Is anyone else having this problem with midwives? I'm fuming!

[Harlequin1088]

Absolutely bloody furious. Midwives have just called me to cancel my booking appointment for tomorrow due to “staff sickness” and given a vague “oh someone will be in touch to book another one with you soon”. No idea of timescale or how soon that will be. Is this what it’s going to be like the whole way through???

I’m nearly 8 weeks pregnant with my first child and haven’t seen or spoken to a single midwife yet. We had an ectopic pregnancy back in April and we're understandably very anxious.

We managed to get a 6 week scan through pure chance the other week when we were at a counselling session with the Pregnancy Loss Nurse and she mentioned the Sonographer down the corridor had had a cancellation and would we like to be scanned there and then. Luckily, the scan showed baby was in the right place (definitely not ectopic this time) and we saw their little heartbeat bobbing away on the screen.

That aside, we've had diddly squat from the actual midwives themselves. It took me two weeks of phoning numbers that were either dead numbers or just rang out with no reply and leaving messages on voicemails at various antenatal numbers to actually speak to anyone who would organise a booking appointment for me. Spoke to GP about this and told it was nothing to do with him and to keep trying midwives.

Now my booking appointment that I spent weeks trying to get hold of someone to arrange has now been cancelled. I'm absolutely frantic about it. I'm anxious enough as it is because of what happened in my last pregnancy and I don't need the added stress of feeling I've got no support either.

Please - is anyone else experiencing this issue with the midwifery services at the moment or have I just got a rubbish NHS Trust in my area?

I feel so afraid that something is going to go wrong and nothing will be picked up until it's too late 😥

@Boopsy89 you've posted a few times about this. If there was anything wrong you would know by now. The NHS won't waste time or resources by calling you or sending letters or messages to say your bloods are fine. I would recommend reaching out to someone about your anxiety though; I mean this nicely but if you're working yourself up because you've not heard back about your bloods it is going to be a long pregnancy. There are plenty of things to worry about in pregnancy but blood results from a booking appointment isn't one of them.

You probably only found out you were pregnant 4 weeks ago and have a had a scan since then.

[quote Boopsy89]@Willthewashingeverend sorry to jump on this thread. How quickly do you receive results from bloods taken at a booking appointment? Think mine were sent off on the 4th march and it's now the 30th march. I know my assigned midwife has been off ill but wondering if anything was found or needed to be addressed quickly would someone have got in touch with me by now? I know some results can take up to 2 weeks to get but can any midwife see the results and let someone know if there is something wrong? Thank you[/quote]
So I didn't receive any results direct to me from the bloods taken at my booking appointment, I did receive results for the bloods taken at my 12 week scan though those were posted out to me from the hospital which is standard practise, my midwife just said at my next appointment the results of the bloods taken at the booking appointment were fine, (rather than sending anything to me) , but if I remember I think she said if there was any problems I would be contacted - but didn't hear anything until my next appt. If you are worried particularly - I would give your midwife a call to double check anything .

[quote Elouera]Counselling session with the pregancy loss nurse

I've lost 3 and never been referred to one. Did you specifically request counselling and help, or were you automatically booked into this?

Congrats on this pregnancy, and sorry for your previous loss.

I agree with others, midwives are still working under pandemic conditions, extra cleaning between patients, staff shortages (long before covid!) and sickness- they are human! I've had the dentist cancel me 4x in 8mths! Another specialist, I've waited 2yrs to even get seen- still don't have an appointment.

I too had no close friends to ask what the norm is in terms of pregnancy care, but educated myself from the NHS website, and asking on mumsnet. The NHS website actually had alot of info, from healthy eating, vitamins, timescales etc.

You might want to look into NIPT given your age. I was 34 with my 1st pregnancy (and loss) and had never heard of this test before. At least you had an early scan and heartbeat. That is FAR more reassuring that someone taking down your medical history- which will likely be over the phone!

www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/[/quote]
Not OP but in my local trust which is a South Yorkshire based one, they'll give you a flyer about pregnancy loss and usually with a card attached to self refer to the pregnancy loss nurse.

I've never used it because it was too painful for me to bring up with someone, but I do wish they'd referred me any way as standard, with a view to opt out rather than automatically opted out.

TBH that sounds like how it was back in the 1990s after my ectopic.
I got an early scan to establish the egg had made it into the uterus so it was a viable pregnancy then the midwives were notified about me, but I don't think I even got to see them until I was past 13 weeks, I think that was the norm so their workload wasn't over loaded by pregnancies that wouldn't make it to term.

I understand your anxiety, and it’s your first baby. But kindly, please try to relax. A midwife can’t do anything for you at this point - the booking in will happen in time, and you’ll be scanned when necessary. What care do you think you should be receiving at this stage? You have been able to confirm the pregnancy is not ectopic, so that is really all the reassurance you can have right now.

OP the booking appointment is really only to ask you some questions and get you on the system. It won’t give you any kind of reassurance. I believe they have to get you in for a scan around the 12 week mark. You can also pay for a reassurance scan privately if you want to. I had some slight bleeding and did pay for a scan as I was so worried.

