So confused about midwife appointments/community midwives

[adogisforlife91]

I live about equidistant between three hospitals. The one I have chosen isn't in my county and so I am considered 'out of area' by the hospital.

I've had my booking appointment with the hospital and they have told me I will have my scans and tests there but all other antenatal appointments will be arranged with a midwife through my GP Surgery. When I rang my GP surgery the receptionist said she didn't know how to do this and referred me to the Trust website (for the hospital I am not going to!!)

I find it hard to believe that I'm the first woman in my area not to have chosen the hospital that's technically linked to the surgery!

Other than being extremely firm on the phone to GP and insisting I get a midwife has anyone else experienced this? Am I missing something like should the hospital refer me back to my GP? It all seems quite long winded and complicated at the moment. I see lots of people on here say they called or texted 'their midwife' but I don't have one!

How does she not know?
I had GD so was seen by a diabetic midwife at the hospital who said she'd transfer me over to one of their midwives to which I politely declined and kept my own midwife from my home town and had them as well.

The hospital trust that you’re not going to might also be the provider of community midwifery in your area though? So potentially they might still arrange your community midwife even though you’re not giving birth with them.

@JemimaTiggywinkle that would make sense if that's the case. Still think the GP should be informed enough to tell me that though.... I'll give that hospital a call.

I'm "out of area" at my hospital as it's in a different county. I have all my appointments (well... what few of them I've actually had) at the hospital. Once I have the baby I'll be handed over to a team within my county I believe. I think ive had a lot less appointments than people who had community midwives, so I wouldn't recommend being "out of area".

I had this. I had all hospital appts and scans and gave birth in one area (over county borders and where I worked) and all my community appts and post natal care by my gp in a second area. There were a few hiccough but nothing major. Needed bloods doing by both areas as they couldn't access my records from each other easily, my notes weren't the same as what each other were used to. But all the coms between the two were written in my notes so each could see what happened. It was fine.

They said it was unusual but hardly problematic

Hi! Had similar situation myself. GP surgery a mile away from where we live. They gave me two hospital options and I chose the one that they don’t have community midwives at (different borough).
My first couple of appointments I was made to attend the hospital and they said I could continue to do that (which I thought was a bit of a pain in the bum and was thinking ahead to 3rd trimester and having to drive 20 mins to them etc). The only solution they gave me was to move GP surgery 🤷🏻‍♀️ Bit of a pain, but they have actually been really good and I have seen the same midwife consistently through 3rd trimester ☺️

While this shouldn't happen it doesn't surprise me. Phone the community midwife team for your area, explain the situation and ask them for an appointment at your local surgery.

I find your situation quite interesting because I'm pregnant with dc3, planning a home birth (as I had with dc1 & 2). I'm equidistant from 3 hospitals and the one with the better reputation for maternity care would be classed as "out of area"- if I turned up I doubt they'd send me away.

I suspect this is one of those things that differs so much from trust to trust that you'll get 20 different answers with no idea which is correct but I would call the hospital you are booked in with again and get them to reconfirm.

I had my 2 at a hospital in a different London borough to the one we lived in. All my appointments were at the hospital. But my friend who lived 2 streets over so in the same borough as the hospital had hers via the GP.

I have only heard the term community midwife on MN. I don't know if I ever saw one or not!

I had to call the midwife number not the gp to arrange midwife appt at gp surgery.

I went out of area with DS1, all community midwife was done by my area team and out of area things like a blood test, birth, and hearing test was done out if area.