Wee not tested at all during whole pregnancy!!

[booflebean]

I am 36 weeks and have just realised I haven't had my wee tested once!!

This is DC2 and I'm sure I can remember endlessly peeing in bottles last time?!!

This is crazy. At the start of any apopointment I have been to (community and hospital midwives) I have been asked if I have brought a sample and if not, given a pot and pointed to the loos.

Their fault. Saying the onus is on you is like saying if you didn't hold your arm out, they shouldn't bother taking your BP.

I would complain to both the midwife (that she's written no sample provided without asking you) and higher up the chain.

When is your next appointment? This is so important I would call midwife now and tell them and take a sample over ASAP. They don't check lood glucose so this is how they detect gestational diabetes. Don't wait - get it tested today. Echo what others said - I had to pee in surgery toilet if I forgot and never left an appointment without urine testing. I would ask to speak to the head midwife asap.

It's not just oversight though, is it? The MW deliberately put 'no sample provided' so she must have known that she should have been testing.

Oh dear this is not good. Midwife should always ask for your sample, it's really not up to you to remind her that it needs to be checked.

If I forget mine I'm sent straight off to the toilet to provide one. Agree with others that you need to get a test done asap and lodge a complaint.

Routine for all 3 of my pregnancies has been "morning, have you got your urine sample? Thank you here's your bottle for next time."

This is dreadful. Why has she not asked for your sample? How strange.

For my appointments I had to do a sample there each time, so I'm actually surprised you have to take one with you.

The onus is absolutely not on the patient, the midwife cannot possibly assume that people know what is required at each ante natal appointment, what a ridiculous statement.

Dont worry I totally ignored and eye-rolled at the comment about the onus being on me!

Next appt is on Weds. Will ask receptionist for a pot and go to the loo before I go in and just give it to her!!

Yesterday I had a mw appt, and in my rush to get out the house completely forgot to do a sample. She made me go and do one at the end of the appt and come back in with it, and even asked if I needed a drink beforehand.

I'm 37 weeks pregnant with my 1st. Where I live, it is "shared care" - that is, quite a few of the appointment are with GPs instead of midwives. I have been asked for a urine sample every time. However when it comes to measuring fundal height, checking the position of the baby and listening for the heartbeat, the GPs haven't done these things. In fact I assumed that maybe they were specialist things that only the midwife was able to do. When I saw the midwife last week she seemed quite shocked that these things had been missed. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience?

Jasmine, the midwives were booked-up at my local clinic so I had a doctor for my 16 week appointment. The doctor told me he didn't have a clue why I was there, or what needed checking. As it's my first I just guessed [based on reading around on here] and was a bit shocked when he then said he 'couldn't take blood' and wouldn't know what it should be screened for anyway.

Despite all that, he knew enough to check my urine sample! Boofle, the head of midwives in your area should be told, re-training might be needed for the midwife you saw.

That's really shocking! My midwife always gave me one of the test strips to pee on at every appointment rather than bringing a sample in. I'm pretty sure its supposed to be checked at each appointment.

badger - that's what I was going to ask - is there a particular reason that you have to bring in a pot of pee in the UK? In Canada I was just send to the bathroom to pee on a little stick each time and tell them if it came up even slightly green..

hi booflebean,
this is not acceptable practice. your midwife should check for protein and glucose only at every appointment, another dipstick can be used for infection if you have any symptoms of a water infection.

if a woman ever comes to my clinic and hasn't got a sample, i just remind them how important it is, and ask if they can do a sample now (most pregnant women can do a urine sample when asked!). if they can't i ask if they are willing to drink some water after their appointment and wait in the waiting room and try and do one. if they really can't, or don't have time, then i remind them that they really need to bring one next time and i document this. it is obviosuly partly your responsibility to remember a sample but its more the midwife's responsiblity to ask you!

Emma - midwife

Bumping. What happened at the appointment on Wednesday?

Hi!

Well I took some in with me and all fine... thank goodness.

I sort of subtly said "I've brought a wee sample as I realised I hadn't had it tested for my whole pregnancy!" She didn't say anything and just tested it. She had a student with her as well.

Blimey. There's nothing like being "cared" for is there? I feel bad for you OP, midwives are meant to look after you.

My midwives told me at my booking appointment "remember to collect a sample bottle before every appointment so we can check your wee". It's the first thing they check. Then blood pressure, then heartbeat and fundal height.

Complain maybe?

You should definitely raise this as quickly as possible with the supervisor of midwives in your area. Chance are this midwife hasn?t asked any of the women she?s looking after for a urine sample and among them there will almost certainly be a few who actually do have protein/sugar in their wee and need further investigation and care. Pre-eclampsia and gestation diabetes are potentially life-threatening to both mother and baby and this midwife?s failure to do such a basic check is putting lives at risk.

You can get the supervisor of midwives? contact details from your community midwife team if you have their number, or if not you can call the Nursing & Midwifery Council directly on 020 7637 7181.