Hospital hasn't given c-section date despite pre-eclampsia diagnosis

[ai38]

Last week at 36 weeks, I was diagnosed with (mild) pre-eclampsia and the after a week of monitoring, this Monday at the beginning of week 37, the consultant told me it's better to bring the baby out sooner instead of waiting for my previously schedules section at week 39.

I was told the elective c-section team at the hospital will contact me the following day to give me a slot during this week. Since then, 4 days have passed and there has been no communication from the hospital. I keep calling the maternity helpline everyday and all they say is that they will email the team in charge and the team will contact me.

As the weekend is approaching, I have now lost hope of the section happening this week. The consultant was very clear about the risks of pre-eclampsia to myself and my baby and I am really worried that something awful is going to happen to us because of the hospital/team's negligence.

Do you think this is normal for them to take this long to offer a c-section slot when there is such a risk to the mother and baby? Should I be more assertive to get the time from them? Is there anything else you would have done instead of just calling the maternity helpline and chasing them everyday?

When was the last time you had an ante natal appointment? What were the mild pre-eclampsia symptoms.

Hello - I suffered from severe pre-e with my third little one, so here for a virtual hand hold. I think you really need to see if you can speak with the consultant or the senior dr in their team to flag that a date has not yet been set. How are you feeling?

@tescocreditcard Last antenatal appointment was when I saw the consultant this past Monday. In terms of symptoms, I have been having significant protein in my urine plus some borderline high blood pressure readings in the past week. But the BP hasn't been high enough for them to prescribe me medicine. I have been told to keep monitoring at home.

@Hummingbirdtoo Thanks for the hand hold and sorry to hear you have had a severe case. It's very unfortunate for those of us affected. When the consultant told me she wants this baby out this week, I was shocked and felt really unprepared at first but now all I want is to get the date for section and deliver her safely.

I would contact PALS first thing tomorrow morning. If I didn't have a slot by tomorrow afternoon I would turn up in person at maternity triage.

I was unfailingly polite but very pushy when it came to ensuring my baby and I had appropriate care as I have seen the tragic consequences of things not getting followed up promptly.

Yes i would call the unit tomorrow and say you are coming in person to get a date set and should you bring your suitcase!

Hi op,

I’m echoing the others - I’d call the unit in the morning and if you don’t get a straight answer I’d go in person, with a suitcase in the car. I had a complicated pregnancy with baby number 2 and experienced a lot of staff putting me off action in the final weeks. Unfortunately for me I ended up back at home when an emergency happened and was blue lit into an emergency c-section. We were both okay, but it wasn’t a positive experience. I’d show up and tell them I’m not leaving - they can keep you in monitor you, and book your c-section too.

best of luck xx

Definately get on their backs as much as it’s not what you need right now. Feel the maternity care has gone down hill since I had my son almost 5 years ago. I’ll be happy to have this one done with & not have to deal with it ever again. Good luck!

Thank you everyone for encouraging me to advocate for myself and baby. I now finally have a slot for next week. It took only 15 minutes for them to arrange it once I was able to reach the person in charge. If you'd like to know how messed-up their whole system is you can read on.

Last night after this post, I ended up in EOU because of high BP. After insisting on getting a date there, the midwives said there is only one person who can book ELCs. Again, I was told and reassured multiple times by all the midwives and doctors at EOU that my case is not overlooked and the midwife knows about my situation but she's busy, they are overbooked, they go by order of priority, it takes time, etc, etc. I was promised multiple times by the EOU midwives that they will talk to the person in charge when she comes in the morning and they will advocate for me to get the slot earlier- same empty promise I had been hearing all week from maternity helpline. I asked for her name and number and they just gave me a first name and said she doesn't have a direct number.

This morning, I called all maternity-related numbers at the hospital one by one looking for this person and finally I found her by chance in one of the wards. She had no clue about my case and said nobody has sent her any emails or talked to her in person or over the phone. She said she is so busy everyday in theatre and she only gets to check her emails once a week!! Her tone was very rude and demanding as if it is my fault that their communication system is so broken especially in a time-sensitive case like mine.

In the end, it only took her 15 minutes to give me date for next week. I can't believe I have spent my whole week chasing for something that could easily be fixed in a matter of minutes. I also don't understand why all the midwives I spoke to this past week (more than 8 of them) reassured me that I am being followed up by the ELC team/person when in reality I never existed for them.

@ai38 ooft that’s terrible, I’m sorry you’ve had such a difficult and anxious time without them providing the necessary services. Now that you’re in the system, hopefully the next few days will pass without incident. Remember though - even though they’re overstretched, you can still show up and advocate for yourself and baby if anything isn’t right/worrying you.

take care

Crikey OP that's staggering. Awful.

That's terrible and worthy of a formal complaint to reveal to trust senior management that their system is so flakey.