36 week scans bring cancelled

[UnilakTea]

Morning! Just thought I'd let you know that atleast in my area of Kent they are cancelling 36 week scans unless your high risk!

“The idea of women sharing wards prenatally and postnatally is a relic of the past that should have been abandoned decades ago”

It will be abandoned when maternity care is funded adequately enough to build bigger maternity units with more space so that we can fit in all these private rooms for every patient. Oh that’s ermmmm never then!

The very people now complaining about this situation are the very people that voted in a government who have deliberately underfunded the NHS. The same people that voted for a government that underpay and overwork NHS staff are now relying on them to risk their own lives and save theirs.

Hmm while I broadly agree with you BlueBlazerBlack I’m not sure you have a clear picture of current maternity settings in the UK, which vary by hospital and area also.

The point is that MLUs do comprise private rooms. That is one reason why, I imagine, they are more easily converted to Covid isolation areas. I don’t want this, although my MLU has been earmarked they have not yet converted it because it has not yet been required. I hope that remains the case but there are no guarantees.

I don’t want to be cared for by a doctor in pregnancy. The care that obstetricians and gynaecologists offer is not appropriate for my needs as they currently stand (of course things can change). I want midwife led care. And my parents are doctors so this is not a general fear or aversion towards medics!

@Indella I agree, maternity care and the NHS in general have been underfunded for decades. As a midwife, you will be more aware than most, and it's a scandal.
But pregnant women also deserve for their antenatal care not to be so compromised that it puts their lives, and that of their babies, at risk. We all deserve better than this.
Where I disagree, is when you say non-essential contact is being stopped - in my opinion, some of these 'routine', 'non-essential' tests that are being cancelled could save lives. And even before the pandemic, I have always thought that the standard of maternity care we are given in the UK falls short of what is considered standard in other countries.
I applaud all you are doing and am certainly not criticizing the midwives risking their lives to care for their patients, but I feel some of the strategies being decided higher up and then implemented are short-sighted.
We've also had a poster on here telling us to be grateful we will not be giving birth in a refugee camp (!), so you can understand my frustration at the people who are basically telling us to shut up and put up (on a forum for pregnant women!)

Erm, I didn’t vote Tory

Thank you IvinghoeBeacon! However sadly the majority of the U.K. population did!

@BlueBlazerBlack I agree completely. I’ve said before and I’ll keep saying it. It’s NOT good enough, it’s NOT safe, women and babies ARE being neglected, they ARE having their choices restricted, they ARE having their mental and physical health compromised with potentially permanent effects. It’s not in the slightest bit fair or acceptable but there really isn’t another option right now and midwives are just as heartbroken and horrified as you all are!

@IvinghoeBeacon fair enough, I have only ever given birth twice in the same hospital in England, and was high risk so couldn't go to the MLU. I was on a four-bed ward both before and after giving birth. Where I live now, this would be unthinkable.
What I am rather clumsily arguing, is that this should give us pause to reflect on how much standard maternity care falls short of meeting most of our needs, and obviously more so at times of crisis. There should be a debate on the potential short and long term risks of cancelling all non-urgent care, including screening for cancer, treatment for chronic conditions, ultrasounds, etc. to deal with the current pandemic. We will see in the coming weeks and months what effect this will have.

Indeed, but it is quite galling being told by our own government that I am personally to blame for the NHS struggling if I don’t do XYZ, when at no point did I vote for or agree to NHS budgets being slashed to the bone such that it is woefully underprepared for the current crisis. This is a separate issue to the one of restrictions that pregnant women are facing though really

I completely agree with both of you BlueBlazerBlack and Indella

Thanks @Indella, I'm glad you can see our point of view. And thank you for all you do, you sound like a lovely midwife. and for you

I suspect the eventual CoVid related death rate will include many people who never caught CoVid but died as a result of cancelled services, missed opportunities and unsupported mental health issues. 😭

@luckyme30
My SIL has had her scans to see if her cancer has returned cancelled. At first she thought it was due to the pressure on the NHS and was very concerned. She then spoke to her highly experienced consultant (who is in fact a world leading expert on her particular cancer). He explained to her that the scan has been cancelled to keep her away from the hospital. She is vulnerable and it could be more serious for her to get coronavirus than the potential implications of missing the test.
Of course you didn't ask for this. Neither did she, neither did the NHS or anyone else. But reframing it as 'this is cancelled for my safety' may be better for your mental health rather than just feeling forgotten and like you're not a priority.

You're right @IvinghoeBeacon, it is a separate issue.
I am hugely frustrated by the UK government too, especially their U turn on herd immunity, their failure to ban mass events like the Bath Half Marathon and the Cheltenham horse races, and also their failure to prepare for an epidemic that we saw coming in February.

@Hollywhiskey my partner has had his cancer clinics cancelled too so I am very aware it’s not just maternity that is being effected. He received his letter through the post cancelling the appointment only yesterday.

As I said in my earlier comments I know not everyone will be in agreement but I personally feel that my mental health and potential risks (my pregnancy will be high risk and I’m awaiting an appointment with a consultant) to me and unborn baby far outweigh (in my personal opinion) my risk is contracting COVID. I know that this won’t be the case for everyone and I do understand the bigger picture but for me to maintain my mental health I need that extra support and hand hold, as do many other women....

I personally feel that my mental health and potential risks (my pregnancy will be high risk and I’m awaiting an appointment with a consultant) to me and unborn baby far outweigh (in my personal opinion) my risk is contracting COVID.

Same here.

@Indella also definitely did not vote Tory, I was heartbroken to see them win. The only thing we can hope for is that this highlights to both the government and the voters that the NHS needs far more funding than it is currently being given.

