Advice on what I should discuss/ask at a 36w 'booking in' appt (1st pg)

[BellaCB]

Or otherwise known as a 1st timer who feels like she knows nothing...!

I have just moved PCT and have what is essentially a booking-in appt at the hospital where I will probably give birth next week, even though I will be 36w at the time. Apparently my new PCT won't really trust my notes from my old PCT and will insist on taking new bloods etc., which is fine.

However, I was honest with the midwife in my previous PCT and told her early on that we were always planning to move during my pregnancy, as I was hoping she would have some advice. She didn't (other than repeatedly telling me that my notes were not my own and I had to give them back when I left! I haven't yet... ) and because she knew I wouldn't end up giving birth in her PCT, she did very little other than check my health - and now I'm starting to feel like I've missed all the discussions that I should have had over the past 20 weeks with my midwife.

Luckily I haven't had any problems with the pg and have no reason to suspect that there might be anything unusual about the birth. I've also been to NCT classes and so feel like I have learnt a lot about birth choices etc. But I feel completely lost when it comes to some of the basics! Who do I call if I have any questions or think I'm in labour? Can I borrow a TENS machine from the PCT? Have I missed the tours? The only maternity unit in my area has both midwife and obstetric led units - how or when do I choose between them, and who do I tell?!

Basically, if anyone has any advice or can tell me what they've already discussed with their midwife by 36w re chosing units and actually giving birth I'd be incredibly grateful - I want to make sure that I don't miss the opportunity to ask all the important questions!

At the stage you are at you will probably be given the labour ward number to call if you have labour related questions, or that is what happens where I live.

You can hire TENS machines if the hospital don't have any for use, you use to get them from Boots.

Ask them what is available to use during labour, some have birthing pools, some have showers, some have fitballs etc, very much depends on hospital.

Check out what the hospital will provide, if anything, during your stay. I have to take absolutely everything to our hospital apart from the first nappy they put on the baby after they give it a check over then wrap it in a blanket and give it back to you.

Ask how long you get to stay in hospital after delivery for both natural and c-section. Our local hospitals are down to 7 hours after a natural delivery with no complications.

If it is early discharge like us check who will be coming out to see you at home afterwards. We have a midwife visit every day for 10 days at home which the hospital organises then she signs you off and over to your local health visitor who will then come to see you at home. After that you take the baby to her for vaccinations etc.

Ask what local resources are available if you are planning to breast-feed and run into difficulties.

Good luck

Also ask what they stipulate about partners visiting, some hospitals allow them to stay after set visiting hours and some don't.

If they choose not to 'trust' the bloods from the old PCT that is up to them, however they're optional in the first place, they cannot INSIST on you having them re-done so if you don't want to have them again (given that it's totally unnecessary!) then you don't have to.

Go and have a tour of both the MLU and CLU, see which you prefer. You'll get lots of info about visiting hours and things then. It's worth bearing in mind that although outcomes for babies are marginally better in CLUs, the chance of intervention (even for low-risk women) is considerably higher for a woman in a CLU than a low-risk in an MLU.

And then what the others said above :)

Thanks everyone. I think I'm getting a little worked up about all the questions as getting a tour of the unit isn't much of a possibility - they only do tours on a Saturday, and the next few Saturdays are Xmas Eve, NY Eve, and then that leaves one Saturday before my due date! So I want to make sure I have asked the questions that are covered in the tour, really. I know in reality that if I am in labour then the hospital has to do something about it and I'm sure I wouldn't be the first mum-to-be to turn up at a hospital knowing nothing about it, but it would be nice to feel a little more organised. It also might stop be driving myself bonkers worrying about this ...

I would be interested to hear how you are getting on OP, I too am planning to move late on in my pregnancy and am fretting a little about the consequences...

Hi mikocat - I'll post back after I've finally seen the mw next week. From what people are saying I think it's a matter of being determined to get answers and not allowing yourself to be fobbed off by the mw. I'm worried that if I do go in to early(ish) labour then I won't have had time for a tour and so my appt next is the only one I feel I can be guaranteed some time with a mw. I'm now writing a list from all the really helpful comments so far so that I feel a little more confident! (I also posted this on the childbirth thread and someone there pointed out that the mw is highly unlikely to be concerned about such a late move, so its down to me - and you! - to get our concerns across and get all the answers we need which, between pg brain and hormones, will be best achieved with a long list of pre-planned questions!)