No midwife app for over 3 months!?

[TTC0123]

So I’ll try and keep this short but this is my second pregnancy and my last midwife app was 15 weeks and my next isn’t until past 28 weeks. I have a few complications this pregnancy.. including low Papp A, an umbilical hernia and fibroids on my uterus. I didn’t have any of this with my first so my anxiety is through the roof about potentially developing preeclampsia or just anything really! I don’t even have a number or any contact for my midwife. The GP was more than unhelpful giving me a midwife hub number that they did then nothing for me either. My question is do I call the GP and request to be seen for my own anxiety or accept the professionals know best and wait until 28 weeks?

Are you in the U.K.? You should get a scan at 20weeks?

Yes your 20 week scan counts as an appointment.

You'll have a 20 week scan, but yes expect to be underwhelmed by how often you see the midwife. You'll find appointments are very few and far between and last all of 5 minutes. GPs wont have any interest in seeing you either if you develop an issue (in my experience). Maternity care here really isn't great.

Hello, at your booking appointment they should have put numbers on the front of your folder?

If not, I would call the hub again and ask to be put in touch with your named midwife. I've found sometimes you really do need to advocate for yourself.

Last scenario would be the local maternity day unit or fetal medicine unit as there will be midwives employed there who will be able to tell you if you should be having more regular appointments. If you are a risk for pre eclampsia you should be consultant led so i would be asking that question

Also, I was consultant led as a result of being a pre eclampsia risk (severe PET in first pregnancy) so i had less midwife appointments but had consultant appointments in their place.

The fibroids aren't likely to be interesting until nearer the end of pregnancy, as they check to make sure you don't have any obstructing your cervix. So they're not a concern at the moment unless you develop red degeneration (excruciating pain you'll need hosp grade pain relief for, so you'll know! V unlikely though). I don't know if your other complications require additional monitoring before 28 weeks but hopefully other posters can advise.

At your 20 week scan they do your blood pressure, urine etc. Ask them then to check you are getting all the necessary appointments?

My 20 week scan is on Monday but they’ve never checked urine or blood pressure at a scan before? Or does the scan basically cancel out any potential issues?

Really? They did at all my 20 week scans. Not at earlier scans though.
Nevertheless, you'll be seeing a midwife sonographer so you can ask them, or try to get a number for your midwife from the receptionist at the scan clinic?

Sorry also to add, I also didn't have BP or urine tested at scans. This is obviously key for pre-ecampsia and a sonographer wouldn't be the appropriate person to do this.

I started consultant appointments at 24 weeks and was given a home BP monitor to check my levels. I then had a consultant review every 3 weeks from then til the end of the pregnancy.

If you don't know if you aree under a consultant, ring the midwife hub or maternity day unit. Your midwife doing the booking appointment will need to have referred you I believe.

@Katela18 hello thanks for your message! All of my details are in the badger app this time around which I’m not getting on with at all! Much preferred the forms and plastic wallet I had with my first baby! There are names in the ‘my care team’ section but it says no numbers have been set up to appear here 🙄
I am consultant led yes but my first appointment isn’t until 27 weeks so it’ll be 3 months since my last face to face midwife appointment so it just seems odd to me! Especially with added worry this time around! With my scan being only past the weekend I’m going to take a urine sample with me and ask for anyone to check it 😅 and see if anyone checks my blood pressure too whilst I’m there 🤞🏽

Yes thats a good idea. Someone at your scan might also be able to check your next dates and help out with phone numbers. It is pretty poor that you haven't been provided any numbers at all!

Tbf I don't think my consultant appointments started until 28 weeks first time when i was a Pre-e risk due to family history. Then I developed pre-e at 30 weeks and baby was born at 32

Second time they started it off early but possibly because I had actually had it myself.

It feels such a long time to wait though when you are worried!

Maybe see if you can get yourself a BP monitor for at home to put your mind at ease too :)

I was also consultant led on my last pregnancy and they set the first appt with him to be 2 days after my due date. Advocate for yourself, make sure you get all necessary tests done AND ask for anything you need to help your anxiety. They see a lot of patients so sometimes people slip through the net, but you need to make sure you don't, no one else will.

If you've got low PAPP-A, you should also get an additional scan around 23 weeks and see a consultant, where you'll get all the blood pressure/urine tests you would at a midwife appointment anyway

With any additional risks, you're likely to be seen by consultants anyway so it's worth asking what appointments you'll get for those

Try not to worry about not seeing a midwife though, you'll be definitely be seeing other medical professionals in that time, which should be more tailored to your risk factors

Hello, thanks for your message was this a typo did you mean 23 or 32 weeks?
I have a 32 week scan booked in due to the low Papp A!
I feel like everything from 27 weeks it sounds like I’m going to have a few appointments here and there with various people to be checked on so I’m just worried until then!

I hardly ever saw a midwife, they are underfunded the NHS and not enough staff!

I can imagine your frustration with that?? I hope everything was ok! Thanks for your message and reassurance that I should go back and query the ‘care’ I’m getting as I’m definitely not feeling comfortable in my day to day life at the moment with worry!

its normal to only have a few appointments after you’ve already had a baby. I think I only had 4 in total with my 2nd and 3rd baby.

I remember for second baby, there were hardly any appointments.

If you have any specific queries, ring the local community midwives team

@TTC0123 I meant 23, I had one at 23 where they did an initial assessment of whether to start subsequent growth scans at 28 or 32 weeks. Because growth was normal at both 20 and 23 weeks, mine start at 32 weeks. And my understanding is that this is standard practice. Definitely worth asking the hospital about whether you'll have any earlier scans

At my trust my appointments after booking are 16 weeks, 20 week scan (they don’t take bp or check urine), 24 weeks, 28 weeks, 34 weeks and then every 2 weeks until term. Your badger notes app should tell you when appointments should be taking place. There is quite a big time gap at the beginning. You should be able to google the number for your midwife unit if you don’t have it

You will get a 20 week scan then if your high risk you usually have less midwife appointments and go to a consultant instead of a midwife that how my last two pregnancies went as I was high risk x

Yes this is correct, the schedule of midwife appts is in NICE guidance. You’re seen more often in the 3rd trimester. You’ll need to call your maternity unit if you have any concerns before your next appt.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng201/resources/schedule-of-antenatal-appointments-pdf-9204300829

Thanks so much for this information, I will query at my scan on Monday for the 23 week scan!