16 week midwife appointment tomorrow - can I ask for a telephone consultation instead?

[TwinkleStars15]

I really don’t want to go to the local surgery if I can help it. I know they’d usually do dip test and blood pressure but I think the risk outweighs the benefit, especially as I’m only 16 weeks. What are other people doing?

Where I am they've cancelled the 16 week appointments (as well as some of the others) and are doing over the phone only. Is yours definitely going ahead?

I would definitely ask for a phone appt.

I've requested a phonecall for my 16 week appointment instead of going to the clinic. Slightly concerned that I won't get my urine tested, but it's not worth the risk of going there in person.

I'm just hoping things will have eased off a bit when it's time for my 20 week scan in a few weeks' time.

We’re doing telephone consultations only at the moment for this stage of pregnancy. Nd if we have to see you, were ringing the day before to check your symptoms and day of seeing your quarantined again..
ring the midwife to check

Well I’ve not heard that it’s cancelled and it’s tomorrow afternoon... I’m going to text her and request a telephone appointment. Thank you!

So she still wants me to go in!
I got this text “we can't test your BP or urine or listen in to baby over the phone. My clinic is still running and I'm checking with the women who are coming that they're not symptomatic or self isolating”

People won’t know if they’ve got it though! It has an incubation period doesn’t it. I don’t know what to do.

I’d not go in.

I would argue that a 16 week appointment is not that crucial. It is not routinely offered to second and subsequent babies. I don't see why you can't have it on the phone.

I’m not going, my 2 year old daughter has asthma so it’s not worth the risk. I also saw the consultant last Monday who did blood pressure and urine, no concerns.
She sent me this “Ok if you've seen the consultant we will rearrange. I appreciate your anxiety but we have to balance the risks. Antenatal care is in place to screen you for infections, preeclampsia, diabetes etc which pose more of a risk to you and baby so we cannot cancel your appointments”

I don’t want to upset her but I also don’t want to go!

If it can reassure you, I had my 16 week appointment last Friday along with my 3 year olds booster jabs. I had to ring the bell to get into the surgery, the receptionist checked us in from a distance and there was only one other person in the waiting room so very easy to distance ourselves in the very short time we were there.
I'm sure all surgeries will be taking precautions.

@THNG5 thank you. I was aware about the precautions as my mum actually works at the surgery so she’s told me what they are doing to help, but the midwife will still have seen 8-10 women before me who all live near me (small island) and people here have had CV. I’m self isolating with my daughter and partner because she’d be very poorly if she got it. You just don’t know if any of the 8-10 other women she saw might have it and not know. I just think at 16 weeks the risk outweighs the benefits - if I was further along I’d reconsider cancelling.

No.

I can't believe you are listening to mumsnetters over your midwife.

Antenatal appointments are essential medical appointments.

I had my 16 week appointment on Monday and there was no one else in the GP surgery, there was antibac gel at the entrance to use when arriving and leaving, and it was absolutely fine.

It's important for your blood pressure and urine to be monitored during pregnancy. In your case the fact that they were checked 9 days ago means that it's not essential for you to attend today. But it would be important for others who had not had recent checks to attend.

OTOH I have a consultant appt coming up which will be over the phone as there is no need for me to physically attend.

I have mine next week. Our surgery is taking huge steps to protect those that need to go in and I feel like it's a lower risk than going to a shop for example. I will be taking antibac and not touching anything!

I think if you've had your BP and urine done recently then that's why your MW is happy to do over the phone. Everyone else should carry on as per the MW advice

@NameChange30 I had made my own decision, I wasn’t just listening to mumsnetters but this forum can be helpful for mums to seek reassurance and support each other. I am a well educated lady in my 30’s capable of making a sensible decision based on risk/benefit. A lot of people have had their 16 week appointment cancelled due to this, rather than having to ask not to attend!

Anyway, thanks everyone. She messaged back earlier to say that she was fine with me not attending and that she understood as she’d had the same messages from other ladies. She phoned me and made another appointment for later down the line. I feel much better for not having gone, I would only have worried for the next week. I replied and thanked her for everything she and everyone in the NHS is doing despite the risk to themselves.

My 16 week appointment next week has been changed to a telephone one, which worried me because they cant test urine and blood pressure and listen to baby. Just got to hope everything is ok and they're doing the right thing. If I had the choice I think I would have gone.

My 16 week appointment (in 2 weeks time) has been changed to a phone consultation.

The midwife said that once I get to 25 weeks then they need to see me for face to face appointments but until then it's ok xx

Do they listen to the baby at 16 weeks? I also had my appointment replaced by a telephone one. I wonder how they will check blood pressure and urine.

No they don't listen to the heartbeat or at least not routinely.

Where I live, they always listen to the heartbeat at 16 weeks. If you have had your appointments changed to telephone ones, they must believe that not doing your blood pressure or urine check outweighs the risk of potentially contracting the virus. They wouldn’t cancel them lightly.

We’ve swapped all of our 16 week appointments to telephone consultations. You’re very unlikely to have pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes at 16 weeks so the routine checks are not really as needed. A urine dip might pick up a UTI but you’d be advised to speak with your GP if you were symptomatic anyway. Many trusts don’t listen to the heartbeat at 16 weeks either (although ours usually does).

My trust doesn't do any of those three things the midwife mentioned at the 16 week appt. I definitely wouldn't go.

I'm 30 weeks and my appt next week is being done over the 'phone. Not really sure how they can assess the health of the baby that way if I'm honest?

At my 28 week I had BP, urine, fundal height measurement, bloods and HB monitoring. Obviously it is not possible to do any of these checks unless face-to-face.

Worrying times.

I know some Trusts (mine included) don't listen into baby at 16 weeks because hb can't be tricky to pick up at that stage.

*can

I feel the complete opposite. I had my 28 week midwife app today and was told both my next 2 apps would be done over the phone. I totally understand that they have to take precautions and I know that times like this are completely unprecedented and they have to do what they have to do to minimise social contact, but as a first time mum i'd much rather go in and be checked physically.

@mazcroz I totally understand, during my first pregnancy I would have been the same and would rather have been seen in person. Also, you are a lot further along than me, if I was 28 weeks I may have opted to attend, but as @Bienentrinkwasser said, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes are rare at 16 weeks so I don’t feel that I took any risks.