Midwife told me to reuse urine pot due to shortages

[igotbills]

Has anyone else been told this? I was given a pot to takeaway from my booking appointment with the instructions to sterilise at home and reuse when I need to bring in future urine samples.

I may be a bit embarrassed as it's my first pregnancy but it also has to be first morning urine meaning it's going to look dehydrated when I pass it over (sorry for that image) but is this something you just get over? 🤣

And I suppose they just empty it and pass it back for me to pop in my handbag!

Pee in my bladder - fine
Pee in the toilet - fine
Pee in the pot - fine

Stale used pee pot in my handbag work locker - eeeeeeh I'd just rather not?
To each their own

Yes I agree, I’ve never heard of the pots needing to be sterilised between uses, obviously the midwife will dispose of the bottle if showing possible infection (assuming urine has been transferred into bottle with preservatives for lab)

This is def what I'll be doing, I'm just so surprised at all the comments wondering what the issue with carrying around an unwashed pot

It’s the cost and the time and man power to do this. Hospital items are very rarely reusable these days.

@Theboymolefoxandhorsehas suggested some crossed wires between the midwife and myself which is of course possible

But my query wasn't about whether or not it needs sterilising rather than just rinsed with soap etc - but rather the expectation that I'm to clean it at home rather than the hospital

A used pot in your hand bag…have you ever had to do a stool sample, poo that in your handbag and take it to the GP!! Now that’s more fun!

Yeah this. My local health visitors asked me to take my babies nappy home with me during the health visitor appointment as she said they don’t have the staff to empty the bins regularly so they ask all parents to take wee or poo nappies home and dispose in their own waste. I was a bit surprised but of course don’t mind

Now that's definitely worse! However I would refuse to take that pot (or box?) back home

DS1 is 33 and this is what happened then.

forget about the cost - it's eco!

eugh hopefully those ones you don’t reuse.

i think for wee though it’s fine. You did say it’s your first baby…I have three and sadly can say you will be used to wee; poo and sick on your clothes, hands (and maybe face!) regularly. So being less squimish is coming your way

Well, as long as it's your own pee!

I forgot to hand my sample over to the midwife once. The pot of urine was rolling about in the bottom of my Louis V for about a week afterwards before I found it 🤮

You’re being precious.

Just get over it.

It’s reducing single use plastic and reducing NHS costs. It’s just common sense. The world is bonkers sometimes and totally oversanitised. It’s an empty tube that previously held some of your own pee, going into your own handbag. I really don’t see the issue.

Totally get that! I doubt it will ever stop being a bit gross though

Why didn’t you just put it in a small sealed bag?

Rinse it in the toilets and keep it in a sandwich bag to protect your handbag.

Please don't be embarrassed about a potent morning wee that has been fermenting for a bit. Midwifes see a million more gross things

As others have said this time next year you will not care about a little wee and you will almost certainly have had poo and sick on your clothes face and hair many times. It's like a mum superpower - you won't give a shit...about shit!

After you have seen the nurse, go to the nearest loo before you leave and rinse the pot under the hot tap if you are so worried about putting it in your handbag, OP if this is bothering you, wait till you are in labour.

Brace for motherhood.

I've said this about 5 times now, no issue with reusing the pot :) I'd just rather the opportunity to clean it there rather than put it straight in my handbag. (to each their own)

But hey,

25% of UK adults don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom
25% of UK adults don't brush their teeth twice a day
Are we really oversanitising?

Thanks for your input

This is def what I'll be doing, just surprised at the comments on here who wouldn't care to do that

Later when you are in the third trimester it is so hard to try and pee the sample at the hospital in a small toilet cubicle and I used to get performance anxiety as well - I used to ask for a pot to take home so I could pee at home

Surely it's already used by the time you put it in your handbag to deliver it to the GP/hospital in the first palce?

Also I'd rather reuse my own pot than someone else's, even if it has been disinfected at the hospital.

I’m sure this was the case when I had my youngest who’s about to turn 17. They just dip tested, emptied it out and gave me it back. I just rinsed it, never sterilised it. Not sure about why they’ve asked for first morning urine though that certainly wasn’t a thing when I had mine.

As an old nurse here. I remember when they never gave out any pots to pee in to being to your visits. I worked the clinic as a student and pregnant women brought their pee in using washed out glass jars wrapped in a plastic bag, and took it home washed it and used it again. The only ones we were suspicious of were Jam jars incase they hadn't been washed out well enough. This was back in the early 80's