Hello everyone,
I just wanted to come on here and share my experience so far as it hasn’t been a very good one and hoping you will all share your own experiences with me.
I am currently 8 weeks and 6 days pregnant.
This is my first pregnancy.
I live in the North West, UK.
I contacted my doctors practice at 2 weeks to ask them to confirm my pregnancy, they advised they no longer do this and to contact a hospital. They provided me with contact numbers to several different hospitals and asked where I want to give birth. I spit my drink out and replied “I am only two weeks, I haven’t made any decisions about where I want to give birth”. This is not exactly at the top of my agenda at 2 weeks.
I then contacted one of the hospitals and got put through to community midwives. She then told me to fill out a self-referral form online and a midwife would be in contact with me. She said this like I should know exactly where to find this form online so I had to ask her where I could find it.
Once I filled the form out, assuming a midwife would be in touch within several days, I received an email that said a midwife would be in touch when I’m 8 weeks.
In the meantime I received a letter from a hospital with a scheduled dating scan at 13 weeks. I was unable to do this date due to work commitments so I called and asked to change the date - there were two days during that same week where both my partner and I were available and the hospital had no availability on these dates so I’ve had to book it on a different date where there’s a high possibility of my partner not being able to come with me. I also questioned whether I could go to a different hospital if they have availability and she remarked “Well only if your delivering the baby there”. I replied “well I don’t know where I’m delivering the baby”. She replied “well we wouldn’t offer you a scan here if you weren’t delivering the baby here”. At this point, I was so annoyed, I said “Actually, according to the NHS website and books I’ve read I can choose and change where I want to give birth at any point throughout my pregnancy, I can choose a home birth, I can choose a different hospital”. How dare these people tell me that I can’t get a scan unless I’m giving birth there! So this was the second time I’ve been asked about where I want to give birth! It’s outrageous.
I then turned 8 weeks and after 8 weeks 4 days I still hadn’t heard from a midwife so I contacted the community midwives up again and asked when I would hear from someone. I also said that as far as I’m aware I need to be tested for sickle cell and Thalasemmia before I turn 10 weeks and no one has been in touch with me about this?
Has anyone else had this problem?
The midwife replied that someone would call me “tomorrow” regarding this.
Today, instead of a call I received a text from someone named ‘Ellie’. Unsure exactly who this is as she didn’t introduce herself but she text me to tell me that she has made a booking appointment with a midwife for 21st April. I would be 12 weeks pregnant at that point. She didn’t leave a number so I text her back to say I still need a blood test for sickle cell and thalasemmia before then, the pregnancy still hasn’t been confirmed and I’m unable to do 21st April due to work commitments and I provided alternative dates to which she hasn’t got back to me all day so I will probably have to call the community midwives again.
I’m just really disappointed with the lack of service, I pay for the NHS every month and not one midwife can call me back to speak to me and they won’t see me until I’m 12 weeks pregnant. That means I won’t have spoken to or seen anyone about my pregnancy until I’m 12 weeks. I just find it completely shocking and I feel extremely emotional about it.
Is there anything I can do or has anyone else had a similar experience?
I know it’s a lot to read so thank you if you have x