I had a lot of mmcs, the midwives don’t do anything much until much later, it’s just admin mainly. I had actually lost a baby at my 8 week booking appointment and didn’t find out til 12 week scan. I also had to contend with painful letters and scan reminders even after my mmc as I was in the system
If I were you , I’d rely on private scans for reassurance until the 12 week scan , the midwives won’t add much value before that
Happy and healthy 9 months op

There’s just no slack in the system. Birth rates are up (slightly) and retention of midwives is down. Number of students is up (our local university is now doing two courses a year to try and cope with the demand), but the attrition rate is around 50% and that mostly happens when they get to the wards.

My baby is two months now. My lovely community midwife usually shared her patch with another midwife. By the end of my pregnancy she was covering that patch plus a second area solo. She was working through lunch and into the evenings to cover her assigned patients, plus getting calls to cover births in 70+ mile radius at all hours. I saw her on days she was technically on holiday but couldn’t have the leave because they didn’t have the cover.

During that pregnancy I met three midwives who told me they wouldn’t see me again as it was their last week/month. I had a single appointment that didn’t have a student sitting in (all those new uni students need to be put somewhere) so every appointment the midwife was also acting as a teacher/mentor.

The reality is we need more midwives, and to do that we need to look at the working conditions and the demands being placed on them.

OP will be 7 months pregnant by now, so hopefully she's had her booking appointment!

NHS maternity care - they will get you there, you will generally get what you need, but it is chaotic.

If you want to be seen frequently, want continuity of care, or just better organisation, you need to go private.

Your scan at 8 weeks sounds v positive.

It’s quite normal in the NHS not to have any scan or meaningful contact with a HCP until 10-14 weeks.

Totally understand your worries, first pregnancies always bring out the anxiety and you have had a bad experience before.

8 weeks is still very early, I had my booking at 12+2 along with my 12 week scan. I'm now 17 weeks and still haven't had another appointment, but I'm seeing the consultant next week.

The booking appointment is really dull and they likely wouldn't scan you at all, baby is too small to see much or take any necessary measurements. Try to get a private scan to reassure you if it's within your means. Hopefully you'll be seen soon!

Completely understand your anxiety. I felt like this at the start of my pregnancy and felt like I was chasing appointments and nobody cared. I almost moved hospital trusts as it felt like it was all disorganised.
After about 20 weeks everything seems to have ramped up and I feel super supported now even though they are really understaffed. Now aincouldnt fault the team at my local hospital as I have seen first hand how they deal with top priority cases- they are very good at managing risks.
In this early stage I would recommend some private scans if you can afford them. They really helped with reassurance and were a really nice experience. The NHS scans have been (rightly) very medical. For the last couple I have had, for medical concerns, they haven't even turned the screen so I can see so really glad I have the lovely memories of the early private ones with my husband.

@Boopsy89

This is an old thread so a lot of responses won’t be for you. Best to start your own thread.

Just to say, I never received results from any of my blood tests. In my experience, if you hear nothing, they’re ok. So don’t worry.

8 weeks is a bit early for your booking appointment.

To be fair though, I wouldn't be using Shrewsbury. You can choose whatever hospital you want! I'd be looking for somewhere else. I'd travel to Birmingham to avoid that monstrosity of a maternity department!

It's understandable that you are anxious but at least you have had a scan which showed everything going well. You do need to chill though. I'd rather have an appointment postponed tha n be seen somewhere there has been an outbreak of covid. As long as you are feeling well , allowing for the usual nausea and tiredness, are eating well and taking pregnancy supplements just relax and try to enjoy your pregnancy.

Sorry to hear about your earlier experiences OP, but this is fairly normal.

8 weeks is pretty early to have the booking appointment, it usually happens around 10-12 weeks and honestly, will do nothing to ease your anxiety as nothing actually happens. It's just a lot of forms about home life, existing medical conditions, medications you take etc. They do also take some blood to check your blood group and for things like sickle cell anaemia, hepatitis etc.

You likely won't get the reassurance you want until your 12 week scan, which isn't organised by the midwife and won't be delayed as a result of this.

But for what it's worth, honestly I think it depends on the area and midwife. In my last pregnancy I saw the midwife regularly although it was never the same one. In this pregnancy I have seen her twice, and i'm currently 32 weeks although i'm consultant led so still seeing the consultant.

All the best in your pregnancy.

As lots of other people have said, the midwife appointment doesn't offer much reassurance at this stage. It's not until they can check the heartbeat with a doppler (16 weeks for my hospital, later at some others) that you get any major reassurance from midwife appointments.

Like you I had terrible anxiety in early-mid pregnancy. The only way I was able to handle it was by paying for regular private scans. It was fairly expensive, but it bought me peace of mid. I was scanned every 2-3 weeks between 7 and 20 weeks. I have no idea if it's 'good' advice, but it's what worked for me.