Blood taking

[Rhubarb]

I hate this! The MWs arrived today to do the usual check-ups and to take my blood as my iron count as a bit low last time, it's 9.8 and needs to be up to 10 for a home birth. They tried to take my blood 3 times but my veins kept collapsing - this is a recurrent thing with me, although it's been fine lately. Now my arms are bruised and sore and I've been told that I must go to my GPs surgery tomorrow where my GP will try to get my blood! I can envisage this hurting! But my worries are, what if they can't get any blood out of me tomorrow either? If I go into labour now they say I'll have to go into hospital, so that iron count is crucial! If my arms are no good, is there anywhere else they can use to get at my blood?

I have to ALWAYS have it taken from the back of my hand as I have the same problems assuming they can even find a vein in the first place. Did they try there, the veins are always so prominent.

Hope you get a perfect 10

Ankle's Rhubarb!

I too absolutely hate Blood Tests but they don't usually have a problem getting blood!

My mum however, is a nightmare - no-one can ever get blood from her arms - always has to come out of her ankle!

HTH

PS - Hope you get the home birth you want

Remember, Rhubarb - they can't tell you whether you're allowed a Homebirth. It's your decision and you tell them what you've decided. Regardless of your iron levels or what they advise.

Rhubarb - hope your Iron levels go up and you get the home birth you want. I am sure there is a reason for this advice - I lost alot of blood during birth of dd1 and had low iron count - just missed out on a transfusion but I needed to be in hospital - would hate to think what would have happened if I was at home. Your and the baby's safety is the most important thing

I also often have problems with giving blood samples (although usually better while pregnant!).

Make sure you're nice and warm tomorrow. If the GP is going to take it from your hand, wear gloves right up until the last minute! Also make sure to give them your "working" arm - I'm left handed, and I know never to bother offering my right arm.

One time when I was in hospital, I was made to go and have a bath, to "warm up" my veins enough to let them take a sample!

Thanks for the advice, I'll wear gloves today - my appt is at 4pm.
The reason they give for iron levels, is based purely on a 'what if' scenario. If I were to have a haemorrage then a low iron count could be detrimental to me, but as I'm only 20 mins away from the hospital and my iron count really isn't that low, I don't see that as a valid argument. There is also controversy as to what is classed as a haemorrage in the first place!

Zebra, I know I can ask for a home birth anyway, it's just that the midwives are really pushing for this iron count and I would much rather have the midwives consent than having to go battling it out again on my own. If they are happy then obviously that makes me happy. However if my iron count is still at 9.8 I will be happy enough with that to put my foot down and stay at home. I'm just feeling a little weary and tired to put up another fight so I hope it comes back ok.

I don't mind needles so much, but when they're stabbing your veins and then wiggling the needle about trying to draw blood, it does make you a bit sick! My arms are a bit sore today so I will suggest the back of my hand to them. My ankles are swollen so I don't know how good they will be. Damn blood tests!

at my booking in appointmentr this time my midwife casually told me id haemorraged last time ...i didnt have a clue,she also said i was anaemic last time ...news to me too!! she said any blood loss over 500ml is classed as a haemorrage.
as for blood taking ive never had a problem with it until the last time i went ,i have antibodies that have to be checked regularly through pregnancy,anyway i have to have 3 vials of blood taken and last time i went she dropped one of the vials and bent down to pick it up whilst still holding the needle in my arm which then proceeded to flip out causing blood to go everywhere.i can only have blood taken from my left arm and have told her this on numerous occasions but she then decided to get the rest of the blood she needed from my right arm..this took about 10 minutes of her digging about in my arm till she finally got the blood she needed.
ive got to go monday for my final bloodtests/bloodcount etc and after this fiasco im really not looking forward to it and am seriously thinking of getting dp to come and hold my hand.

Rhubarb - you could always skip the GP and go into your local hospital and get the phlebotomist to do it - they will get it first time.

9.8 is not particularly low for a bloodcount in pregnancy - iron levels DO dip towards the end of pregnancy and it is physiologically normal - in factresearch has proven it to be beneficial. So long as you have no symptoms of anaemia then I would be inclined to tell youir midwife to bog off. Politely, of course.

What a palava! I got to docs at 4pm only to be told that no such appt had been made for me, and anyway all the blood taken that day had been sent off at 3pm so I would have to wait until Monday. I stomped my foot down and was told a nurse would take my blood if I could take it to the hospital myself. I heard the receptionist saying "This lady SAYS she made an appointment, but she's not on the computer" that annoyed me! Making out I was lying or something!

Anyway, she jabbed me in the same place the MWs had been jabbing me, which will result in a lovely bruise now! At least she got some first time! I then got dh to pick me up and we had to drive through town in rush hour traffic to get the blood sample to the hospital path lab before 5pm. Parked at the wrong end of the hospital, so rather than join a very long queue of traffic coming out, I dashed out and legged it the whole of the hospital and managed to slam my sample on the counter just in time!

Now after all of that it had better be up to 10! Though my BP is probably severely compromised by now!

Rhubarb - if your blood count remains under 10 then the compromise is to agree to an active 3rd stage where syntometrine is given to speed up the delivery of the placenta. That way, blood loss is reduced. To be honest a haemaglobin of 9.8 is not a great worry - Michel Odent would say hat it is a sign of a very healthy placenta.

Rhubarb - if your blood count remains under 10 then the compromise is to agree to an active 3rd stage where syntometrine is given to speed up the delivery of the placenta. That way, blood loss is reduced. To be honest a haemaglobin of 9.8 is not a great worry - Michel Odent would say hat it is a sign of a very healthy placenta.

Ojust caught up with this thread
when i was preg i had pre-eclampsia so had to have even more blood than average taken
only two people have ever got blood out of my arm first time
i always now ask for the back of my hand
they can never ever find a vein
i got used to it
they also say that it gets easy to get blood as your pregnancy gfoes on...mine didn't
btw hope things are ok with the sample

Yippee! My blood count is now 'normal' - so all that All Bran did the trick! Thanks for your advice on here, I think I would have fought for a home birth no matter what the results, but I'm just relieved I don't have to do that!