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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Flu vaccine

23 replies

Paperchains1986 · 30/12/2017 19:15

Hi all

I've posted before about my crap (IMO) midwife. She's not being that helpful so asking you lot. When do you usually get offered flu vaccine? Is it 2nd trimester?

OP posts:

squadronleader87 · 30/12/2017 19:18

It may vary depending on your health board. I’m in Scotland and I wasn’t offered one as such, I just called my surgery when the clinics started and made an appointment.

The flu vaccine is seasonal so I don’t think your trimester comes into it. I was around 35wks when I had it in October this year.

gryffen · 30/12/2017 19:20

I had mine earlier this year and the vaccine is only produced for certain times during the year - my guess would be March to May for my next dose including whooping cough.

Did you get the flu jab this year while you were pregnant or before hand?

GilligansKitchenIsland · 30/12/2017 19:26

Midwife here. You can have the flu vaccine at any gestation. Some women choose to have it at the same time as their whooping cough vaccine (which can be given any time between 16-32 weeks) but that's for their own convenience, not for any clinical reason. The sooner you can have the flu vaccine, the sooner it can offer you protection.
Like squadron says, different trusts will have different guidelines regarding "offering" it. Where I work, we don't offer it as part of the routine antenatal care, but we ask women to get it from their GPs or local chemist if they have their maternity exemptions certificate. I do know of other areas where the midwives themselves give it in antenatal clinic, though (and those areas probably have better uptake than we do...!)

Original poster

Paperchains1986 · 30/12/2017 19:31

Thanks all. I'm 17 weeks, never had a flu jab but midwife said I would be offered one. My 20 week scan isn't booked in yet and I had to have two lots bloods for sickle cell as the results had been lost. I was wondering if I should chase this while chasing a date for the scan. I will have my 16 week antenatal appt when I'm nearly 19 weeks as that was booked in late too.

Does any of this matter? First baby anxiety!

OP posts:

user1485778793 · 30/12/2017 19:52

I'd ring the hospital and tell them to book your scans for the correct date. Seems daft to be having a 16 week scan at 19 weeks.... at 19 weeks you may aswell have 20 week anomoly scan or just wait a week.

Original poster

Paperchains1986 · 30/12/2017 19:58

The 16 week thing is just an antenatal appt, not a scan. I assumed that the scan would be book at that appointment. Does that seem reasonable? Or should I be doing more to schedule my own stuff? I've assumed the MW would do this but perhaps not!

OP posts:

mindutopia · 30/12/2017 22:19

It's anytime in pregnancy (during flu season, obviously if you're pregnant out of flu season, you won't be offered one anyway). But you book it yourself with your surgery. It has nothing to do with the midwives really. I get one every year anyway. You just ring up the surgery and tell them you want to book in with a nurse for a flu jab. I had my whooping cough at the same time as I just happened to be 21 weeks anyway when the flu jab became available in October.

As for your scan, here you book in for your 20 week scan when you are leaving from your 12 week one. Usually you have to book all your own things, other than the booking appt and 12 week scan (usually those are just dates sent by letter). The others are up to you to book and no one will just tell you when they are. But I've always done my 20 week one at reception when I was checking out after the 12 week scan.

hellybellyjellybean · 30/12/2017 22:21

I just went to a local pharmacy and asked for one and got it straight away, didn't need to wait to be offered one or anything!

BigBaboonBum · 30/12/2017 22:27

You get one whenever you decide to book one in or go to a clinic, it isn’t your midwives job to give it to you. Ring your gp and they usually have clinics on certain days for them... or go to a pharmacy, or Tesco or Asda pharmacy etc

BigBaboonBum · 30/12/2017 22:28

And no the midwife doesn’t schedule the appointments for you, you have to book them in yourself. Some places will get your scans etc for you but the midwife ones are upto you to book

thepatchworkcat · 30/12/2017 22:29

I’m 17 weeks too, 2nd baby. Was told I should have a flu jab but it wasn’t ‘offered’ or arranged as such. I tried to book through my GP practice but they only had one, inconvenient, appointment available so I just went to Boots instead! Had the jab at 15 weeks.

thepatchworkcat · 30/12/2017 22:30

And yes my 20 week scan was booked when I came out of the 12 week one at the hospital.

