent from the local birthing centre but I'd never met her before, she'd never been to my doctors surgery before, we'd have to wait for a room to become free, and she was at least 70 years old!
I know so many of you don't get to see the same midwife every time you go for an appointment and therefore I do know how lucky i usualy am and I don't want this to sound spoilt but....when the appointment did actually start it was awful, quite honestly the least thorough medical appointment i've ever had which has just left me more worried than i already was.
She started with my notes - just randomly flicking - then said "oh you've had two miscarriages, where do i write my notes?". This came across as completely insensitive and like she did't have a clue what she was doing so added to my anxiety. Eventually i showed her where my midwife had made her previous notes. Are all maternity notes not in the same order/format?
She asked if i had any concerns, at which point i explained that i was worried that i didn't really know what to expect but that i didn't think i'd felt any real movements yet (just swirlings and the odd twinge) - she said that at this stage i should be feeling about 12 movements a day - to which i replied that i really wasn't sure i was and that i hadn't felt anything i'd describe as a definite kick - to which she said "oh well every mother experiences different levels of movement I'm sure everything is fine" - totally unreassuring! I then said that friends of mine had felt much stronger movements much earlier on to which she said "but i'm sure that's with second babies though" to which i was thinking like "errr no actually" and "don't make assumptions". I have also since read in my notes that movements should start to be felt between 18 and 22 weeks. She then proceeded to just write Fetal Movements Felt in my notes! When i kept pressing she eventually added "patient has some concerns over number of movements" and said she'd check the heartbeat later in the appointment.
Next i mentioned that I'd had a lot of pain/aches in my left hip when i walked, particularly on soggy or snowy ground - that it seemed to improve with rest but didn't go away totally and was very painful at the time. She said "oh i'm sure it's nothing, I doubt it's even pregnancy related if its not a shooting nerve-type pain. To which i pointed out that pre-pregnancy i'd done a lot of walking/mountaineering and never had a pain like this before and she said "well if you're that worried or if it gets a lot worse make an appointment with your GP or a chiropractor I'm sure its nothing to do with the pregnancy at this early stage" - wtf?!
Next she took my blood pressure - after commenting that she'd never used such a newfangled machine. She didn't say anything but I'd seen the screen and knew what my previous measurements were so i said "is that normal?" and she replied "well its a lot higher than at your previous appointments but I'm sure that's just cos i'm unfamilar and you're a bit nervous". Again wtf?! This also really added to my worries as surely any increase in blood pressure could be an early warning of problems and should be taken seriously? The reading was 126/76 when previously i'd had 100/58 and 100/56. Does anyone know if this is a significant increase? Or whether the new level is high and therefore whether i should be worried?
She then measured the heartbeat and we did hear something but she came across as very nervous and hesitant and personally (as i have my own doppler at home) i wasn't sure whether she was actually listening to the baby's heartbeat or the blood flow through the placenta as she was listening right in the centre of my tummy which is not where i've ever found anything other than a whooshing noise with baby being much more over to one side. Back at the desk she said "of i forgot to record the rate" but then wrote 140bpm and very good fetal heart in my notes along with "good variability" whatever that means!
She didn't measure the size of my bump at all despite my notes saying this should be done at every appointment from 24 weeks onward.
Also despite taking it out of my folder and putting it on her desk because it's not filed yet she didn't once look at my 20 week scan report - in fact she didn't even ask if i'd had a 20 week scan! Whereas my normal midwife had previously gone through my 12 week scan report in detail with me and looked over the photos.
Argh so worried and I'd been waiting for this appointment for several weeks to discuss my concerns and all i've done is leaving feeling even more concerned! Am i being over the top?