19 weeks and NO antenatal care to date!

[MammyT]

Is anyone in the same position?

Despite calling the community midmives every week (and every day in the last week) for weeks now, I still haven't been booked into my local hospital and haven't met a midwife yet. I have had NO antenatal care whatsoever.

I had my 12 week dating scan at 16 weeks, only because I called the hospital repeatedly. I went along for the blood tests but as I haven't seen any midwives, I haven't got any results.

Is anyone else in the same position? The hospital in question is Barnet hospital near London.

i didnt meet my midwife till i was 28 weeks and thats when they book in me the hospital to give birth in. The blood tests - if i can remember - they call me if anything wrong or otherwise everything is ok. Give them a ring if youre concerned.

I got booked in to the hospital on the same day I had my 12 week dating scan where they take your general bloods. Then at around 16 weeks I had the triple serium blood tests. They would have rang you if the bloods weren't ok but I would have expected you to ahve been booked into the hospital by now. Have you been given pregnancy notes?

*serum

You dont normally get regular antenatal checks with a mw until around 26 weeks though.

Biglips - thanks for the reply. Were you having any appointments with your GP before 28 weeks?

In my area, all care is given by the midwives so I haven't had my urine or blood pressure checked even once.

I wouldn't worry about that i got my blood pressure an durine checked only once at 12 weeks booking in but don't expect to now until i'm 26 weeks when I will see mw at gp's.

Apologies - I missed all the replies by not scrolling up!

I had my first baby a year ago and was booked into the hospital at about 12 weeks. I then had regular checkups (i.e. every 4 weeks) after that. It's all so different this time.

Barnet is the hospital that featured in the Panorama expose in May so I guess I'm nervous that I'm going to end up without a hospital to deliver in!

bad bad bad stuff..... that shouldn't happen....know your rights and demand them!

Plain wrong!

I'm onto my third now and have never had check ups every four weeks from twelve weeks so you were lucky. However I would keep ringing to get booked in. Do you have your pregnancy notes because I would assume if you've been given these you are already booked in.

checkout the NICE guidelines

You do have less AN appts in subsequent pregancies if you are "normal", but still more than you've had!

If you are not getting anywhere try your local supervisor of midwives or complain to your PCT

MammyT - i only saw my Gp once to tell him i was pg (i was 3 weeks pg) and then he transferred me to a Antenatal hosp (i was 11 weeks and 4 days pg) where i have my scans and blood tests..then at 28 weeks my Gp appointed me to see my midwife at my GP's surgery for a weekly visit - blood pressure, feeling my tummy, listening to babys heartbeat etc till the 9th pg month and then it was twice a week till i gave birth!

biglips - that's not often at all either! Is that the norm in your area, do you know? My SIL lives in the midlands and had amazing care and a friend has just been allocated a private midwife paid for by the local NHS authority who will attend her birth! The care seems very patchy.

BetsyBoop - thanks for the guidelines. I'm just having a look at them now..

I forgot to add, I was handed a blank set of maternity notes when in the hospital but told that it would be filled in by the midwife.

I dont know if your in hertfordshire or not but im under the Lister Hospital, and have seen my midwife or consultant e3very 4 weeks since 9 weeks and now being seen every 2 weeks. If your not happy about giving birth at barnet (I wouldnt be) you are within your rights to choose where you want to give birth.
HTH
Lisa

Hi,

I "booked" with my MW at 11-12 weeks where she took all the family history etc. I had another appointment at week 17 and will see her again next week when i will be 23 weeks. This is my second and I was seen every four weeks without fail with my first but that was in Camden and I am not in waltham Forest.

It sounds like you really are not convinced about Barnet and I would change hospitals if I were you. At this point I think you should at least have had a family history session and all the millions of leaflets and definitely some contact info for your own MW. What if you had an emergency - I guess you call hops but still.

make an appointment with your gp and ask them to check your blood pressure, etc and explain to them your position - get them to sort it out

Are you booked in for a 20 week scan?

HI Mammy T,

Sounds to me like you've slipped through some kind of administrative net... You should have had a booking appointment by now.

A similar thing happened with me (but mine was 'cause we had a scare at 12 weeks and ended up refered to a specialist unit in a different hospital and it all got a bit complicated) so although I'd booked at the hospital where I had my first scan, I dropped out of their system on referral and didn't end up booking with the new hospital until I was 24 weeks - they had to do all the blood tests again...

