Where to find Antentatal care in Barnet

[jasmin93]

Hi All,
I am currently 5 weeks pregnant with my first child.
We recently moved to Barnet in North London, so I changed my GP to this area too.
Once I found out I was pregnant, I went to my new GP to let them know and maybe receive some info. All they said was: We do not deal with this anymore. Please contact Barnet Hospital.
So I went home and called the hospital. There, they forwarded me to their "birthing center". I do not want to give birth in a birthing center though.
I feel lost and don't know what to do.
Is there any of you near barnet area that could give me some helpful advice of what to do now?
Thank you everyone !

When the GP said they don't deal with it I think what they meant to say was that you don't need to go to a GP to register yourself for antenatal care. I live nearby (but not barnet) and I self referred online, I could have also done it by calling up and I think that was the number you were given.

You're extremely early on in your pregnancy so at this point I would suggest self referring, either online or via the number they gave you, and waiting to see your midwife. Your first appointment is usually between 8-10 weeks pregnant. You don't actually need to choose where you give birth till much much later so whether the referral is done via a birthing unit, hospital or midwife led unit is irrelevant at the moment.

Me again!

I just remembered you can only self refer from 6 weeks where I live so might be the same for you, you can check online though or when you call. So you might need to wait before you can sign up, so to speak.

Also, FWIW, Barnet hospital and it's midwife led unit have a good reputation. I've had many friends give birth there and the hospital essentially saved my friend's life after the birth of her last son so I only have good things to say about the care there.

I also live in Barnet, I self referred online and then received an appointment through the post for my booking appointment... :)

Go on the Barnet & Chase Farm (part of the Royal Free HospitalTrust) hospital website; they should have a form online for you to refer yourself for care.
Alternatively call the hospital back and ask to be put through to the antenatal clinic. Don't worry if u end up speaking to someone in the birth centre, they will just direct you to the best person to speak with, it doesn't mean you have to deliver there!

Thank you all for your quick replies.
That helps a lot

So, just to catch up on this thread...
I called up my GP again and asked for an appointment. They refused and said I do not need an appointment. I should self-referral myself and only see a GP, should I have any cramps or bleeding. At 24, they say, I should be fine.
When I told the woman on the phone, that I still do not know how to self-referral myself and feel very much left alone with this, she started laughing. [SAD]

I googled and came up with this now:
www.royalfree.nhs.uk/services/services-a-z/maternity-services/maternity-self-referral-form/ Is this correct ? I did not hear anything back yet.

I booked a private ultra sound scan, as I would like the reassurance that my baby has a heartbeat.

Thank you ever so much for your help ladies. I have nobody else to ask... [FLOWERS]

Have you called the hospital again?
You won’t see much on a scan at the moment, I would wait until after 8 weeks for a private scan.

Just called up the hospital.
The woman at the reception does not listen to what I say. As soon as she hears "pregnancy" or "antenatal", she forwards me to the antenatal clinic, which has an answering mashine saying: Only call when its urgent and then they hung up.

Why do I feel so lost and left alone by every GP & doctor & hospital in England ? I never heard that antenatal care starts as late as 12 weeks into your pregnancy.
Dont they want to check your blood pressure or BMI or whatever ? They do not know whether I am fit and healthy or struggling from depression and anxiety right now ?
Stupid.
sorry for the rant, but I do not know what else to do.

If you’ve completed that form then you do just need to be patient, if you haven’t heard back by 8 weeks then chase them then. I know it’s hard but they won’t do much anyway at the moment. My midwife appointments didn’t get interesting until 25 weeks.

If you’ve filled in a referral form you will be contacted for your booking in Appointment. They’ll weigh and take blood pressure etc then. Usually at 8-9 weeks and the scan is at 12 weeks. Honestly, while it seems like ages a pregnancy is very long and the baby is just beginning to develop and there really isn’t anything to do at this point unless you are having bleeding etc. Try and see the fact that you don’t need to see a doctor at this point as a positive, it means you are having a perfectly straightforward early pregnancy. Which is a positive.

Also you won’t always see a heartbeat on a very early scan. Because the baby has barely developed a heart yet and it’s too small to see much at all. That is why NHS scan is later. So there’s a baby to see!

I see you are 5 weeks. They really won’t see anything beyond a small sac until 7 weeks or so. There will be no heartbeat yet. Think about whether that will actually reassure you or not, it’s normal not to see a heartbeat but if that’s all you want to see will it make you more stressed? It probably won’t be a abdominal scan, most likely a vaginal scan or they wouldn’t see anything. Again this is why it is not standard to scan at this point in a case of no bleeding etc. There isn’t much point! At this stage best to take your vitamins, take care of yourself if you are feeling sick and tired. Health care isn’t letting you down, it’s just there isn’t anything to do at this stage! It may seem a long time for you but don’t worry that something that should be happening isn’t happening, you haven’t been missed out by the system or anything!

Thank you everyone.
I guess you are right. Not seeing the GP might be a good thing. I was just so confused as it's so much different to what we do in Germany.
I booked the private scan for when I am 7+3 And would hope for a vaginal scan, should the normal abdominal scan fail to detect a heartbeat.
The first pregnancy is always the scariest - especially when you have nobody in person to ask for advice.

Thanks everyone for calming me down

Pregnancy care is fairly non medicalised and Midwife led here unless you have any pre existing conditions that require you to have a consultant, or develop a condition during the pregnancy. Low risk births will often be in Midwife centres not hospitals. You likely won’t see a doctor in a normal pregnancy, just Midwives. A normal healthy pregnancy can seem pretty hands off until the later months! I’m 21 weeks and as this is my second child I’m not seeing Midwife again until 28 weeks.

@jasmin93 this is the link for the online self referral form:

www.royalfree.nhs.uk/services/services-a-z/maternity-services/maternity-self-referral-form/

This is all you need to complete for you to access maternity care in Barnet, they will contact you with a booking and scan appointment.

Where I am the community midwives are based at the birthing centre but you can choose to give birth there, at home or in a choice of 3 hospitals.

It sounds like you have had some issues with the GP service but the hospital is pretty good - I had consultant led care and it was generally a positive experience, but the new mw led birth centre is supposed to be good too.

Thank you everyone. I will try my best to be patient from now on.
I filled in the form - so I guess that's all i can do for now.