Blood tests

[Shynslk]

Hello. This is my first pregnancy, so just still getting an idea of everything that's going to happen. I haven't had my booking appointment yet, I'm about 7weeks4days. I've had a letter sent out by the midwife saying I'll be booked in between 8-10 weeks, so just waiting for now. I'm just wondering about the blood tests you get during pregnancy.

I absolutely hate blood tests. I think I've only had 1 half decent experience getting my blood taken. I don't know why, but my veins like to hide from the nurses and the longer it takes the more I panic. They'll usually go from one arm to another to my hand back to my arm. Sometimes another nurse will have to be brought in because they just can't find anything. A few times they've just tried a vein, but got no blood apart from little drops so had to try again somewhere else. It's not the needle I'm bothered about, it's the actual test because of how long it takes and bad experiences being poked and prodded a few times before they finally find something.

So my question is, how many blood tests do you actually need during pregnancy, approximately? I'll go for any they'll ask for, even though I hate them I want this pregnancy to go alright and I want to do anything I should. I just want to try to prepare myself. I know I'll have to get used to them at some point. Thank you

congratulations, it varies between location and nhs trust but this is what happens where i work
-at booking they tend to take 4 bottles,which are blood group and antibodies , iron & platelets, then 2 bottles for infection.
-at your dating scan you’ll be offered the screening test for baby which involves taking a sample of your blood ( one bottle)
-28 weeks we recheck anti bodies, iron and platelets ( 2 bottles)

you may also have more blood tests if

• you have a bmi over 30 to check for diabetes at 28 weeks
• if you have resus negative blood they may offer a fetal test to check baby’s and make sure you don’t need anti d

I'm normally exactly like you but for some reason in pregnancy, my body gives up blood a lot easier than it normally does!

My booking in appt was around 9/10 weeks and had blood taken then.

At 12 week scan you can have combined test and I had private NIPT at that point as well.

Next blood test was GTT test at 27 weeks then midwife repeat bloods at 28 weeks.

I am a vampires nightmare too! I've found drinking lots of water in the days leading to a blood test, and keeping warm helps a bit.

Unfortunately I still have the same experience of having the nurse try both arms, hands and then eventually get some from the wrist. Like you, I'm not scared of the needles, and it doesn't hurt, it's just every time I need blood tests I know they won't get blood the first few times.

For my gestational diabetes test I even asked if they could take it from my wrist straight away, but they still wanted to try the arms/hands. Unfortunately it's just something I had to get used to.

veins often get a bit better in pregnancy due to the normal vasodilatation that happens. If you have a reliable site most people are happy if you point them in that direction rather than poking about in all the other places first so don't be afraid to say so. If you are genuinely difficult/things remain tricky in pregnancy, it's sometimes worth thinking about having a cannula sited electively in labour even if plan A is a normal, no intervention delivery - it can save a chunk of time if there's any sort of emergency.

My veins are tiny and collapse very easily, so I've learned all the tricks over the years!

1, drink two glasses of water about half an hour before the blood test. The more hydrated you are, the juicier the veins.

2, don't watch them do it, you'll tense up in anticipation!

3, breathe out when they say "small scratch". When we anticipate pain or discomfort, we automatically tense and hold our breath - this causes veins to constrict and prevents good blood flow. I once had a blood test by a student where it was quite painful and they couldn't get anything out despite the needle being located okay. The supervising nurse put her hand on my shoulder, then said, you're not breathing, let a big breath out. The moment I blew out, blood shot out of the cannula so fast, it hit the trainee and not the bottle 😆

After I had my stillborn son in September, my veins were so battered from the many large cannulas, blood tests and other needles they'd had to apply that my body had simply had enough and all my veins collapsed. They put the test off until next morning and went in via my wrist. She also said she could use my hand or foot if necessary - in short, don't worry, they'll find a way to get it out of you! Good luck.