Any midwives/medical professionals out there who can answer me this one question?

[Louellah]

At each midwife appointment where a urine sample is required, should these be sent off for testing each time? Or should they just be used for a simple 'dip test'. Midwife missed a uti which turned in to a kidney infection. Not looking to get anyone in trouble as it's not my bag, however was told by a consultant that in pregnant women all urine samples should be sent for further testing as the dip tests can miss things which can be dangerous in pregnancy. Should my further samples be sent off? Or is this out of the norm?

Amazingly, I put my back pain and constant peeing down to being pregnant (first time mum so no idea what's normal and what's not). Midwife did a dip test and it showed nothing. Went to my gp a week later with the same pains and a fever and turns out it's due to a kidney infection and that peeing every 15 mins isn't normal even in pregnancy!

Apologies for the second post of the evening. Having an anxious one...

Dip tests show up protein, white cells, blood, glucose and bilirubin plus others. If you get positives and send off to the lab they examine under microscope for white cells, blood and do an infection culture. If someone was asymptomatic and their dip test normal I wouldn’t send to the lab. If dip test normal but patient showing symptoms of UTI then I would send off. Occasionally a dip has been normal but infection present but this is unusual and those patients have been symptomatic.

I've onky had samples sent off in pregnancy when the dip has shown something. Sounds like you've just been unlucky. It would cost an absolute fortune for all tests to be sent off

Thanks @IheartNiles - I definitely had a kidney infection at the time of the dip test, as the pain remained and got worse and worse, and cleared up in 2 days with antibiotics. I did tell midwife about back pain and cramps but I can see how she thought this was a normal symptom of pregnancy. Never mentioned the excessive peeing as I figured this was a normal pregnancy symptom too! Looks like I was just unlucky

I’m a midwife. Only send samples off if something shows up on the dip test. As per national and local guidelines.

@NotARegularPenguin fair enough. Scary that it can miss an infection but I'm guessing this isn't common!

And there is definitely research out there which says that not only dip tests but also hospital lab tests miss the majority of UTIs. Have to say though with back pain and cramps I’d send a sample off.

Depending on which midwife I saw, one used full parameter strips, another used used strips that only showed protein and glucose (2 little tabs on the stick). So an infection would have been likely to be missed.