Stressful appointment today

[wispa31]

Right, im 40+1 today. Had consultant appt today at 9.45 this morning. Didnt leave again til after 2pm!! Was brought into cons room to be greeted by someone other than who i thought was my consultant!? (the lady doc id previously seen for appts turns out not to be my consultant either!) was already a little apprehensive as was warned they would be looking to give me induction date and aware she would prob want to do a ve. In the room was a medical student and at no point was i asked if that was ok for her to be there, plus there was hc support worker who normally does the bp an dip your wee while u chat to doc.
Doc then just said 'right, if u get up on couch so i can do exam and sweep' she didnt even ask me if that was ok and by this point im a little panicked and said id prefer that she didnt. Totally threw her off kilt.
She scanned baby etc while other girl did bp, which had jumped up to over 130/90!! After being totally fibe y,day. Doc starts getting jumpy an when i still refused an induction date (am happy to be monitored an then discuss if at any point baby showing signs of needing to

Damn stupid phone!
Am happy to discuss options if baby shows signs of needing out)
The actual consultant who is not who i had seen on previous appts then came in wanting to know why i didnt want induxtion date an banging on about policy and started to talk about risks of stillbirth etc and how she wouldnt be comfortable to let me go beyond 14 days! Felt totally ambushed and stressed out by the whole thing and ended up being sent to fetal assess unit due to high bp. Had to be monitored for an hr to do bp every 15 mins (it dropped back down to 120/84.) the mw the warned i may not get into mlu due to high bp but i really believe thats due to the stress of the appt. Im getting local mw to check it in morn just to see and maybe a sweep if im favourable.
Any of you ladies have any advice? Im due back to hosp next thur and afraid of a repeat of today. Sorry this so long! X

You poor thing! Sounds horrible, no wonder your bp went up. Did you have anyone with you? You are absolutely within your rights to say what YOU want for YOUR baby. The medical staff can advise, but you do what you feel comfortable with. Normal gestation is 37-42 weeks. No-one under 42 weeks is overdue ffs! Due date scan be inaccurate too. I understand that the hospital have guidelines to follow, but that are just that, guidelines not the holy grail.

When you go to your next appointment, take someone with you for moral support. It's often easier not to panic (& send your bp up!) and state your case clearly with your partner/mum/friend with you. I would explain to your mw when you see her about why you think the blood pressure was up and hopefully she can back you up re. mlu.

Good luck and remember you are being entirely reasonable in making the choices you want for you and your baby. You are having regular scans and are in no way putting your baby at risk!

Sorry no advice, but just wanted to say sorry you had such a rubbish experience at your appointment. They have no right to dictate what you do or don't do. Their job is to give you the relevant information and allow you to make the choice that is right for you and your baby. I would not have been happy with being told I was having an examination and sweep rather than asked. That would have put my back (and my bp) right up!!

No wonder you were so stressed out. I'm glad you came away from the appointment having stood your ground. I hope you are treated with a lot more respect next time.

That's totally unacceptable in so any ways...

• should have asked you whether happy with radical student and hca
• should have asked you whether you were happy with ve
• should have asked you uf you wanted to try a sweep and explained benefits and risks
• should have had a conversation (I.e. 2 way) with you about benefits/risks of induction and when you would consider it. If you are low risk they normally wouldn't do it until 41+3 and are normally not bothered about waiting until 42.
• consultant should not have barged in and bullied you.

No wonder you blood pressure went up! So sorry you had that experience.

I would complain if I were you as that as just so crap.and familiarise yourself with the NICE guidelines on induction so you are well informed.

Medical student not radical student!

Why are you under a consultant to start with? Does that have any bearing why they are pushing for induction?

Morons. You're one day over for chrissakes! No need to panic just yet.

ah found it! sorry late reply ladies, couldnt find the thread!! thank you for replying! fluff- i think in this hospital everyone comes in to see consultant (or maybe its the registrar, no one ever introduces themselves!) regardless if they are low risk or not. i am as far as i know low risk, unless this bp episode changes that.
i had dp with me, and typically, the mere mention of stillbirth by consultant has him freaking out about waiting. funny enough, she didnt actually provide any recent up to date stats..
update - i went straight to my lovely local midwives on fri morn, even though it was arranged for 1 to call out to me on mon. they checked bp and wee again, all clear, as i suspected it would be. i should add they ran bloods on thurs aswell, while at assessment unit, all clear.
i sat in tears in their office and told them what had happened and they were so comforting and lovely! like your 2 fave aunties lol! completely got where i was coming from. i asked them to examine me and if they could to do a sweep, as i felt safe and comfy with them. so chuffed with myself as up to then i had only ever had 1 exam years ago and had to ask doc to stop. never even had a smear due to that experience.
im due to go in to midwives again on mon so will get them to have another go as cervix still closed y,day :( so currently bouncing on the ball like a mad thing!
i am seriously considering contacting the supervisor of midwives re thur appt and to discuss options with her before i have to go back on thurs if i havent gone myself.
does anyone have any links to stillbirth stats etc that i could have a read over? thanks again ladies! xx

Goodness, decent stats were hard to find for stillbirth risk by gestational age but here they are - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1998.tb10047.x/full . Recent UK study too.

But read the NICE guidelines as well that I linked to above.

Sorry live link onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1998.tb10047.x/full

And a slighty easier to get your head round article from my favourite midwife blog.... midwifethinking.com/2010/09/16/induction-of-labour-balancing-risks/

Thanks for those links lady. I'm going to read up on them now! If I have to keep that fking appt I'm going well armed! Also got number for supervisor of midwives and will be ringing first thing.

That was really interesting reading Ladymedea. Thank you. I'm pregnant with DC3 and because I went to 42wks with my 1st two, I'm expecting to go 'beyond term' again. In order to avoid the 'roller coaster of intervention' I experienced with my first two labours, I'd rather wait and go into labour naturally. The links you provided have given me the confidence to refuse induction because the suggestion is that there are risks associated with induction, just as there are risks associated with a longer gestation period. Thanks again!

Update again - was in with mw again ths morn, things have progressed since fri! Woohoo!! :) she was able to get 2 fingers in and give it a stretch whereas it was closed on fri! She was also able to feel membranes and babys head so going in right direction! Going back on wed if ive not gone myself by then! Anything to avoid appt on thurs. Bp was fine again today and urine clear so really do think fight/flight response had fucked up bp readings as everything has been clear since.

That's great news wispa!! Good luck and enjoy your new baby when they decide to put in an appearance. :)