Underwhelming Antenatal Care?

[VoiletBee89]

After years of suspected infertility, I found out today that I'm pregnant!

I rang the local GP surgery today to ask if I needed an appointment, but was flatly told by the receptionist I just needed to self refer on a website and wait for a midwife who would be in touch within a few weeks...it feels very underwhelming & has made me slightly anxious as my test confirmed 3+ weeks but I have irregular periods so I'm worried I'm further along that maybe I anticipated? Is this sort of service the norm now??

Does anyone have any reassuring words of wisdom to calm this hormonal, shocked bag of nerves down?! I don't feel like I want to talk to friends or family yet as I'd rather see a professional first to confirm.

It’s completely normal. You’ll get booked in around ten weeks and then a dating scan around 12 weeks.

First of all, congratulations!

Secondly, yes all sounds very familiar. A self referral to the midwives and then your booking appointment will be between 8-10 weeks, although this may depend on area. You’ll then get your scan date for between 10-14 weeks and next midwife will be at 16 weeks.

They didn’t even confirm pregnancy at my booking appointment and I guess although the appointments seem few and far between, there isn’t really much they can do other then wait for you to progress a bit.

if you have any issues before your booking appointment just call the midwives or your EPU dept and they’re usually really helpful!

@Plumful thank you for confirming, I just had no idea where to gauge what to expect, it's put my mind at ease

Sounds totally normal to me. I understand you're feeling a bit overwhelmed but I'm not really sure what you wanted to have happened? Once you self refer that will start the ball rolling on getting you a booking appointment with a midwife and potentially a date for your 12 week scan, that's just how the system is set up.

They won't confirm anything lovely, modern tests are so accurate it's not worth them re-testing

Hi!
I know exactly how you feel. I’m currently 37 weeks FTM. When I did the pregnancy test and it came back positive I went to a local Sainsbury’s on my lunch break and did another one on the toilet there 😂 I then frantically rang the GP expecting them to say come in or for there to be some kind of urgency…not the case and totally normal I later found out! My friend had some fertility problems so she booked in for earlier private scans to put her mind at rest. If this is something you’re able to do it might be good for you. Congratulations! X

Congratulations! GPs are so busy nowadays, it’s mainly the midwives who will see you.
Can I ask what you mean by “confirm the pregnancy”? They won’t repeat the pregnancy test at the appointment (there’s no point) but they will probably get a baseline blood pressure and talk you through what further appointments you can expect, talk about prenatal tests, give you some leaflets. You will get a set of antenatal notes you bring to each appointment. They will ask about family history, dates and screen for domestic violence.

@Lilacdressinggown thank you sorry I didn't word that very well initially, I should have said confirm how far along I am, as I had a very light period/spotting in November but now I'm not so sure it was even the case, and I've been so busy on the run up to Christmas it was the furthest thing from my mind!

@Sammie1990 haha you've really made me smile as that's exactly what I did today, straight to Tesco for another digital test & some folic acid 😂. I feel really reassured that this seems the norm though, yes I think we might look into a private scan as the chances of us falling pregnant naturally were virtually zero so I think it would maybe ease my anxiety if nothing else!

We were in a very similar position four years ago. I absolutely didn't believe it could be possible and also had very erratic cycles. I ended up booking a private early scan as it was the only way that I'd know it was actual real and not all just some mistake or figment of my imagination. Said figment of my imagination is now snoring away in his Gruffalo pyjamas.

Thank you everyone who has responded, a feel a lot better!

You could always book a private scan if you wanted to know how far along you are, leave it until you are at least 6 weeks, better to wait u til 8 weeks. I found it really reassuring. I seen you’re taking folic acid, make sure you are also taking vitamin D. Self referral is the norm now, it is a bit underwhelming though. You’ll have an appointment at 8 weeks where the midwife goes through medical history, they won’t confirm pregnancy though, then a scan at 12 weeks.

Aww amazing, DH is looking up private scans as we speak, hoping they might have a slot
sooner rather than later 😊

@PickledScrump thank you yes I picked up the pregnacare that has both in I think, I will check in the morning though!

GPs don't do antenatal care at all where I live. It is all handled by the local midwives, accessed via self-referral.
Congratulations, hopefully everything will be very smooth for you from hereon.

I wouldn’t go for a private scan too early though, it may do more harm than good

If your BMI is over 30 you are recommended the 5mg folic acid which needs to be prescribed.
Good luck! Hope all goes smoothly and boringly.

Congratulations! Just be careful with booking scans too early - there really is little to see in the early weeks. From 5 weeks on you’ll see the yolk sac, 6 weeks(ish) a heartbeat. If you scan too early you might be too soon to see anything and worry yourself unnecessarily. The main reason to scan early is to confirm the pregnancy is within the uterus if there’s a suspicion of an ectopic etc. By the NHS dating scan (10-14 weeks) you’re much more able to accurately date the pregnancy.

Unfortunately early pregnancy is a bit of a waiting game (hence why there’s limited input from the health service). I had my booking appointment relatively early due to the GP receptionist putting the wrong dates down so the midwifery team thought I was far further along than I actually was and I think having it so far away from the NHS scan actually made me more nervous than if I’d waited a few weeks and had the appointments closer together. You can check the NHS website to see the breakdown of appointments throughout your pregnancy.

I completely get the anxiety (currently pregnant after IVF following failed cycles and losses). I’m not against private early scans - I had one pre Christmas at around 11 weeks (wanted the reassurance before travelling up and down the country over Christmas) but just make sure your expectations aren’t unrealistic and be careful with the provider. I’m lucky in that DH is an obstetrician and knew which clinics locally he thought had made decent referrals etc in the unfortunate cases where things have gone wrong, even so he wasn’t impressed with the equipment or technique of the sonographer in the private clinic we went to - although appreciate that was luck of the draw on the day! Check google reviews or ask for recommendations on local forums. The care quality commission also have some helpful advice on choosing a provider.

Firstly, congratulations!!

Secondly, yes that is totally normal. I called my GP as well and was re directed to self refer to the midwives. They saw me at around 8 weeks for my booking appointment and then again at 12 weeks etc.

We’re an IVF pregnancy however so had lots of involvement, blood tests and scans from our clinic up to 12 weeks. We also booked some private scans at window to the womb as we couldn’t believe that I was pregnant and were so stressed that it would end in disaster. There isn’t much to see before 6 weeks so if you can wait until you are 6/7 weeks you’ll be better off as you should be able to see a heartbeat by then!

Currently at 28 weeks with a seemingly healthy little girl!

Wishing you all the best xx

I completely get you - after multiple rounds of IVF, I finally got pregnant and you kind of expect it to be some big deal, informing your doctor and starting the process but it's an incredibly mundane online self referral form. As I was IVF, I had scans at 6 and 9 weeks before NHS 12 weeks - this helped. I'd definitely look into a private scan at 6-7 weeks (not earlier as there isn't much to see).

It never used to be - yea this is the norm. With my first 10+ years ago I had my pregnancy confirmed by my GP and I could see them. They referred me to a midwife then they took over my care from that point on.

Now it’s self referral. However I have my midwives work mobile and a few emergency antenatal contacts and my GP does respond to my needs if I tell them I’m pregnant, need x and my midwife has directed me.

Yes - it is very underwhelming.