Can I refuse getting my BP checked?

[newmummie]

Hi everyone, I know the title of this may sound so silly to so many people, but as someone with severe health anxiety it isn't, I have serious white coat syndrome and the look or thought of a blood pressure machine makes my bp shoot up, my dr is well aware of my health anxiety & I'm on medication, it's also in my midwife notes, I've had it done a few times since becoming pregnant, my bp is always in the elevated stage or stage 1 hypertension, it's down to anxiety nothing else (already confirmed by dr) midwife has reassured me every time that my readings are totally normal & nothing to worry about but I'm always leaving myself in states & panic attacks after the appts, my next appt is in 3 weeks and I'm already a nervous wreck at the thought of getting it done to the point it's almost all I'm thinking about, I'm totally aware of the seriousness of why pregnant women get this done, but then again the readings will never be accurate because I'm so anxious around it. my urine is always clear with no signs of protein so no signs of pre eclampsia which is good but still a bit early yet. My midwife is already aware of my bp anxiety and concerns but do you think is it possible to tell my midwife I no longer want BP checks - because it's leaving me in constant panic. & I will agree to having my BP checked if there's ever any signs of protein? Am I being silly or do I need to say something bc I'm really not myself over this. TIA x

You can refuse any medical service you want to. They will likely have to discuss the pros and cons of the decision just so they are sure you know the risks and are covering themselves. But you are totally free to decline anything, they can’t force you.

@newmummie I have white coat syndrome too, the mere sight of the machine and it sky rockets! It's actually pretty common. My doctor is aware of this and encouraged me to purchase a blood pressure monitor for myself and keep an eye on my readings. I've found that my readings at home are completely fine, and I plan just to take a photo of them before an appointment so I can show the midwife.

I'm so sorry to hear how difficult you find it, I understand it must be really tricky in situations when you're pregnant.
Maybe speak to your midwife about measuring your BP at home (if this is something that isn't too difficult for yourself). High BP can be very dangerous in pregnancy so if you can find a way to keep an eye on it I think that's the safest for yourself and baby x

Thanks so much everyone 💗 DR had recommended for me before to purchase one at home to ease my mind but personally don't think it would be good for me, as I would become addicted & bc the look and thought of it makes me nervous I think I would get high readings unfortunately. However, I think for my next appt (20 week scan) I will refuse to get it done, just bc it's an exciting day where we find out the baby's gender & if I get a bp reading that I'm unhappy with I'll spend the whole day crying and panicking and not thinking about the good news of the baby's gender. However, I will be open? To getting it done at future appts just not the next one, as I want it to be a good day!! Thanks everyone 💗💗💗

@newmummie they don’t take your blood pressure at your 29 week scan anyway so hopefully you will be able to enjoy the day

The problem with white coat hypertension is that it isn't quite as innocent as everyone thinks. The idea of waiting until you develop proteinuria doesn't make masses of sense because it misses the opportunity to treat pregnancy-induced hypertension rather than waiting until you have pre-eclampsia (which is more serious). You can of course refuse anything you want to - HCPs explaining the risks/benefits has nothing to do with 'covering themselves' but is to allow you to make an informed decision. Just an idea but would getting your BP checked but without being told the result be a compromise perhaps - means they can monitor you, but you don't obsess so much about the numbers?

Could you perhaps ask your partner/trusted family member to check your BP regularly but without pre-arranging it with you so you don't get chance to get worked up beforehand? I know someone with similar circumstances and this worked for her.

Hi, I totally get how you are feeling. I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant and have pre existing hypertension plus a severe white coat/phobia issue with the BP checks too. After having my first child, I developed this phobia as my BP was constantly high after labour and I wasn't allowed to be discharged for a week. That was 8 years ago and I now know that it is always lower at home than at a medical institution as I have a machine that I check it regularly on, and my GP has always allowed me to use this as he understands the issue. Now that I'm pregnant again, the same issues have been occurring as last pregnancy, with the sky high readings. As I do have pre existing hypertension anyway, I am consultant led and have to go for regular checks (once a week) and growth scans. At about 14 weeks preg, I was so anxious about these checks that I decided I was going to refuse checks and just provide my own readings from home. I have been doing this successfully up until now, where I have started to let the hospital do checks when I go to fortnightly growth scans. However, the readings are so wildly different and much higher than at home that I'm starting to get anxious again, so I am considering refusing checks now. I check 2x daily at home and all okay. Basically, they can't force you to have checks, but I would recommend checking at home for peace of mind. Good luck with it all!

I am a bit like this and two things have helped:

1. Asking them to take the readings, note them down but not tell me.

1. The GP lent me a 24h blood pressure monitor and found that my average was fine.

Omg, I have the same issues except I dont mind monitor it at home. Every time I go to dr its worse. I have decided to change dr because my current one doesnt accept my home readings, and I feel really anxious when I need to go to check up. Every time my heart rate is 150 and I think its not good for me. Please update how everything went for you and how was it at the hospital.

This is me. My last pregnancy I ended up going onto the antenatal ward after every appointment as my bp was high, after an hour or so of monitoring it came down and I came home, I did then start to take it at home and it was totally normal. However… in the later stages my bp was slowly increasing ( not anxiety related) and I needed treatment. I’m now pregnant again and anticipating the same but for me it was really essential I kept having it checked xx

Ask your team for advice and consider their suggestions. I have the white coat but not health anxiety so I wore a monitor for 24 hours - not sure if this is something you could consider with some support - maybe CBT?

I do know it is an important indicator in pregnancy so I would see how they can support you. Wishing you an enjoyable pregnancy.

You can refuse, but it's a bad idea.

I get that it's worrying and you know it's not being done for frivolous reasons or just out of habit. It is directly relevant to your and your baby's health and well-being, and the good news is that to date it's normal (despite you saying it's raised by stress)

Have you tried doing home readings?