FAO Ladis due 16th to 21st April: Health in Pregnancy Grant!

[CalaLilly]

I just wanted to make sure that all the mumsnet ladies on here who have a due date of 16th to 21st April claimed their Health in Pregnancy Grant. There was some confusion as to who did and who didn't qualify and a lot of midwives are under the wrongful impression that it was for ladies with a due date of 15th April or before. To qualify for it you had to be in your 25th week of pregnancy by the end of the year, meaning you had to be 24+1 days gestation before midnight on new year. My midwife wasn't 100% sure if I qualified but filled in the forms anyway. My scan due date was 22nd April but she agreed that that was a flexible date and route 20th on the form- and now I have £190 extra in my bank account.

You have until the summer to claim it but I recommend speaking to your midwife asap and ringing the grant office if you want more clarification!

This may not help any of you but if it helps just one it was worth posting!

Hi CalaLilly,

Just wanted to say that my midwife had said I was too late with my due date of 18 April, but as I had read some posts on Mumsnet I told her that I would like to apply anyway and I too have an extra £190 (well I did, it didnt last long!)

Well done on this post, lets hope it helps some people xx

My due date is 30th April, do you think thats pushing it? Or is it still worth a shot?

Unless your midwife lies about your due date on the form, the 30th won't qualify. I'm due on the 21st and I have claimed and got it, but my midwife said that they have been investigating and calling up about a bunch of people due near the cut off date to make sure they aren't falsely claiming.

21st? I was told it was the 22nd (my due date) it will be quite annoying to miss out by one day, sent off form this week guess I'll find out soon if I will get it or not.

Sadly I do think that the 30th is pushing it. It is common for dating scans to be out by a day or so which is why my midwife was completely in her rights to guestimate my due date was slightly ahead (after measuring my bump) without actually lying but it's unlikley to be out by 9 days I'm really sad for you! I think it should have been all babies with due dates in April!

thefurryone, you had to be 24+1 weeks gestation on New Year's Eve and a due date of 22/04 would have made you 24+0. Depending on who processes the form, you may be ok! Here's hoping! There is no harm in trying.

ps. it helped at my antenatal appointment that I work with newborns so have looked after lots of newborns whose scan based due dates were clearly underestimated by up to a week. That gave me more ammunition to point out how silly it was to arbitrarily go by scan due dates rather than the bigger picture of how a pregnancy is progressing. She wholeheartedly agreed but many midwives would not. Most are sympathetic and happy to help if it doesn?t involve them actually lying.

Wow, I'm surprised the MW changed the form date. An NHS audit would very quickly pick up the discrepancy between the EDD on the claim form and that noted at the form, and put the change down to form. I know it doesn't seem fair to miss out by a few days, but where draw the line otherwise!?

change down to 'fraud'. Sorry- still half asleep...

EDD's change frequently so a discrepancy like this wouldn't show up on an audit as it?s a normative change. I didn't miss out by a few days as my baby is growing within the EDD boundaries for the grant- hence why my midwife filled in the form without lying/ non fraudulently and hence why the money is now in my account. If this thread can help other mummy's have the confidence to speak to their midwife too then great! They have to draw the line somewhere but it's frustrating when it's not crystal clear which side of it you are on and where there is leeway there is not fraud.

An NHS audit would look for a scan or similar to warrant the change of date all of a sudden in this circumstance. If a paper trail shows the EDD suddenly changed on or around the date of a claim it could be flagged in an exceptions report. All changes around this date can be picked up in a PCT audit very easily and a sample investigated. It's unlikely given the immaterial value of one or two amounts that it would be written off and not investigates further, but if this is happening a lot there will be a further investigation.

I don't mean to sound unfair about it, just know the audit side of the NHS extremely well and this would be picked up for further checks very easily. You wouldn't lose the money but your MW may find herself with Qs to answer if she's doing this for several women.

ps. I should say I'm not an NHS auditor, just have a lot of experience of their working processes.

I have done NHS audits myself and work in maternity services. Like I said, my midwife had clinical reasons for agreeing that the date was flexible (LMP, short cycle, fundal height). To have sent me for a scan to change an EDD by 1 day would have been superfluous and a waste of NHS resources. To have re-estimated it based on clinical findings is completely within her professional rights. Lots of women will be in similar circumstances as the 12 week scan EDD is only an estimation- hence why they may induce on day 10 or 11 post term rather than waiting until day 12 if that?s what a Trusts policy states or why they may sweep on day 39+6 because you?re seeing you?re midwife even if the policy states to do it at 40 weeks. The EDD is a commonly accepted grey area and so it?s worth asking: your midwife wouldn?t sign something if she didn?t feel that she could stand up and defend her actions in court.

The main point of this thread is for women with EDD?s between 16th and 21st April- you aren?t in a grey area and definitely qualify but your midwife may not have realised that so do make sure you get your form signed!

Okay, well let's agree to disagree as I can't comment further without revealing more about my RL ID than I am comfortable with. Good luck with your pregnancy.

But the HiP grant is paid by HMRC so it would be their audit no? Not sure they would have access to your medical records to check the date?

Re due dates. If I were in any sort of borderline grey area I'd be well arguing that my EDD by scan is complete crap in comparison to my EDD by LMP and KNOWN date of conceptiona and lenght of cycle. Scan date has me due 4 days prior to the date I KNOW to be correct, and if it was the difference between £190 or no £190 I'd be arguing my point vociferously!

As I will have to do if they start mentioning the word induction 4 days before they should!

V interesting to read this - I'm due on 1 April but midwives told me at booking in appointment in Sept that HiP was being scrapped and I didn't qualify .
Seems that I might now so am going to get my skates on and request a form from The Health in Pregnancy Grant Helpline as my midwives didn't give me one. Fingers crossed posters here get theirs.

It is good to see this post. I amdue on april 18th.
I had already contacted the health in pregnancy grant phone no early in pregnancy when I knew my due date. They said I definately qualified as the original poster has said and would do right up to due date of 21 st April if due date was later.

However when I asked midwife for form at 25 weeks as advised by grant officials my midwife was adament that I was not entitled to it. I phoned grant helpline to clarify my position and they suggested midwife contacted them on their helpline number. The midwife agreed to do this and found out she had been previously misinformed. I am glad OP posted this as I was thinking many women will miss out because of misinformed midwives.

I did get grant in the end and I was clearly entittled to it. I hope no one else misses out due to misinformed Nhs staff.