20min slot for first midwife appointment?

[LJZRBB]

I’ve only been given a 20 min appointment for my first midwife appointment for when I am 7 and a bit week.

Do you think this could be the booking in appointment. Feels to short. The lady was no help on the phone when I rang to ask.

What do you think? What else could it be?

20 mins is a fairly standard length appointment in UK. The first appointment is just to go through a list of questions so that they can prepare your pregnancy notes. They check medical history, risk factors, a few details about your height, weight etc.

From memory I think they also took some blood for the first blood test.

Im in NI got no appointment till 12 week scan lol!

I was in for about 15 minutes with mine - forms, blood test, urine sample, talking through future appointments.

My booking appointment was a full hour!

My first was over an hour and my first with DC2 was over 2 hours!

7 weeks seems rather early for a booking appointment, mine have always been 9 plus weeks. When I had mine a few months back though we filled the forms in via a phone call (about 50min) and I just popped in to do bp, urine, blood test, height and weight and to book a 12 week scan etc I was probably in there about 15min. We completed the forms over the phone to reduce the time I was in there. The booking appointments with my other children a few years ago was an hour.

What are you expecting from the appointment? The first time I saw a actual midwife wasn't until 24 weeks (almost 28weeks now) , my 8 week check was done over the phone, a week later I was weighed and had initial bloods, urine test blood pressure etc at a community nurse centre, at 12 weeks I went for scan and had blood taken. My pregnancy is considered fairly high risk due to previous pre-eclampsia but I understand in coronavirus times they don't really want you in doctors / hospital unless you need to be there and don't really want you there for extended period of time possibly catching or spreading virus..

Its really long! most of mine were under 5 minutes - literally in, measure tummy, measure blood pressure, out. no conversation, nonquestions

Pretty standard @LJZRBB. Things don't really get very exciting appointment wise until 36 weeks in all honesty.

I think mine was about that length, but I also had a phone appointment a few days before so they could limit the time of the in-person appointment due to Covid.

Thanks everyone.

@StrawberriCream I don’t really know what to expect as this is my first baby.

I was just curious as I read most booking appointment are an hour plus. So I thought what Is the point of this ? Ah well. I will wait and see.

My booking in appointment was about 10 mins (and with the GP) but my first midwife appointment was an hour as they had loads of questions etc to go through. Your surgery might be the same perhaps?

My booking appointment at roughly eight weeks was my first appointment, it was over an hour as lots of forms to fill in, weighing, measurements etc. Later appointments were much quicker, more like 20 minutes so from experience looks like an error.

My booking appointment was about an hour. It’s lots of medical history questions, bp, bloods, weigh in, urine test etc etc. There’s lots to go through, I can’t imagine how that would be done in 20 mins! The amount of midwife contact you have varies massively depending on whether it’s your first baby or not, plus it varies by trust. I’ve been lucky to have all my midwife appointments face-to-face since 8 weeks.

Yup standard these days x

With first pregnancy they told me it would be an hour, second pregnancy inwas told the booking in appointment is now 20 mins, and it indeed was about 20 mins x

Sounds about right to me.

All of mine have been 20 minutes, booking appointment was at 10 weeks in person.

You will probably just get your maternity care book, you'll go away and fill this out and at your next appointment it'll be reviewed and any blanks will be filled out.

My first appointments was really long as it was my booking in appointment. An hour or so I think, and I was fairly straightforward. I wonder if they are trying to shorten them because of COVID. Maybe giving you forms or following up on the phone?

I have an hour booking in appointment only last month ( also had an hour for my first followed by twenty minute ones) Guess each area does things differently.

@LJZRBB I would say in 20 mins they will take blood pressure, urine sample, blood, weight, ask if you have any concerns then give you a phone / longer appointment another time, it seems from responses different areas are doing things differently.

When I was last pregnant, I was on a mumsnet thread with others around the same gestation. I'm pretty certain some of those ladies had a shorter booking in appt initially followed by a longer one later.

Mine was blocked out for an hour but it didn't take that long in the end.

Mine was an hour pre covid. If I were to hazard a guess I’d assume the 20 mins is to do all the physical stuff (bloods, urine, BP) and then you’ll do the history/social stuff over the phone afterwards. But I’m guessing! As others have said, all areas seem to be different.

Lol, totally normal.

7 weeks is v early for a booking appointment. Yes 20 mins sounds about right.