When to start taking your notes with you?

[Flyingchimps]

Hi all,

I’m hitting the 31 week mark and we are going away for the weekend (only a couple of hours away from home) do I need to take my notes with me? Or is that just being a bit over keen? We are catching the train so bag space is of a premium! Thoughts appreciated!

My midwife told me to take them everywhere with me as soon as i got them. Been toting them around since 12 weeks lol

I'm 17 weeks and was told to take mine with me this month when I go away.

Definitely take them! They don't take up that much space. Hope you have a lovely trip

I took mine from the second trimester if I was going ages hours away. I took them on shorter trips from about 36 weeks.

@Winterfellismyhome 🙊 I must have missed this memo, we went to australia when I was about 11-14 weeks, the notes stayed at home.

I went an hour away by plane to a different country for a weekend when I was 24 weeks and didn't take them, and I went a few hours train journey away for a weekend when I was 31 weeks and also didn't take them. I did think about it but I saw the midwife just before I went on the first holiday and she didn't tell me to take them with me. I don't really have any significant complications or medical history though that would be particularly relevant in an emergency and I was with my partner at all times on both the trips who knows all my medical history. I guess it would be more important if there were more complications or you would be with people who wouldn't have that info.

I was told off by for not having my notes with me after an unexpected bleed at 14 weeks so since then they’ve come everywhere with me 🤦🏻‍♀️

Mine haven't been anywhere except appointments and even then, I've forgotten them twice I promise I'll be better now!

They don’t give you them back til 16 weeks in my area but I have to say that I never actually had them with me unless I knew I had an appointment. I now realise this was potentially ridiculous behaviour but luckily I didn’t need them unless I had appointments or when I went in to be induced.

I’m glad it’s not just me who only takes them to appointments. I’ve tidied my house (nesting apparently) and now can’t find them at all anyway... midwife appointment tomorrow could be interesting! Best de-nest and find them, and then obviously take them away this weekend!

I've just been to see my midwife this morning as she's written a fit to fly note for me for next week - going to USA for 2 weeks. She said the only things they'll really need to know are my blood type & due date as everything else has been complication free up to this point (I'm 22 weeks), and so she wrote those on my note to save me taking the rest of my paperwork.

I had complications and carried them around from 20 weeks with #2.

I can’t actually remember carrying them around with #1.

Mainly laziness on my part but mine live in the car (I live very rurally so have to drive everywhere anyway)so they are always with me. I'm expecting DC2 in a few weeks and throughout this pregnancy and my pregnancy with DC1 I've had quite a few minor episodes of spotting, but because I'm rh neg each one has required a trip to Maternity day assessment for anti d.

It's far more hassle not having them with you and needing them than it is just packing them to go with you in the first place.

I went to a wedding for the weekend 2.5 hours away at 38 weeks with DD1 and forgot them! Luckily I didn’t need them.
I reckon I started thinking about taking them places at around 32 weeks (bar the incident above!)

I've had mine with me in my handbag since the day I got them, was told to keep them on me at all times by the midwife. Just assumed everyone else was told this too, mine are now incredibly battered and tatty although I do like having a read through and looking at the graphs and stuff when I'm bored.

Ours are online and only accessible by our trust but the midwife said if we go away beyond 30 weeks to make sure I get her to print them off so I can carry a copy.

40+5 and mine still only go to appointments 🙈

Ours are all online, I thought that was the same countrywide but I guess not!

38+4 and mine only ever come to appointments 🤷‍♀️ maybe start carrying them in mine/ds1's bag!

Three dc and I only ever took my notes to appointments 😬

Ours are all online, I thought that was the same countrywide but I guess not!

Not that sophisticated here!

I'm 29 weeks and have recently started keeping mine in the car, but that's more because I'm having a lot of appointments at the moment and I'm worried about forgetting them and being told off! They do say on them that you should carry them throughout pregnancy, but given that they don't seem to have any back-up of most of the info in them the risk of me losing them seemed higher than the risk of me needing them!

I did take them when I went to the US at 24-26 weeks, but thinking about it now that actually makes less sense than carrying them in the UK, as obviously if anything did occur they wouldn't want to actually write on them and use them as the NHS would.

I just keep them in the boot of my car! They are better sitting there than sitting at home in my view! There had been a few times with both my other two dc that I had to go from work to the maternity assessment unexpectedly, so I just figured if they stay in the car, I've got them then if anything came up that needed me to go in. I'm 22 weeks

I got told off for not having them with me when I was asked in for a rushed nuchal scan at 13 weeks. Since then they live in the car.

Ideally you should take them with you; if anything happened, very unlikely but you never know, and you needed to visit a hospital they would be a massive help to the hospital as they contain so much information about your pregnancy and avoid you having to have tests and things repeated just because they don't have your results at that hospital.