Midwife bad with needles!

[wondering7777]

At my booking in appointment I had the routine blood test done by my midwife. The needle left a large bruise on my arm and what looked like a small amount of bleeding under the skin. It took several weeks to disappear. When the needle was in my arm she also seemed to be jiggling it about a bit, which wasn’t ideal! While doing the test she actually commented on how I have very obvious veins, so I don’t think it was down to that. She’s in her 50s I would guess so must have been doing blood tests for a long time!

Contrast this with the blood test I had done in hospital a couple of years ago, where there wasn’t so much as a pin prick where they’d taken the sample.

I’ve now found out that I’m rhesus negative blood type, which means I’ll have to have further, anti D injections at 16 weeks and 28 weeks (I think?)

Does anyone know whether these are done by the midwife or in hospital? Given my experiences so far I’m really hoping it’s the second one!

My midwife hated taking blood. She tried to send me off elsewhere after messing it up once. I told her to keep on stabbing me as didn't want another appointment.

I had anti d at 28 weeks (I think), then another one after I gave birth. It went into my arm and didn't hurt at all!
I went to hospital for mine, but if you have to go to your midwife don't worry, giving a jab is a bit simpler than taking blood!

My midwife leaves me like this every time.

@Andersonx3 ouch! It's not just me then!

My next appointment with the midwife is at 16 weeks - does anyone know if they do another blood test then?

@wondering7777 it's only her though, hospital never leave me like that! I had them done at booking in, 12 week scan (hospital) and 28/9 week appointment. I'm now 35 weeks and haven't had any more as of yet!

@wondering7777 I did have one then, but it was the blood test to see what blood group the baby is. If your area offers this test you'll have it then.

@Andersonx3 me too - the hospital are brilliant, it's just the midwife!

@CAG12 thanks, that's really good to know. I'd like to have a toxoplasmosis test at the same time if I can.

Your pregnancy notes should have a list of what happens at each appointment including when bloods will be taken.

@wondering7777 hopefully they'll offer them to you. But please dont get your hopes up, it totally depends on the area you live

If you have blood taken at hospital it may be by specialised staff who do nothing else all day everyday.
Ensure you’re hydrated and ensure you apply pressure after a blood test with the cotton wool pad they put on afterwards.

Anti D is an intramuscular injection. So they won’t be looking for veins. They are hard to get wrong I promise.

I persuaded my midwife to use my arm rather than thigh. It was a bit nippy but I actually found my whooping cough vaccine worse as it was fresh out the fridge and gave me a really sore arm. I wasn't able to find out babies blood type as I asked but I would have had to pay for it privately so I just accepted the anti D.

If you aren't happy with that midwife doing future bloods just ask for someone else - you can always say you aren't good with needles and last time left you feeling a bit funny. All my routine bloods have been done by the phlebotomist at our GP surgery and she's so good you can hardly feel anything.

I did have to have bloods done on Monday at the maternal assessment clinic at the hospital and a student midwife was going to do them but she was a bit shaky and given I am not good with needles anyway, we asked if she'd mind getting a more experienced midwife to do it as I didn't want to be stabbed multiple times. The midwife that did do them offered me the option of going to phlebotomy to have them done and I wish I had now! While she didn't hurt me (apart from stinging after she took the needle out which we think was the alcohol wipe she cleaned my arm with beforehand getting into the needle site) I have now developed a rather large bruise on the outside of my elbow right in line with where the bloods were taken (very tiny bruise on the inside at the actual site)!

I'm rhesus negative as well. In our area you get a letter to go to the phlebotomy drop in clinic. I went 18 weeks and the letter came about a week later. Fingers crossed all goes well