Local GP doesn’t have a midwife

[adamskidx]

Hi guys I didn’t know where else to post as I have just found out I’m pregnant and estimating 2-3 weeks so I know very early but we’ve been trying so we are already excited. NHS website says to tell GP straight away. I called they said they do not have a midwife at the practice and gave me a number for a maternity unit 40 minutes away which is our nearest hospital. The receptionist asked how many weeks I was I said around 3 she went off the phone and asked a colleague what to do??? Then told me to google esneft which she couldn’t spell for me and I have no idea what it even stood for until now! (Just me area abbreviations) googling for about 10 minutes led me to a page asking to email the unit to self refer with lots of questions about me and my health and next of kin so I did this and got an email back to state I should hear from someone by 9 weeks?? I didn’t know this was how it worked and can’t ask any mummy friends because it’s too early for us to tell people yet. Does this sound right to anyone here? I worry I should be seen before 9 weeks but to be honest I don’t know how it works really it just seemed a bit stressful for something I thought was supposed to be care free ha ha! Thanks in advance everyone x

Yes, your booking in appointment & your 12 week scan will be around the same time, in my experience.

Are you counting 2-3 weeks from when conception took place? Pregnancies are counted from your last period, so ringing up saying you are 3 weeks pregnant is quite unusual.

I don't know of any gp that has a midwife in situ. It's normal to hear from hospital/midwives around 8/9 weeks, as most women find out they're pregnant around 4-6 weeks. They couldn't contact everyone when they find out they're pregnant as soon as they've missed a period as so many pregnancies end in the first week or two after that, it'd be a waste of time and resources.

Even if the midwife was in your gp surgery, you wouldnt see them at this stage. I was booked in early at 6 weeks due to my medical history and had a scan at 8 weeks. But for most people its booking at 8/10 weeks and a scan at 11/13 weeks.

Booking in (your first appointment) should happen before 10 weeks. They will also refer you for your 12 week scan which doesn't have to happen at 12 weeks on the dot.

Before 15 weeks is the cut off if I remember rightly. My GP doesn't have a midwife either. Our local health centre does but depending on your area you may not have one of those.

There isn't anything they can do in very early pregnancy so they will wait a few weeks to see you.

My midwife is about 45 mins away. I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone before 8 weeks. The risk of miscarriage is too high and the epu here won't bother before 8 weeks anyway. 3 weeks is ridiculously early

Where I am they ask you to call in your 7th week of pregnancy (dated from first day of last period). You call the midwives not the GP. You have a booking appt between 8 and 10 weeks then first scan at about 12 weeks.

What do you want them to do? 9 weeks sounds about right tbh

An odd start but definitely normal to hear from someone at around 9 weeks.
In my area you have “booking in” at 9 weeks where they fill in all your health details and work out estimated due date. Then tell you things like diet, exercise and about scans/tests you can have.

Scan and bloods at 12 weeks (I saw midwife again at this for urine and blood pressure check)

Scan at 20 weeks (didn’t see anyone except sonographer as no problems)

Then midwife apps every 4 weeks from 24 (some where phone calls due to covid) usually quick chat, blood pressure and urine check, measure tummy and check babies heartbeat

Goes to fortnightly from about 36 weeks

If your like me and you go over they like to see you every 3/4 days after 40 weeks and I had 3 sweeps before they booked an induction at 40+13

Might be slightly different in other areas but I was surprised how hands off midwives were with my first baby then found it felt too much with my 2nd as I knew all was going to plan.

Any complications will change this of course

Sorry yes that was from conception so 5 weeks then from date of last period

Sounds very normal to me, my GP doesn’t have a midwife either. Midwife appointment are done at the local medical centre and consultant appointments and scans at the local hospital.

I received letters for appointments for my booking and 12 week scan at the same time (different days). However, every area is different and I have heard of some people getting the appointment for their scan at their booking appointments.

To be honest, the first trimester is difficult as it can easily feel like no one cares as you don’t tend to see anyone until the end, it is very easy to panic and imagine all sorts is going wrong.

The second trimester is a little better, but still easy to feel a little neglected and forgotten.

