Unable to get midwife appointment till 15 weeks

[PlymUK]

Hi,

My wife found out she was pregnant 3 weeks ago, we got in touch with her doctor straight away who arranged for a midwife to call back. My wife is a teacher and missed the calls. She called them back on her day off and got through to a receptionist who booked her in for an appointment on the 15th of June. After doing some research we worked out she is around 13 weeks pregnant and should of had a few tests and scans by now. She got back in touch with the midwife number and got through to a receptionist to try and get an eariler appointment but she just said she doesn't know the answers to the questions and will have to save them for the meeting on the 15th.

Is this normal or should I get in touch with someone else?

Any advice much appreciated

Assuming you are in the UK, this is not normal. You usually get a booking in appointment around week 8-10, then an appointment for a 12 week scan with blood tests etc.

I didn’t tell my midwife I was pregnant until 10 weeks and she fit me in the next day. Not everyone finds out they are pregnant at 6 or so weeks, so they are usually pretty flexible (even if they are busy).

If you have a contact number for the midwife, go direct again and ask to speak to an actual midwife. She needs her 13 week scan very soon.

Good luck and congrats

Hi there, congratulations. Has your wife told them she believes she is 13 weeks? It sounds like when she said she was pregnant, the midwives assumed she was newly pregnant, not already 12 weeks. You definitely need to call again and make clear her gestation. Good luck!

I agree. They normally ask the date of her last period. Did they not?

If you're only just trying to get an earlier appointment now then it may be that there aren't any, because it's only two weeks away and if your midwife is full this week then he/she won't have space. HOWEVER... they should still be able to refer for scans I believe, or possibly do a quick phone appt ahead of a formal booking appt. Usually a team of midwives are contactable directly, so you could try that, and I'm sure whoever you get through to will know who it is you would be seeing. Or just try going into the GP surgery to explain things in person.

How have you worked out the dates? If she didn’t know until 10 weeks I presume she can’t be that sure of the accuracy? When did she go to the doctor? It’s not unusual to have a scan before seeing the midwife, it’s unclear when she actually spoke to gp/midwife though

After doing some research we worked out she is around 13 weeks pregnant

I'm a bit surprised as teachers you'd need to research this?

I wouldn't worry too much about the appointment - round my way the booking appointment is over the phone and about as much use as a chocolate teapot to be honest. However, she does need her dating scan asap - it's worth ringing and making clear that she's already overdue that. (Also, there's a good chance they'll manage to fit her in for bloods and stuff after the dating scan, so that's definitely the one I'd push for.)

I'm 20 weeks pregnant next week and havnt had a midwife appointment yet, my doctors have been shocking and clueless so I referred myself straight to the hospital. I had my 13 week scan and tests and due back again next week for my 20 week. Still nothing from my doctors to get my midwife appointment booked in, hospitsl said it's been shocking. Also my friend had a baby a few months ago. She struggled getting midwife appointments too
I am in the UK

Are teachers expected to know everything? Especially if a first pregnancy, there are many things people could be unsure of. Such as realising a "period" was actually implantation bleeding and therefore further along.
There's no need to be so condescending

Get your wife to refer herself straight to the hospital (I did). They will fit her in for scans and blood tests etc. as soon as they can. I know someone who didn't find out they were pregnant until around 16 weeks and they had a scan the very next day after contacting the hospital.

🙄

They definitely should fit her in. I'm a midwife and if someone rings that late then we squeeze in a phone consultation (not easy as we're so busy but we manage!) so that we can get scan requests done, then we can arrange an appointment another day for the bloods, blood pressure etc. Definitely contact your local maternity unit again - it's important for screening choices that you are seen ASAP.