I have the utmost respect for the NHS, half my family work for them! My auntie for example is a senior infection control nurse running 2 different hospital infection control units at the moment, one is in a hospital 2 hours drive from her house. I’ve seen how hard all of them work.

I’m scared for my care, and my baby’s care and all I can hope for is to be in and out as soon as possible, hopefully without ever stepping foot in the postnatal ward.

Whilst I agree that focus should be on covid at the moment, resources shouldn't be diverted away from maternity. As women are bringing new lives into the world! I am not classes as high risk but I have a bladder condition so always have protein, electrolytes and blood in my urine. But now that's not being checked so I have no idea what's going on! I have to admit I am scared, I also feel really alone. I am 32 weeks and there's a chance I'll be having a C-section or induction at 37 weeks, I feel like I'm in limbo. On my last telephone appointment, I told my midwife I had rib pain and headaches and she said it's an indicator for preeclampsia, and to watch out for swelling. There is no right or wrong answer at the moment but talking to other women in the same boat makes me feel just that bit better.

The very people now complaining about this situation are the very people that voted in a government who have deliberately underfunded the NHS.

@Indella Err, I’m not happy about this situation at all and I did not vote Tory.

Like PP I agree that although this situation is obviously unprecedented, and not the fault of midwives or the NHS, it isn't right to have these gaps in care during what is already an anxious (if happy) time for women. It's always women's services which suffer first. We're expected just to accept it. I'm Oxfordshire trust too, and have been told my 36 week scan will likely be cancelled. Haven't been measured once, haven't been weighed since booking. Now 30 weeks. I've had fewer appointments anyway because it's not my first pregnancy but the care hasn't been great. Was referred to physio because of horrendous sciatica - this was then done over the phone. Pointless! No one seems clear on what will happen with birth itself.
But ....vent over... I don't want to upset any ladies further especially if you're already very anxious. I would just say, all we can do is express our concerns to our midwives, plan as much as we can.

@LassoOfTruth a fellow Oxfordshire lady!! Can I ask if you’re being seen at the JR?

I’m only 10 weeks pregnant and really unimpressed already, I’ve been told by my midwife and now the OUH website that they may not do the combined and nuchal screening at the dating scan!

Have also been referred for consultant care but it’s all gone silent! Have lost my faith already!

Hope things go smoothly for you!

Hi @Luckyme30! Yep, the JR. Let me say first time I cannot fault the care I got in hospital, it was the local midwives I wasn't too impressed with. This time around, they have more of an excuse to be so disorganized I suppose! Don't worry, everything seems to go through the midwives, and they are always slow, but they will get back to you. Do call them if you're feeling the need to remind them! You're very early days from their pov, but I know it's bloody frustrating. Last time I got berated for 'booking in' so early (think I was about 8 weeks). It was my first pregnancy, how was I supposed to know anything? It's silly. Anyway won't bore you with details but I had a totally easy pregnancy last time, followed by an eventful and very long birth with every intervention in the book. I'm fine, DD now 2.5 was fine, the JR we're actually great. This is a weird time to be pregnant but you're in good hands. Hey, hopefully the world will be a lot more back to normal by the time you need it to be!

@LassoOfTruth that’s a shame about the local midwives, I had heard a few negative things but I have to say my midwife, although I’ve only met once seems very nice...

Pleased to hear that you were happy with the JR, distance wise I’m actually in between the JR and GWH in Swindon so am considering Swindon - partly because you can normally guarantee a parking space and secondly I’ve also heard good things about them... but we will see. My scan is at the JR on Friday so I will see how that goes and take it from there.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and I hope it goes as smoothly as it possibly can do in these strange times! X

I haven't read the full thread and another point of view is I don't think it's as simple as diverting resources away from maternity. It's also them being short of staff. Some of these staff members may be immunocompromised so that's them out. Others have become ill or have been in contact with COViD +ve patients/family members so need to self isolate. In some hospitals, it's so bad that the consultants are having to work as registrars. Most of the rota have been changed so that it can "manage" with potentially off sick. It is estimated based on Lombardy that 1 in 10 healthcare professionals may get covid. We've already seen some deaths. Some of us may not be too worried about getting Covid but there is a risk we can pass it on to the midwives/doctors/sonographers looking after us. The ideal situation will be that everyone looking after you will be PPE clad until confirmed negative but that is not the case. And there are so many of them available and not as easy to get bank staff/locums to replace them. So I'm a little anxious but I do understand some of these are being changed not without thinking about it. I agree, 3-6 months after this is over, there will be many untoward events secondary to these. That bothers me - a lot and I say this as a healthcare practitioner who is also 26 weeks pregnant

They've never offered a 36 week scan in my Trust - I've got a 12 yo, a 10 yr old, and I'm 33 weeks' pregnant.

I suffer from severe anxiety due to past trauma so I'm under watch for that. Well, I was until all of this happened.

From the moment I found out I was pregnant I booked an NHS home birth. My BP (which was always through the roof at the surgery due to White Coat Syndrome) was normal for the first time ever when my regular hb mw came out. Eventually my reduction in anxiety allowed me to start bonding with baby and getting ready for her arrival.

Then suddenly my hb was suspended. Anxiety resurfaced. Was told my partner may not be there to support me in during the birth or to see his first and last baby born. Antenatal appts were being switched mainly to telephone so BP and fundal height no longer being routinely measured. One of these antenatal appts would have to be at the hospital (which made me feel very unwell). Postnatal check-ups also reduced and again, one at hospital. I could barely eat it got so bad.

Luckily I have some savings from my divorce so we have decided to use them and booked an Independent Midwife so we can stick to my original birth plan. She will do all of the antenatal care every fortnight and all of the postnatal care too.