Appointments don’t start to become really regular until the third trimester.

You also get more appointments for your first pregnancy than any further pregnancies, unless you have a history of difficult pregnancies, then you may get seen more often.

When you go to your booking appointment, the midwife will tell you exactly what appointments you should be getting, how to access them, and how things work in your area.

My GP doesn’t have a midwife. Everything sounds pretty normal - if you’ve been reading more US focused things, they tend to get scans and things on a different schedule to us. It’s pretty standard to have a booking in appointment around 9/10 weeks and then a dating scan at around 12 weeks, there’s no other contact in the early days.

Congratulations!

Hi! I recently asked a similar question on here. I got a positive test at about 5 weeks and I was just like ... now what??!!

So here is how it worked for me in my area:

• I called my GP, who had no idea why I called, and told me to self-refer to the local hospital's midwife unit. They required no further evidence besides me saying I peed on a stick!
• I filled out an online form, and got an auto-reply saying someone would call me within the next 14 days.
• I received a letter the NEXT day (woah!) for my first scan, for mid-June (at around 12 weeks).
• A midwife called me yesterday to make a booking appointment for today, i.e. 1.5 weeks after I submitted the online form. I will be almost 7 weeks (according to my own calculations)

* I have also booked myself a private scan for mid-May, when I should be around 8 weeks.

Congratulations. Yes agree all normal. I remember feeling exactly the same at your stage. It feels like something should be happening.

Thank you to the really helpful and kind comments here. As I said above I’m new to all this and was just looking for some reassurance so a massive thank you to you guys xxxx

My GP doesn't have a midwife although I do see the community midwife at the gp surgery. She serves all of the local villagers so my village is allocated appointments on a Tuesday. The community midwives are based at the nearest hospital which only has a maternity day care unit.

I am 6w4 today and just got a text from community midwife to arrange my booking in appointment for next Thursday when I will be 7w5. With my first two pregnancies booking in appointment were around the 8 week mark as the community midwives here do it over two appointments so initial appointment at 8 weeks and another appointment at 10 weeks to finish off the paper work.

Hopefully this site gave you health advice like taking the correct vitamins? Seems a long time to speak to anyone when you need advice

FYI when you miss your period you are approx 4 weeks period. You cannot be 2-3 weeks pg. this has prob confused the staff.

What was the date of your last period OP?

Everything - except, for some bizarre and confusing reason, clearblue pregnancy tests - counts 'weeks pregnant' as weeks from your last period, so basically you get an extra two weeks added on.

If someone tells you they're 20 weeks pregnant, its actually 18 weeks since they conceived. They do this because people generally know their last period but people ovulate at different times.

Today is 5th March, if your last period was 7th April you would be four weeks pregnant today. Its all a bit confusing and you're really left to your own devices at the beginning but it will start to make sense.

@Hardchoices

FYI when you miss your period you are approx 4 weeks period. You cannot be 2-3 weeks pg. this has prob confused the staff.

I was thinking this - it's basically someone ringing up & saying "I just had sex and I'm feeling confident it worked!"

Currently 12 weeks pregnant and this is how it’s been for me:

Rang GP at 5 weeks (based on last period) to say I was pregnant. Was told to self refer to either of two maternity hospitals

Filled out the form online for one of the hospitals. Online message saying they’d be in touch within two weeks to arrange booking in app. They weren’t so followed up

Had booking in app over the phone at 10 weeks, where they also booked the scan for 13 weeks.

Had to go to the hospital to get bloods taken and give a urine sample at 11 weeks

Will have scan at 13 weeks.

Not due to actually see the midwife until 16 weeks!

Pretty normal.

It's self referral via the hospital website here, I got a letter with booking apps within a couple of weeks. I had bloods done at 8wk and phone app at 9wk then dating scan 3 weeks after the phone app. I'm on baby 6 and only had consultants at 16wk and anomaly scan at 20wk. Got GTT at almost 27wk then consultants and anti-D at 28wk, I also have an app booked with the community midwife at 36wk so far. Feels a bit strange tbh as I was in every 4 weeks after my dating scan with our last as they were twins.