did you refuse iron tests, urine tests, bp checks, doppler checks etc?

[nappyaddict]

if so why? i can understand refusing tests that find out abnormalities if you wouldn't terminate anyway but i can't understand why people refuse those mentioned above.

Hi, I've read the first few posts properlym and skimmed a bit more, and I realise this had been a bit heated. I'm not going to discuss GD, but scans instead. I'm pg with no 2, and after reading so many experiences on here, and how stressed I have been before my scans, I'm quite tempted to try to avoid any scans if I ever got pg again. Well, I don't want baby assessed for normality, but can see that location of placenta being important. I think it'd be tricky to get a scan just for that though.
My reasoning is soo much of what is picked up on scans may not fit entirely with 'normal' yet noone can accurately say the implications of these, so potentially half a pregnancy (if something picked up at 20 weeks) can be spent with extra anxiety, without actually 'knowing' if there is even a problem or not. I hasten to add, this is also knowing I've had one normal pg, and so far another normal pg. If anything from the midwife prodding (sorry, I know there's more to it than that) suggested problems that i felt were valid I would probably agree to scans or other tests.
I actually work in this area, and although knowing on one level no two pgs are the same my feelings right now (36 wks pg, and on mat leave) are why make stress? Sooo many people turn up for scans with expectations of being reassured (though I suspect some ladies who are attracted to this thread may be the ones who actually turn up prepared for other outcomes!) or at a very basic level just for 'whats the sex' and 'want pictures' without taking in fully what we're saying about looking for problems.I am focussing on the anatomy check here, which isn't offered everywhere on the NHS. I'd be interested to hear others views on this.

"When do you ever consume 75 or 100g of sugar at once?" When you drink a bottle of Lucozade.

"When does your pancreas ever have to work like that?" Some of the hormones produced when you are pregnant block the action of insulin. This is not a problem in most women, their pancreas produces enough additional insulin. In some it doesn't and sugar accumulates in the bloodstream.

There are some other tests where you load up the body to check for reserves.

You really are poorly informed, LeonieD.

"Sooo many people turn up for scans with expectations of being reassured" Well, in most cases, they are reassured. Most pregnancies are normal.

mumofk, my reasoning has always been different. I've always looked forward to having a scan because I feel more empowered by knowing things. Detecting "problems" with a scan should give parents the opportunity to make informed choices, like finding a good consultant or choosing the right hospital that can deal with baby's potential condition.
And yes, family history might have shaped my opinion and feelings towards scan and tests, but I wouldn't have wanted to give birth to a baby that needed treatment that the hospital wasn't able to offer.

I had the normal tests like blood/urine/bp but refused anything invasive like an Amino. I was sent for a dating scan pronto since I couldn't say for sure when my last period had been and then had the usual 20 wk scan.

I changed my antenatal care about a month before the birth though and had to go through the whole raft of tests again since they wouldn't accept my notes from my previous Trust were correct .

mumofk - i think franny on here is having just a placental position scan at 36 weeks so it can be done.

In some parts of the world 1 in 8 women don't make it out of the childbearing process alive. I'm hugely grateful to live somewhere where good care is available, free. After my SIL's very easy, perfect homebirth ended with her baby an emergency NICU transfer, I'm even more grateful for the availability of good medical care. Peeing to order, hearing the heartbeat, etc - it's hardly invasive, so why not?

(expatiscotland, I don't mean you. It's outrageous you haven't been given what your taxes have paid for - competent, respectful care - and I totally get why you want to arrange your own. I just mean those of us lucky enough to live in areas with good antenatal care available.)

As madje says, most tests don't find anything wrong. That doesn't mean it isn't worth testing at all, because without those tests some mothers and babies will die unnecessarily.