40+ pregnancy

[Cleozeta]

Hi, I'm 41, and 4w 4d pregnant. Trying not to get too excited yet as I know it's high risk.
Any other 40+ people out there? How are you getting on?

Hi ladies. What fantastic news on your scans cleo and jo jo! You must feel massively relieved 😌. And congratulations on having a girl tiny. So exciting. We got our results through and all good. Surprisingly, this result was lower risk than my last two babies! We're slowly telling people as we see them........my bump is pretty obvious anyway. Hope everyone else is well. Good luck with your harmony tests ladies.

That's great sparkly! So pleased for you. Must be lovely to be at a point now where things are looking much more secure and you can actually start telling people, can't wait for that!!

Thank you sparkly ☺️ congratulations to you it must be so relief to get that part out of the way. You can relax and enjoy your pregnancy now.

Thanks ladies and congratulations sparkly, it's so nice when you can finally relax

Had my booking in appointment with the midwife today. Seemed quite different from last time. A lot less bumpf to take home (what happened to the bounty packs?!) It was all about ticking boxes on a computer this time. And the computer calculated at least 2 or 3 things that I would be high risk for based purely on age, including blood clots and pre eclempsia. I have been advised to take asprin from 12 weeks. Anyone else had this?

I asked about the bounty packs! Apparently you get them at the 12 wk scan now. My notes were given in a massive plastic cover, there was no way of discreetly squeezing them into my hand bag. Midwife also mentioned aspirin to me and said I would be told to take it later on. I started taking a quarter of a normal one after the appointment after reading more about it.

I wasn't given any notes either! I walked away with 1 leaflet about downs testing, and a wee pot to take to the nurse next week. That was it.
Glad to hear we may still get a bounty pack!
I was told I'd need to take mini asprin (apparently they come like that?) from 12 weeks. Not read anything up about it yet. What have you read? Do you think I should start taking it now?

I got notes, no computers here yet think it's being phased in nationwide. No bounty pack either :( but yes, aspirin from 12 weeks. Although I had to ask the Dr for a prescription, not sure if my midwife forgot or what

I got my hand held notes at my first mw appointment and got my bounty pack at my 12 week scan. Nobody has mentioned aspirin to me though? Why do they advise to take it?

If you're over 40 you are considered to be at slightly higher risk of a blood clot. Practice may vary by area though.

Yours must be all on computer Cleo. Midwife said they were in the process of transferring but she was still doing handwritten and computer. There are various benefits but MW mentioned pre eclampsia being reduced with aspirin and she just said generally about it thinning the blood to do with the placenta? I read about it reducing risk of miscarriage so I just started taking it anyway. What dose did they prescribe tiny?

It's 75mg of dispersible aspirin.

Having said it was for VTE, nothing in my notes actually says! It is on the same page as something about pre-eclampsia so maybe it's that 🤔

So I wonder if the computer thing is why I didn't get any handheld notes? A bit disapointed to be honest!! My midwife did seem a bit scatty on the admin front though. She was suppost to test me for carbon dioxide (or something like that) but couldn't find her machine. I must admit, the computer thing did make it feel very impersonal. Just ticked a load of boxes on a screen and that was that.
So do we have to have the asprin perscribed or can we get it over the counter? I asked the midwife but she was vague and said I wouln't need it until 12 weeks. Thinking of starting now too!

I remember in my previous pregnancies I used to like reading through the handheld notes. Had some useful stuff in it. I guess its all stored on a computer now for other midwives & Drs to access. Not very useful for me though!

I know I like the handheld notes. I remember being upset with my first that I was never given them back after labour! I had put all my results letters etc in there and it was all taken away! The midwife did hand me a copy of my notes that were taken whilst I was in labour at my booking appointment. They were quite interesting to read.

When I went to the chemist they were a bit odd but I didn't know exactly what I needed so that's why I went to the doctor. Not sure if you need a prescription or not. My midwife had written 'requested' on my notes so I assumed she'd requested a prescription but there wasn't one waiting. The Dr didn't mind doing it though.

I’m in the deepest darkest westcountry so no computers ‘ere!

There is definitely something better about old school hard copy paper! I would love to see the notes from my first labour, I reckon they could have written a book from that haha!
I think I'll have to ask GP for asprin too as I don't want to end up taking the wrong thing, plus I have nothing written down to confirm the quantity I need to take and I currently have a 3 second memory. This is why handheld notes are useful!!
Poopy - I am a westcountry girl too! Living in Cambridge now but still not got used to this modern technology malarky!! Haha

Hi everyone. 12 week scan yesterday and all looked fine. Now anxiously awaiting the blood results. How soon did you get yours?

Hi snore, congratulations on a good 12 week scan! That must have been a relief

I'm not the best person to answer your question about blood test results as my baby had a high NT so they rushed the bloods through and I had the result the next day. I think the standard is around 3 days if they are concerned, or up to 2 weeks if everything looks normal. Don't forget though that our age puts us in the 'higher risk' category for Down's so unless your bloods are completely normal you may be called in. Try not to worry too much about it though xx

Congrats on a lovely scan snore! I think its usually a few days. But I also follow the 'no news is good news' theory. Generally if you don't hear something soon, chances are it's all fine!
I also agree with Tiny that chances are we could end up 'high' for risk anyway purely through age. That's why I've decide to have a NIPT test as it gives a more realistic view without throwing us into panic purely because of age! Got mine coming up in a couple of weeks. Plus it's an excuse for another scan
Good luck snore, hope all comes out fine for you

Here results take 2-3 days if the results are below 1 in 150 and up to 2 weeks if higher. I got a letter about 10 days later with mine.

The sonographer did mention the fact that age carries quite a lot of weight in the calculation so can skew the figures quite a bit.

So not hearing means its unworrying news.... gosh this is all so stressful!

I have just got a date for my 12 week scan! 30th May, so only about 4 weeks away. Right in the middle of half term though so may have to take the kids with us!! Are kids allowed into scans?? They are 5 & 7. Guess we'll also need to tell them first...
Also is there much point in us getting the DS screening if we are having NIPT??

Ooh exciting Cleo! They don't let kids into scans in most places unfortunately. Maybe check in advance but be prepared to leave them with someone.

There's no point having the bloods done - let them know you've had the NIPT and they should accept that. If not just remember the NIPT result is more accurate than whatever risk they give you.

It is worth getting the NT measurement though as it can be a sign of things other than chromosomal abnormality, primarily possible heart problems, so you will get extra heart scans if it is high (>3.5 mm).