really bloody confused - 3 days ago there was a heartbeat now they can't see a foetus???

[Tutter]

ok, am 6 weeks pg

on saturday i had a private scan - all good - saw a foetus and heartbeat

had an nhs scan in the diary for today - had orig planned to cancel it as i'd had the private one

but had a small bleed on sunday so decided to keep today's scan for reassurance

well after waiting for bloody ages i was finlly scanned and the sonographer said "sorry i can't see a foetus - there's a yolk sac but nothing inside it"

wtf?? is it possible for the foetus to have disappeared???

am hoping to get back to harley street tonight to see them again

really freaked out

Thats why Im asking why Im not getting a six week scan cause my last one was life threatening and I thought they would scan me just now. Whats EPU.

Thabnks Tuutterr.

Early Pregnancy Unit

Early Pregnancy Unit.

in that case i would ask for one, definitely. you need the reassurance, i think. like tutter says, if you say you've had a bleed they'll do one. (which feels like tempting fate, i know, so maybe just ask for one first and then get tricksy if necessary... )

Tutter, great news - I'm sorry you had this scare.

I had my 21 week scan at Kingston yesterday (1.50pm), by coincidence, and had already made up my mind to go for a private one also.

The sonographer who did the testing told me everything looked OK and that I shouldn't come back to the unit - I should go to my GP instead every 4 weeks from now on for pre-natal care. I was flabbergasted - in my only previous pregnancy, I had gestational diabetes, early rupture of membranes (30 weeks) and finally a ruptured placenta and a crash section (in the States, so care was excellent and everything turned out ok - but only just). Also Strep B and some fibroids this time round; I'm 43. So I couldn't believe what I was told - they haven't even shown me round the birth units, and I have only had one midwife appointment (13 weeks - no nuchal scan because I had a CVS). I made a fuss and insisted on coming back to see a consultant because this was what had been intimated at 13 weeks. If I had been younger, less confident, perhaps I would just have been a 'good girl' and docilely done as I was told ...

So where did you go privately, if you don't mind my asking ....?

i saw dr gibb at the birth company, 137 harley street

spudballoo can probably give you more help about antenatal care with him - i have only been for scans

with ds i went to the fetal medicine centre for scans - didn't go back only because they aren't open on saturdays - it was they who recommended dr gibb (same building)

Thanks Tutter. I think I need a safety net. Hope everything settles down for you and stays settled.

I was only really talking about EPUs when comparing West Mid and Kingston - opinions seem fairly split between good and bad on the rest of Kingston's care. however, I have got vague recollections of them not doing tours dueat44, seem to remember you could watch a video though!

Thanks MrsJC. I think I'm more likely to get a sepia photograph, resources seem so stretched (if anything at all cos' it certainly hasn't been suggested to date). I'm just amazed at what seems like a total lack of care / interest. Has NHS pre-natal care always been like this?

hmm I'm not sure, but I'm sure it will look quite 3rd world compared to lots of places in the States!
However, I always back the NHS for emergency care - it usually comes up trumps then. Where it always looks horribly stretched is in routine, non-emergency care, and of course antenatal care comes under that banner. I have just moved to NZ mid-pregnancy and cannot believe it every time I go to the midwife/sonographer/blood testing and am seen within 5 minutes - routinely I would have to wait 1-2 hours last time back at West Mid. Also, I have one midwife all the way through, should she not be available for the birth I've already met her 2 backups who I'd get instead. I barely saw the same person twice in the UK.
I don't like to slag off the NHS because they have provided me with some pretty good emergency care over the last few years. But there's no doubt that there is a shortage of midwives and maternity care is not how it should be. Both Kingston and West Mid are not by any means amongst the worst maternity services and chances are you will be fine, but it ain't fancy.

Sigh, MrsJC - that's what I was suspecting. It seems ironic - there must be a greater risk of emergency care being needed if the everyday care isn't there to act as an early warning system. I'm still hoping Kingston will come good when I get nearer to the danger zone - the diabetes kick-in point, for example. It must be hard for them to keep staff when house prices, etc, are London-high but no London weighting paid.

i don't know if it's the same in your hospital duett, but at mine there were always plenty of urine strips in the loo, so i just took my camera into the loo one day and took a photo of the colour charts on the side of the pack and then grabbed a handful of the strips. i liked the security of knowing i could test at home every so often.

i should say that i did tell my consultant what i was planning to do and he said that he didn't mind cos i wasn't a panic-merchant.

I think my antenatal classes at Kingston (which included a tour) back in December 2004 were virtually the last -- those classes were cancelled then reinstated, and the scope and duration of the next batch were apparently reduced so much that many of the midwives were refusing on principle to lead them because they did not believe that you could give useful information in the time allowed. There was a video in existence that ought to be borrowable, should you be able to track down anyone who knows what you are talking about...