22 weeks pregnant and +++ protein in urine as well as pain

[Lili23]

Hi, basically what title says!
I’m 22 weeks pregnant with 3rd baby and this last 24 hours I’ve had a lot of strong braxton hicks.
no consistency or pattern though
a constant ache and pressure in my vagina almost like being full term with that baby’s head is there feeling if that makes sense? And general superpubic pelvic ache.
I’ve got no uti symptoms
No smell or dark colour, not peeing anymore than usual. But due to where the pain is and history of bad utis I thought I’d dip my urine for uti anyway.
Over the past 24 hours 8+ samples have all been extremely positive for protein
negative for nitrates etc. I’ve had a mild constant headache last few days but nothing unbearable.
I had hellp syndrome with my second baby in 2024 and delivered at 36 weeks
but never once had the high blood pressure just everything else ie: protein in urine, liver pain, low platelets low hb and raised liver enzymes.
Thank you in advance
( I did call mau and they said my urine tests are probably faulty and it’s probably just baby’s positioning…)

Is there any other hospital you could reasonably transfer your care to OP? Honestly I’d be looking into that option if at all possible. I was lucky the hospital I had both of my babies at was absolutely amazing but I know one of my friends was receiving terrible care, very similar story, at her local hospital and she ended up transferring care to my hospital at 33 weeks as she had totally lost faith, she was consultant led too, it meant a longer commute to the hospital but worth it to feel confident and cared for, could this be an option for you?

You need to actually read ops posts.

I'm so angry on your behalf OP. But I agree with PP you need to be v v pushy now, which is hard when you're obviously struggling.

Hang on, isn’t there that new law /rule that if you present with something to a HCP more than twice they need to refer you to someone different to do a full review ?

yup, Jess’s rule. Go back to your GP today and say you are invoking it and they must get you seen by a specialist (or to MAU, whichever is easier)

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/jesss-rule-three-strikes-and-we-rethink/

Do you have a Maternity Voices Partnership? For example, this is the one for York and Scarborough. Whatever you decide about a complaint, id strongly recommend contacting them to share your experience. https://www.maternityvoiceshny.org.uk/york-and-scarborough

OP I feel bound to comment here, I know it’s so hard to be assertive but the poor care you are receiving is actually shocking. I am horrified. This sounds like the makings of a maternity inquiry of the future.

I had ONE reading of 127/93 and was admitted immediately overnight from my 34 week appointment, put on labetelol and monitored very carefully for pre-E. I was in and out of MAU 20+ times and was never made to feel like they are making you feel.

You must complain. And you must insist on being reviewed by a doctor. You can refuse to leave and you can refuse consent for midwife examinations.

With as much respect as possible, your baby’s life may be at risk. Nothing is worth that. Nothing. I know because my first son died. No one would believe me and I believed the midwife who told me I was just being too anxious because I’d had two early miscarriages and that pain in pregnancy is a given. It’s not. He needn’t have died.

Don’t be me, OP. My life is ruined and I have to live with the consequences of that conversation every day. She doesn’t. She retired and doesn’t even know that her decision ended with my baby dying. She wouldn’t even remember me, I am simply one in many thousands of women she met during the course of her career. I ask myself a million times a month why I didn’t just walk into MAU and refuse to leave until I’d been seen by a doctor and scanned. But I didn’t because they wanted me to trust them and I thought I should.

YOU know your body best. Get in there and don’t take no for an answer, lovely.