Pregnancy booking appointment

[chattycaterpillar]

I have my pregnancy booking appointment next week and I'm very worried about the following:

A) I am overweight, ( BMI approx. 29/30). I understand they take your height/ weight at booking and am worried they will judge me, assume I will feed the child rubbish, make me go to dietician.
B) Last year I took a low dose antidepressant, ( 10 mg fluoxetine), for the first time in my life, ( very stressful situation that has now resolved). I stopped taking the fluoxetine, (with GP approval), when I found out I was pregnant due to potential risks. I also accessed NHS counselling via IAPT last year, ( that finished several months ago). Do I have to disclose this , as I feel it' my private business ? I don't want a well meaning referral to a mental health midwife/ social services on the grounds that would stress me out more.

When I fell pregnant with my eldest, over 22 years ago, I was 18 and had suffered anorexia, depression, anxiety for many years. I was under consultant care but no judgement was ever made and there were never any concerns over my ability to parent.

I continued to take anti depressants, anxiety meds and see a psychiatrist after her birth. 8 years later I decided to try for another baby. Spoke to gp and tapered off meds. Again, I was really supported by the midwifery team, no judgement at all.

Midwives are used to seeing women with varying MH issues.

I have 3 children, I've been on medication most of my life. It doesn't make me a possible unfit mum...it actually shows I'm aware of my MH and take steps to ensure my stability.

I'm a successful lawyer, married, yada yada...I just have childhood trauma issues

I really, truly promise you that those things won't even raise an eyebrow. I take histories like that a good 3 times a week at least! I can't remember the last time I did a booking appointment where there wasn't at least one thing on that list. BMI 30 won't affect anything other than you'll be recommended to have a gestation diabetes test and an increase dose of folic acid. That's it. No trigger for scans, could still have a water birth etc. Antidepressant use in the past - way more people than you'd realise have that. Plus we work in the NHS, a lot of staff members are ok antidepressants just to keep turning up to work. They keep offering us counselling so we'd be very hypocritical to judge you for it! And I can't even remember if there was another thing you mentioned, which shows even more how I wouldn't worry yourself over it

Sorry @littlemissalwaystired, you're right and I'm just overreacting and blowing it out of proportion. My friend says I will probably go and wonder what the fuss was all about.

The only other thing was Chlamydia diagnosis five years ago, ( given antibiotics by GP and then tested negative six weeks later). That's how I found out I was, ( badly), allergic to doxycycline, ( had never taken it before), so that was why I was worried it might come up.

Just to add, my GP gave me Azithromycin after I reacted very badly to the doxycycline, and I then completed the Azithromycin and tested negative six weeks later. I do remember my GP at the time saying my GP records had been updated to say I was allergic to Doxycycline and this should not be prescribed in future.

@chattycaterpillar

Sorry *@littlemissalwaystired*, you're right and I'm just overreacting and blowing it out of proportion. My friend says I will probably go and wonder what the fuss was all about.

The only other thing was Chlamydia diagnosis five years ago, ( given antibiotics by GP and then tested negative six weeks later). That's how I found out I was, ( badly), allergic to doxycycline, ( had never taken it before), so that was why I was worried it might come up.

But why are you worried that it would come out? They tend to ask what are you allergic to, and what happens if you are exposed to said allergen. They don’t need you to go into detail about how you found out you were allergic to it. And having chlamydia isn’t something to be ashamed of - it’s extremely common and doesn’t mean you are a “bad” person if you’ve had it!

Hi, midwife here. I literally could not care less about your weight. BMI of 29 or BMI of 49. It’s one very small part of a much bigger picture of risk. If your BMI is over 30, we recommend 5mg folic acid until 12 weeks rather than the standard 400mcg but otherwise if your BMI is under 35 care pathways are no different. No one is going to judge you. Midwives and doctors are people too. We come in all shapes and sizes and know that what you eat and how you exercise are not the only things that’d digne your weight or your health.

As for mental health, we would much rather you were taking your medication than stopping it during pregnancy. A significant popero on of our women will have had some support for their mental health. I took sertraline throughout both of my pregnancies. Having a mental health problem that you access support for and is stable on medication is not a safeguarding concern.

Your 'issues' aren't issues. We see these things every single day. It's normal to us.

It’s hard not to be anxious in pregnancy but I really think you need to take a step back and relax.
A midwife is a healthcare professional so will have access to your GP records as that way they can see bloods, urine, allergies etc especially if they are working from a Gp service but they are really not going to be judging you or anyone on their records. I’m a nurse and see the widest range of history and honestly unless you have give birth to 10 cats, had your head fall off and put back on with bluetac and walk on your hands daily we honestly don’t really care.
Your midwife is asking Information to best support you not judge or be nosey. They care for whole range of woman who will be pregnant with a multitude of history and poblems (think abuse victims, young teens, medicated women and so on) and they will just want to help.
I think after so many people on here ( and including your friend repeatedly) have said your BMI is stable enough and your medical history is just for reference you should take that on board and try and enjoy the booking in process. It’s an exciting milestone and your midwife is there to support you. Maybe speak to her about your anxieties and she can ease your thoughts. Good luck and hope you can enjoy the process

You are massively overthinking things and I think you will be a bit underwhelmed by your booking appointment having worried about it so much! Like everyone else has said, just be honest when you answer the questions the midwife asks. Definitely tell them about all allergies, you don’t need to explain how you found out you are allergic to doxycycline and the midwives won’t be interested in a treated chlamydia infection from 5 years ago.
I’ve previously been on ADs and this has not been mentioned again except for the booking visit. They will keep an eye on your mood through your pregnancy and any concerns will treat you accordingly like any other pregnant lady.

Ahhhh so just done my BMI and according to the NHS calculator it comes out at 28.8. Feel a bit more relaxed, think I'll feel more relaxed once this is all over lol

You might have a form to fill in before hand so you'll know what questions they ask as the booking appointment is literally just going through the form. They do ask if you've had an STI diag before, they obviously don't judge but anything that's gynae related is really important to disclose just in case anything happens further into the pregnancy that could have been caused by an STI years back. Definitely disclose any allergies, especially to antibiotics and also to food because they need to know that for hospital food. Your midwife needs a full picture of your health and medical history and is there to help you and baby have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Hope it goes well!

My Bmi was 33 at booking. I've just had a glucose tolerance test at 24 weeks to check gestational diabetes due to the high bmi. Nothing else has been mentioned about it.

I was in antidepressants and came off abruptly when I found out I was pregnant. My consultant told me I should consider going back in a lower dose if seeing a councillors as a depressed pregnant mummy isn't good for baby or my other 2 children.

All the healthcare professionals I see seen more concerned with my age (just turned 40) than anything else!

Try not to worry.

I think you're over worrying yourself about the appointment.

There will be no judgement at all. They will ask you lots of questions about your health and some might not seem relevant but they all are there to see if there is anything that could impact on your pregnancy.

FWIW I had some counselling and mild PTSD after witnessing 2 suicides. I told my midwife about that under the mental health question - didn't bat an eye lid as it was a clear isolated incident - like yours.

You MUST tell them about any allergies. This one is very important as you might need antibiotics during labour or immediately after birth.