Where's my midwife??!

[lisakell]

I'm 10 weeks pregnant and still haven't heard from my midwife about a booking in visit. I have called the helpline I was given at my GP surgery a few times and just keep getting told that the midwife will be in touch soon. I'm starting to get very concerned as it's very difficult for me to get time off work at short notice at the moment (I started a new job 1 week before I found out I was pregnant so I'm holding off telling them as long as possible). I have been told by the GP receptionist that booking in appointments are always on a Thursday and I have a wedding next Thursday then I'll be 12 weeks! I'm starting to panic but feel that no-one is listening at either the GP surgery or the helpline - this is my first pregnancy at the age of 36 and I have so many questions but feel very alone at the moment - I feel like I'm being fobbed off. Has anyone else been in this situation and how did you go about getting your appointment organised?

They really never see you before 12 weeks and there's not a lot you can do about it.

You have my sympathy though it does feel like a weird twilight zone between the BFP and the booking appointment, so much so for me that I had convinced myself I wasn't pregnant!

Hold tight it won't be long now.

My experiences are different to poster with my first PG I had my booking in appt at 8 weeks and this PG they saw me ridiculously early at 6 weeks!! I did query it but they said that's what they do now.
I would be concerned if I'd not seen mw at 10 weeks. They have to book you in and get a scan by 12/13 weeks. You have to have it between those times so they can do the nuchel tests, so I'd be worried they wouldn't get it done in time.... But I don't have much faith in the NHS!
I'd make a fuss if I were you.
Good luck.

Thanks
I said to my OH the other day that I'm going to do another pregnancy test just in case the first 3 were wrong and I was sick, tired and weepy for some other reason. I just don't think it feels real until I've seen a medical professional - twighlight zone is definately a good description!

I have had 3 different experiences, my fist I had booking in and scan on the same day at 12 weeks.

with 2nd I saw midwife at 8 weeks appointment came through the post.

with this one I saw the midwife at a community centre for booking in at 8ish weeks, then had a dating appointment at 12 weeks same time as dating scan.

I am also 10 weeks and booked in with MW at 8 weeks, but do not have a scan appointment booked yet and like you have trouble getting time off and have several days in the next three weeks I definitely cannot manage, so I do understand the frustration.

I had a bit of a delay with my MW, and was advised that I could have called the hospital directly and self-referred. It might be worth calling your maternity ward/ Early Pregnancy Unit to explain what's happening, and your concerns. Your dating scan should be between 10- 14 weeks, so you really want to get that booked in asap if it hasn't been already, and your booking appointment should be before the scan. I think once you've got to 15 weeks, it's harder to carry out the nuchal screening (for Downs Syndrome) if you choose to have that.

I do think you have to be a bit on their case to be honest, if things aren't moving along. It seems there's a lot of confusion between the MW & the GP surgery. Once you've met your midwife hopefully everything should fall into place and be much more straightforward. My MW only comes to the surgery two days a week, but actually my booking appt was on a completely different day, and we held it at the hospital- so hopefully there will be a bit of flexibility there.

Good luck! X

I saw the midwife at 10 weeks and she mentioned it was late. She was concerned enough to ring the scan dept right then to book the scan in on time. (they usually just send a referral card) She gave me all the paperwork to get started on, and the blood and scan forms, told me to have the bloods on the scan day and purposefully left one of them off because it would have been too late (so she said). I had the rest of the booking appointment about 3 weeks later at home.

i saw my midwife at 8 weeks then had my booking in at 13 weeks, my friend is registered at a different surgery just 10 mins away and had her first scan then saw her midwife 2 weeks later it just depends on your doctors surgery.

Thanks everyone - it seems like it varies hugely depending on which part of the country you are in. I've just called the helpline again and the receptionist told me that the midwife who covers my GP's surgery is leaving this wek and a new one is taking over so that could be the cause of the delay. I've been promised a call back by the end of the day so fingers crossed. The most frustrating thing is the lack of communication - if they had told me a few weeks ago that there was going to be a change over in midwifes and there may be a delay I would have known what to expect and worried a lot less!

That does sound like a long time to wait. It would be really worth seeing if there are any midwife drop-in sessions (maybe at a children's centre or clinic) in your local area as it sounds like it's going to take another while to see the MW linked to your GP surgery. A MW at one of these drop-in sessions would at leats be able to book a scan for you, do preliminary checks and get you in the system.