Anyone been high-risk but downgraded to low?

[NameChangeyMcChangerson]

I was initially booked high-risk due to obstetric history (recurrent early miscarriage), and reassured that they'd almost certainly downgrade me to low-risk at 28 weeks. They then found that he was growing small (just below 10th centile) and booked me in for serial growth scans. After a couple of episodes of reduced movement at 33/4 weeks the doctor also wanted me to go in for twice-weekly CTGs. However, my scan at 35 weeks had him up to 20th centile and yesterday's (at 37) up to 40th (he has literally been piling on the pounds!), so he's now a completely average estimated weight - and every CTG has been normal. What I'd really like now is to be signed off to go to low-risk care, but it feels a bit like once you're on high-risk they're reluctant to have that happen - I was astonished that they were still talking induction at 38 weeks after the scan that put him on the 20th centile. Obviously I will do anything that is for the safety of my baby, but if he's 'normal' now then I'd really like to be allowed to give birth at my hospital alongside midwife-led unit and not be induced unless I reach 42 weeks, like everyone else. I have a consultant appointment tomorrow and that might be what they offer me as soon as I walk through the door, but I wanted to be prepared for the conversation because, as I said, they seem reluctant to see a pregnancy as 'normal' if it has ever not been by their measurements - did anyone else have this, and how did it end?

I’d be interested to know this as well- completely different situation to you, but was classed as high risk due to a perforation during previous surgical management of miscarriage, and the consultant freaked me out with talk of ruptures and suchlike, saying I’d have to give birth on the labour ward with continuous monitoring or more likely an ELCS. However I had my second scan with another consultant who said the scar was too small to see, everything looked fine and he wouldn’t put me at higher risk.

I still have to see the first consultant again at 28 weeks, and really hoping she’ll downgrade me to lower risk so I can go to the lovely midwife led unit with pools etc- which is actually directly downstairs from the labour ward anyway if there are problems.

Hope you get reclassified as well OP!

There would be a meeting between CLU and MLU in your hospital and I can say if your in my area the midwives would refuse as history is complicated.

Consultant led is actually a bonus and you aren't stuck to a bed as they encourage you to get up. Also just means some extra TLC and monitor of you and baby.

gryffen I’m a bit worried that being in a more ‘medicalised’ environment will subconsciously make me more stressed and lead to an increased likelihood of intervention - I am terrified of having to have forceps!

Thanks, gryffen, that's really helpful - looking at the guidelines for the MLU it says 'you have had an uncomplicated pregnancy' (emphasis mine) so I think it sounds like you're right that they will consider me not to fit.

I'm exactly the same, captain - my worst fear is something happening to the baby in labour, but my second worst is forceps and lasting damage. That's also why I'm really hoping the idea of induction will now be put to rest (surely it will be now, though!) - I know you can refuse but I'm highly anxious (tbh, paranoid) about something happening to the baby and it being my fault so I know if they offer it I'll accept.

I was consultant led with ds1 and had him on labour ward. They were very accommodating and I was on the birth ball, very dim lights etc so you can still have the birth you are hoping for to an extent. I focussed on hypnobirthing and got dh to do all communicating with doctors so I could stay in my bubble as much as poss.

With ds2 I was eventually low risk and had a lovely homebirth so it doesn’t mean all subsequent pregnancies will be the same!

I should have said, I was consultant led as ds1 had restricted growth so in both pregnancies i had regular growth scans like you.

In case anyone was wondering, the answer was no I needed to stay as high-risk, but the consultant was really lovely and reassuring. I also didn't press particularly hard as I've started feeling a bit wobbly about his movements again so decided I was happy with the extra monitoring, even if it turns out to have been completely unnecessary

Whoops, name change fail!

Doh

I'm high risk but at the moment only because I'm 40 so I have everything crossed that I have no other complications and can switch to the MLU - for much the same reasons as you said. However as a pp said, a lot of labour wards do still allow you to have a similar set up to the mlu so hopefully you will find it is still a good environment for birth xx

I had this conversation with my consultant yestserday. There’s a 50/50 chance I will have no reason to be high risk at 38 weeks. She still wants to induce me then, and I made it clear that if there wasn’t a medical reason for the baby to come early that I would refuse induction. I’d also choose section over induction if the baby did need to come early.
Unfortunately I’ll still be a vbac even if the other problems resolve so she’ll still want me on the labour ward, which I want to avoid. So in that example I’ll be making a decision about hbac

My son was born under the 10th centile (6lb 5oz)which meant that when I was pg with dd I automatically had a growth scan at 25/6 weeks (can't remember when exactly!). That scan revealed that dd was also under the 10th centile so I was switched to consultant led care with weekly scans (one week copper, next week full scan). Dd was also resolutely breech. Every scan showed her growing normally, just small but as she never tipped over the 10th centile I stayed in consultant led.

Between 36 and 37 weeks she grew a whisper over the 10th centile and turned around to be head down! They still had me back for weekly scans just to check but it went from planned section for breech at 38 weeks to induction for small baby at 39 weeks to mlu if you choose. As it was she was born perfectly healthy (6lb 11oz) on a bed in a closed induction suite after a quick, easy labour.