First appointments via phone? First pregnancy

[MrsBrault]

Hey everyone!

So I found out I was pregnant last week, and will be 6 weeks tomorrow. I had stopped taking my pill less than a month and I was awaiting my period and it never came . I feel very lucky!

I'm just wondering what everyone else's experience with their first appointment is. I'm a bit worried as my first one isn't until 19th and is only a phone appointment because of covid. By then I will be in my 8th week and am anxious about not actually seeing someone in person and having things such as blood pressure etc measured.

Has anyone had this, did you book a private scan? Im not sure what to do.

I'm in Leeds if anyone else is nearby and has experience.

Thanks

I had my first appt over the phone at 9 weeks and then one at 11 weeks face to face to do bloods, weight, BP etc.

8 weeks for first Appt is normal and they will book you in fir another one f 2 f for the tests. They wont miss this tests out as they are really important.

The first appt takes about 40mins so you will be quite glad it's over the phone, then when you go for bloods and BP it's really quick as all the talking bit is done. It also gives you a chance to process the info from the phone appt and ask any questions f 2 f.

Thank you, that definitely re assures me. As it's my first I'm just so nervous and worried as I have no clue if everything is ok and the idea of having to wait another month for a face to face check up and scan drives me insane haha!

Hi! Also in leeds. I had the same concerns. I’m 13 weeks now, just had my first scan. Phone appointment was at 9 weeks and was fine but my midwife forgot about the face to face appointment the following week so had to go to the hospital. They do bloods at that appointment as well as weight , urine and blood pressure. At your scan you’ll also go for a blood test for Edward’s and downs syndrome if you want the additional tests.

We paid for a private scan at 9 weeks as we were told there was a backlog on scans but actually we weren’t scanned that ‘late’ - one midwife did tell me they were scanning up to 15 weeks but I’ve been told that’s not true so no idea what’s going on there!

Good luck

Totally normal

Nothing really happens until 12 weeks

@wibblewobble99 yeah that was my concern. I have an friend who's a nurse who said there is backlog so I'm a little worried. Could you see anything on your private scan at 9 weeks?

Also they didn't mention anything about bloods or an appointment like that which is why I was a little worried. Hoping they book me in after my phone call.

Good luck to you!

Thabks for your help x

I know you didn’t ask, but I had a scan at 4/5/6/7 weeks. At 6 the external scan picked up a strong heartbeat and small blob so pretty confident at your 9 week you would see something

Amazing thank you.

I'm planning on having my appointment over the phone by which time i should be 8 weeks.

Then booking a private scan for the week after if its going to be a while before I get my scan just for peace of mind really.

At my booking in appt I asked them to run through how things are working now due to covid. They are different from my first appointment, the aim seems to be to reduce as much face to face contact as possible. Not something I really agreed with but hey ho

Yes we could see a surprising amount. Outline of baby and the heart and heartbeat. We had a transvaginal scan as you can apparently see more in the early days. The aim for us was just to confirm there was a live pregnancy in the right place as we’ve had a few friends recently who’ve suffered losses it spooked us. We got the reassurance we wanted. It was at window to the womb in farsley. Not super cheap but as I said it was the reassurance for us just to see us through to our 12 week scan. It was only a 10 minute scan and you get a picture and a little ‘report’

Should read different from my first pregnancy - sorry!

First appointments are always a bit boring. Mostly they are getting your medical history and making sure you're not at risk of DV or in need of any additional support.

They will also explain all the tests etc that will be done during your pregnancy.

Honestly, unless you are bleeding or in pain I wouldn't bother with an early scan. A lot of the time they cause more worry because baby is a) smaller than expected b) your dates don't match c) it's too soon for a heartbeat

If you are bleeding or in pain you can be referred to the early pregnancy assessment unit and be scanned there. I had this with both my pregnancies due to bleeds.

It's really strange, but in all honesty, there isn't much to be done in this first trimester unless there's a problem.

After 20 weeks your appointments get more frequent as there is more to check.

I had my booking with DD face to face and to be honest my phone call one with this one was almost identical, it's mainly lots of chat and medical history questions. I got my blood and urine forms in the post instead of being given them in person but still went to the same drop-in blood clinic. Had the same face to face midwife appointment after my 12 week scan where they did height and weight and BP and went through my bloods and urine.

I was expecting more difference tbh but so far it is practically the same. My 16 week will be on the phone instead of in person as last time, which is a shame as I got to hear the heartbeat last time but not all trusts do this at 16 weeks anyway.

I'm expecting my 3rd baby and when I had what they call the booking in appointment, that was over the phone at 7w. I had my 12w scan at the hospital but didn't see my midwife for the first time until 16w.

All completely normal. Booking appointment is just a long winded appointment about yours and partners family history to determine what support you might need, if any. Far better on the phone as I could make a brew etc.

You have very little input really until 16w as, not to spook you, but there's so little anyone can do in those early weeks that the midwives wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand for appointments which then turned out to be losses - heartbreaking for the mum and dad involved, but clinically a fact. (Sorry, not intending to upset anyone)x