Booking appointment 3 days before 12 week scan

[TaleOfTheContinents]

Found out a few days ago that I'm pregnant with our first baby. Very excited! I've just received the date for my booking in appointment with the midwife and it's at the 12-week mark, 3 days before my first scan. It's also over the phone, so no in-person checks or blood taken.

From what I've read, I'm meant to get my blood work done before the 10 week mark to test for sickle call. I am of mixed African and Asian descent, so it's not unlikely that I'd be a carrier.

Should I call up and request an earlier appointment?

Congrats! That’s really poor, they really ought to be seeing you in person. My blood didn’t get taken until 12 week scan though, and that was at 14 weeks for me. So hopefully that part is ok for you at least.

My booking appointment was around the same time but I had to go 2 weeks before that to have blood taken, leave a urine sample and get weighed and height measured. This meant the midwife had the results already at the booking appointment.

Do check in case there is similar where you are.
And congratulations!

Congratulations!

It’s quite normal at the moment in pandemic conditions for the booking appointment to be over the phone and your bloods taken at the 12 week scan. So I suspect an earlier booking appointment won’t make a difference as you still won’t have your bloods done and it’s likely the earliest appointment they have.

I appreciate it’s not what is supposed to happen but in the name of minimising contact and coping with reduced staffing etc. many hospitals have been forced to do the same thing.

FWIW the sickle cell timeline is to allow time to test your partner if you a carrier, test the fetus if needed and allow time for a termination if wanted. If your partner is an ethnically that is unlikely to be a carrier, or you wouldn’t want invasive testing, or you wouldn’t terminate etc. a delay of 2 weeks won’t affect you. Even if would want testing and termination is very unlikely to affect you anyway as they will fast track the appointments to make sure all is done on time once you are picked up as a carrier.

Thank you for the advice (and for the well wishes!). Sounds like it's not the preferred timeline but not unusual due to the pandemic, so I'll stick with what I've been allocated.

@Madwife123, that makes complete sense. I didn't realise that they would fast-track appointments depending on the results, so that's reassuring.

Hi . I had my first midwife appointment today at 7 weeks . I had bloods done . Maybe it depends on what area u live in xx