Blood Tests - Did you have them?

[Mummyinpink1289]

Hi Ladies,

I'm 11 weeks pregnant, and am terrified of needles, blood tests being by far thr worst.

Whilst i know the blood tests arent compulsary and i can refuse them, i wondered if any of you ladies have refused them in your pregnancies and why?

I feel like i'm being selfish if i refuse them just because of my own fears, i had the booking bloods done and think i will have the downs test one also but i just dont think i can cope with a 3rd at 28 weeks.

Just wanted some feedback on how others dealt with them.

Thanks in advance

I dont like having blood taken but have sucked it up and had it done, it certainly wont be the worst thing that happens during pregnancy and birth! If you are frightened could you ask for your bloods to always be taken at the hospita, maybe by someone who is used to dealing with nervous patients? Am sure its not an uncommon thing to be worrying about so there may be some provision to help

The 28wk ones can be just as important as the booking bloods. I'm not a fan of having blood taken but I know for my health I have to. I'm pleased I had mine done at 22wks, routine for twin pregnancy, it turns out my iron levels were shockingly low which can lead to complications during birth aswel as making me really ill along the way.

You won't find a mw who hasn't had someone who has a phobia of needles etc. Be honest with them so they can approach it in a different way. The bloods I had taken this wk were really easy I hardly felt a thing. Maybe having your bloods done by a blood taking person (not even going to attempt to spell the correct name) would make it quicker and easier for you.

trust me, this is my third pregnancy and my worst moment of my first labour was the stitches i had to have! i would gladly rather go through a labour than have stitches again. thats how much i hate needles.

the only thing pushing me to have them is the baby's welbeing. Its just really putting a downer on my pregnancy - i seem to have got worse since my last pregnancy 4 years ago and was in tears before theyd even started last week when i had my bloods taken. to make things worse the young midwife who did it missed the vein the first time so i had to go through it all twice as she had to take the needle out and try another one. it was as bad as id expected and im just dreading the 16 week one already

i dont really like asking for special treatment - or calling it a phobia, as i just feel like im an attention seeker but i cant even picture having bloods taken without feeling sick.

in my first 2 pregnancies i had the same midwife who was lovely and an expert at taking blood, shes now retired and so i ended up with a really young girl who was less experienced. I am definately not letting her do it next time i can tell you that!

I don't particularly like needles myself, but it has to be done for both your own and your baby's sake. I didn't have the 16 week blood tests (for DS) but have had all of the others. I've actually had a better experience with my midwife than when I've had blood taken in the past by a specialist nurse. I always look away when I have a vaccination or blood taken and try to put myself somewhere else...The 28 week tests are important because they need to check if your body is producing any weird antibodies that could harm you or your baby as well as checking your iron levels to see if you need iron tablets.

(Sorry about the cross posting there)

I'd never had blood drawn before I got pregnant. I found the anticipation was worse than the actual procedure. I also needed anti D, so it was like exposure therapy really.

You can ask to have them at the phlebotomy department at your local hospital. They really are expert and could deal with your fear as well.

Ask for the phlebotomist to take them rather than the midwives. For me personally the midwives have botched every blood test I've ever has through two pregnancies and I have good veins!

I don't like needles either. I now have a medical condition which means I have to have blood tests and I just get used to it and grin and bear it.

You could ask them to use cold spray first. I agree though, they're all important. My practice nurse and the phlebotomists at the hospital can take my blood in seconds which is much better. Get someone who's really good at it.

My midwife asked unprompted if I had a problem with needles before she took mine - I don’t know what she would have done if I had said yes, but it suggests that it is quite common!
And she was good at taking it quickly with not much pain - even though she was quite young so she can't have been doing it for years and years.

I had bloods today at 8+1 - I wasn't expecting to have bloods taken today so when the MW told me I felt sick! I hate needles - always have.
I always lay down to have bloods taken, I look away & talk complete nonsense until it's all done. Luckily it was over very quickly and in hindsight it just felt like a pinch / scratch. It's the anticipation if it though!

My midwife had trouble taking my blood so I now am going to use the nurse instead. She found it a lot easier and the midwife doesn't have a problem with me doing that

You're not alone I'm terrified but in all pregnancies have got through it (although I refused 28 wk bloods last time as midwife said they are for my benefit won't be a bad thing for baby and my iron levels were always great previously.) I tried to face my fear this time and explained to midwife my problem and she reassured me she's great at it and she butchered me, got no blood and I near passed out before deciding to get myself to the hospital to see a lady who gets it first go everytime, painlessly. I'm never seeing anyone else from now on she's incredible and I trust her, she uses a butterfly needle so it doesn't wiggle when changing tubes, she tapes it to keep it still, and it took her about a min to get five tubes. If you get an expert from the blood room at hospital I promise it can be that easy, it's when they miss your vein and try again you tense up and feel funny in my experience. Good luck xxx

I refused my initial bloods this pregnancy. Pregnancy 1 was a nightmare and my veins kept collapsing and it became very stressful so I thought I won't go through it again! I avoided it til 28 week's and a different midwife sprung it on me and I felt brave! I explained to her and asked that if she doesn't get it first t

Time... To leave it! She was fab and went straight in there. I would ask for her again!

I don't know why you would refuse them TBH. Especially as you've had them for your last two pg! They're by far not the worst thing to happen to you in pg.

I too hate needles and react badly to having blood taken. I have to lie down or I feel sick. I have all mine done at the phlebotomy dept at the hospital, as others have said they're experts and I barely feel a scratch. They never rush me to get up afterwards so I can lie still for a few minutes to avoid the nausea.

As it happens I've also had GD which means I have to prick test my fingers four times a day, so I'm a lot less squeamish with needles than I used to be!