Original poster

Paperchains1986 · 31/12/2017 06:11

How did you all know to do this stuff?

J have bumped my thread about midwife concerns so similar convo on there x

OP posts:

ScarlettInSpace · 31/12/2017 07:19

How did you all know to do this stuff?

At the end of each appt I ask what I need to do next

Original poster

Paperchains1986 · 31/12/2017 07:35

I did exactly the same Scarlett and didn't get told the same as you did! That's why I'm frustrated. I have been very proactive and have read as much as I can online but to no avail. I feel I'm navigating this very stressful time on my own without a guide to speak to face to face and a lot of the comments on this thread are quite patronising. I'm a professional 31 year old woman and if I'm not informed of what I need to do, I'm not sure how I'm instinctively meant to guess tbh. Things I'll be able to do now I know:

Book flu jab at GP or Boots
Call number on 12 week scan to book in 20 week scan (hoping an appt will be available in 2 weeks at a suitable time for me to have time off at work)
Speak to midwife on 9th Jan re: whooping cough and book myself after chat with her

Is there anything else that anyone thinks I should be doing at 17 weeks I might not be aware of? Having my 16 week antenatal appt at 18+1 weeks so can ask midwife then too obviously but may not get any useful info if the last 2 appts are anything to go by!

OP posts:

ScarlettInSpace · 31/12/2017 07:41

You can get your whooping cough & flu jab at the same time at your doctors if you ask when you book x

Mummyme87 · 31/12/2017 07:46

Appts don’t need to be bang on schedule so don’t worry about that. Anomaly scan should be done between 20-23weeks, call your scanning dept to ask how it’s booked.
Whooping cough and flu jab are your responsibility to book. In my unit the sonographer book your follow up scan appts

lifechangesforeverinjuly · 31/12/2017 08:05

I had mine at 5 weeks - trimester doesn't matter, it just depends if it's flu season or not and if the jab is being offered at that time.

thepatchworkcat · 31/12/2017 11:04

I don’t think any of us have been patronising, I think we’ve just answered your questiins

MeadowHay · 31/12/2017 11:36

I just want to pop in to say to OP that I feel confused after reading this thread too. So far all of my appointments and scans have been booked for me by my midwife, with the exception of flu jab that I was told to organise myself and got at my GP surgery. The only other thing I arranged myself was calling the midwife referral number to let them know I was pregnant and then I recieved my booking appt and dating scan dates in the post, as well as my GTT test, and now my 20 week anomaly scan in the post too. However I'm almost 16 weeks and haven't recieved an appt for the 16 week appt so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to somehow book this myself? The last time I've seen my midwife was at the booking appt and I asked her what I needed to do and she told me to get the flu jab but all other appointments she would book and I'd get letters in the post, but I'm not sure if that included my next midwife appt as like I say I haven't heard anything about it yet. I guess I will try and call her next week and ask .

I agree with OP that it's confusing and it obviously varies by area because lots of women on here have talked about booking their scans but I don't need to book scans in my area or the GTT test etc our midwifes arrange all of them for us.

Original poster

Paperchains1986 · 02/01/2018 16:05

Hi all

Just an update: I called to book 20 week scan. Was told this is done on my behalf and to wait for a letter at home. They are a bit delayed because of Christmas, apparently. Christmas is hardly a bloody surprise so that's annoying anyway.

So, turns out I didn't need to do anything. I'm in East Kent so interesting to know how different everywhere is.

I've scheduled Flu jab and whooping cough vaccine for when I'll be 20+2.

OP posts:

MeadowHay · 02/01/2018 16:31

Glad you got it sorted Paper. I think maybe the reason I haven't heard anything about my 16 week appt is for the same reason because there's probably been some stalling around Xmas with all the bank holidays and that. I am in Liverpool and we seem to get all our appts booked for us by our midwife. I was surprised to read in some areas you have to do all that yourself.

Original poster

Paperchains1986 · 02/01/2018 19:52

Thanks MeadowHay! My midwife made the 16 week appt when we saw her at 8 weeks, so totally different.

Also, just got home from work and found a letter about booking me a flu vaccine in the post. Sent 11th Dec apparently, I live about 15 houses away from the surgery! So they did book it for me after all that... bloody hell! Haha

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