so have people actually managed to make all their medical appointments out of work hours or have you all missed work?

[angels1]

I'm nearly 19 weeks pg. Have had a terrible pg so far - signed of at 4 weeks pg with hyperemesis and only now going back to work on a reduced time of about an hour a day (all I can manage at present).

Problem is, I have 5 medical appointments booked for the next few weeks and they all land on my one hour or so in the day I will manage to work (work can't be changed as I'm a teacher so lessons are a set time). I will hope to go into work for an hour or so (a double school lesson) 4 times a week to teach the upper school. My appointments are ALL clashing with teaching times and not easy to move (2 x mw appointments but my mw only works one day a week and full up on those days otherwise), 1 x scan (which I had booked on my day off but has today been shifted to when I work), a physio and obs appointment (which are a bit 'take it or leave it' NHS syle appointments which prob could be moved but might have to wait a while longer and have already waited weeks just for the appointment).

I feel really bad as I've taken so long off work being ill and now I'm trying to return I have lots of days missing due to appointments - I really didn't plan them to clash with school teaching but not sure what else to do. Anyone else missed what feels like a dispraportionately large amount of time off for antenatal appointments from work?

Hi angels1 I haven't had to miss much work, only 10 weeks pregnant, but have already experienced the NHS lack of flexibility. I suppose it's understandable but there really is so little allowance for anyone with work obligations. My first MW appointment came through and I was on a work trip abroad so I requested a new date and was give one that clashed with a conference I was booked on and wanted to attend. I asked for a new date and was told, 'your employer is obliged to give you time off for these things, dear'. I run the bloody company in the UK! I finally got another date but was made to feel as though I was being very difficult and I don't think I'll be getting much help with other changes. I don't think there's too much you can do about it!

I had to miss work every time for an appt (also had hyperemesis so feel your pain!)
Felt really guilty but there's not really a lot you can do as the appts are important and the NHS don't offer many (if any) out of hours appts.
Can you get GP appts for after you finish school in the evening?

pauline GP appointments are fine and quite flexible - I get those when not at work, but these are all hospital ones - scan, physio (for pg back prob), obseotrician (can't spell), and mw at hospital x2. I could ahve changed my mw appointment to 8:40 am but (hopefully you'll understand this havign had hg) I can't get anywhere that early - I'm still quite poorly and recovering and to get anywhere before 9:30 is really really hard as my body won't work or cope doing anything that early (have only really managed to get out of the house at al in the past few weeks), so had to pass that appointment.

I have tried my best to get mine at beginning/end of day so less disruption to work, but sometimes this just isn't possible. I think to myself, work = important, but health of baby and myself = more important.

I'm a teacher too and am only 14+6 and as well as MW and scan appointments I've been out for physio too which I'm claiming as a maternity appointment because I was referred for Physio when I told my doctor I was ttc after complaining of back pain.

Do I feel guilty? NO, not unless I'm leaving my year 11 set 4 class. Otherwise they'll cope without me. My classes do more when I'm there than when a supply is there but my child and my health are more important to me than 30 other peoples children.

I am currently keeping a record of maternity appointments in my school planner and have a column for if I missed school and how many hours I was out. So far I've either had them at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day but my 20 week scan is at 11am which is too early for me to get to school, teach, and then drive back home to pick up the OH (doesn't have a car and can't get to hospital on public transport) and then get to the hospital. It also means I will miss practically a full day as I will probably only be able to make it in for the last lesson of the day. I would feel bad about that but I know as soon as I put in my cover request for that day the headteacher will come and visit me and probably try to convince that I should go on my own so I can teach period one because she is totally single minded and misses the human aspect. I know this because when my OH had to go into hospital for surgery she came to see me about not leaving school in my free period in the middle of the day to go to the hospital to pick him up and take him home afterwards, she suggested I leave him at the hospital until the end of the working day.

I'm another teacher, 32+5. I've had quite a bit of time off: general MW appointments and scans, but a week off with terrible back pains, followed by some chiropractic appointments (although I've now managed to book subsequent sessions for after school hours). Also, I'm having additional scans because the hospital want to keep an eye on my low-lying placenta. My school have been brilliant about all of this, and my classes haven't suffered too much; I've tried to set reasonable cover work. If I was really so worried about my students' progress, I wouldn't be leaving them for several months to have a baby! Schools generally understand that staff have lives beyond the classroom, in spite of the demands made of us the rest of the time.

My boss said she would rather have me at work and missing time for the appointments that kept me going. The alternative was to lie is bed with a bucket.
Try not to worry too much on top of everything else. Hope the sickness passes soon, will all be worth it when you hold your baby