In lieu of any other consistent care-giver I would (and did) rely on your GP to sort this out for you. Demand an appointment ASAP (ask for an emergency one if you have to, otherwise if your surgery is like mine it'll be another 2 weeks!), explain what's been going on and get them to sort it out for you.

Also if you're not happy with Barnet hospital you CAN choose to go elsewhere (which is essentially what I did) - it's not without complications, but your GP again should be able to sort this out for you. You're obviously unhappy with their organisation (or lack of) but if you're anxious on other counts too then do some web-research (mumsnet is a good place to find out about alternatives) decide where you wold like to go and make sure your doctor refers you ASAP.

While you're there your GP should be able to do a full antenatal check up for your peace of mind (blood pressure, urine sample (take one with you) a good feel around and probably at 19 weeks a doppler too. Ask them to do this - I doubt they'll refuse, it only takes a few minutes.

Unfortunately my experience is that YOU have to do a lot of legwork and following up of stuff yourself to get things to happen - you can't just assume that it's being taken care of - the volume of patients and lack of staff means that unfortunately cock up's happen... I spent an inordinate amount of time following stuff up on the phone - literally calling daily to make sure things were happening. It was out of character for me to be so pushy, but I think that's sometimes what you have to do.

Buut I think FWIW it time you started making a real fuss now

Hope this helps - if there's any more info I can help with, just ask... I've got quite well acquainted with the system over the last few months...

DB
xx

designer, im surprised you had problems asking for another hospital. When I saw my GP he asked which hospital I wanted to be booked in at, he said new rules are we all have a choice and it has to be respected. I choose closest hospital as had dd there with no major problems but he did say I could have choosen best hospital but its 40miles away

L

MammyT - i wouldnt know if thats the Norm in my area but i had trouble free 9 months pg

I don't know why it was such an issue either - but GP was very reluctant kept telling me to "see how I felt in a few weeks"...

hmmm... let me see, they had dated the baby wrongly by 2 weeks, (very pertinent in my case) they'd mis-diagnosed our baby as having Edwards syndrome and an massive exomphalos, offered to terminate on the spot, left us for 6 hours after having told us 'somthing is seriously wrong' and nothing else, the place was chaotic and filthy... sooo, in a few weeks I was going to feel, oh EXACTLY THE SAME...

It took nearly six weeks for me to get the referral sorted and a booking appointment made hence why, having asked for a referral at 15 weeks, I was 24 weeks by the time I booked...

But sorry Mammy T - this ISN'T what you need to hear right now, I know - so disregard and only remember that if you want somethig to happen it's as well to be prepared to fight tooth and nail for it and spend a long time make phone calls...

Just take my advice and don't opt for the North Middlesex, OK?

I think issues like this are more prevalent in and around London than elsewhere - it's just so crowded ? but on the upside we have some VERY good facilities too, you just have to do your research.

But anyway, I'm now 32+, booked at the lovely hospital where they sorted the whole mess out and who have been fantastic throughout, and expecting what seems to be a perfectly healthy baby girl in a few weeks...

All's well that ends well, as they say...

DB
xx

Designerbaby - I can't believe the experience you had and the lack of sensitivity shown and information given when there appeared to be a problem. You poor thing. I'm glad to read that the pregnancy is now progressing well and wish you good luck with the upcoming birth.

lisad123 - I'm not in Hertfordshire, I'm in North London. Unfortunately the Lister and QE are too far away for me.

Well, I called again to ask for an appointment or at the very least, to find out the results of the blood tests (which I was told would go to "my" midwife. Anyhow they hadn't got any results and basically no appointments yet either.

I guess I've been reluctant to change hospital because although the aftercare was rubbish last time, I had a really positive birth experience and would do it all the same if possible. Some friends had negative experiences at the Royal Free Hampstead (my only real alternative other than the North Middlesex).

I'm so confused about where to turn now..

I have heard some really good stories about the Royal Free if it helps. Barnet and North Middlesex do have bad reputations but the RF, Whittington, St Marys etc all have both good and bad stories, which can relate to all sorts of factors.

What about UCH? I and most of my friends all had a babies there, noo real negatives to report.

I know that Homerton has a good rep but I suppose that depends on where in North London you are.