DO I HAVE TO SEE A MIDWIFE LEGALLY?

[JL1]

I am 9 weeks pregnant and do not wish to see a lecturing midwife. Do I have the right to refuse treatment until the birth? If not, why?

why, for heavens sake are you still with a health centre that you think is awful? I had one with a set of secretaries like dragons and I'm now quite pleased with the surgery I attend. The midwife who usually works there was a moo but I sorted that out with one quick letter.

What do you mean by lecturing midwife?

I've had 3 pregnancies and never once been lectured by a midwife despite seeing at least 2 or 3 each pregnancy. Professionally they are obliged to inform you of any behaviours you may have that pose a risk to you and your baby, but most (IME) do that without lecturing.

You have no legal obligation to see a midwife but the ramifications for unmonitored care can potentially be disastrous.

(Also most midwives are allocated a number of GP practices and don't actually "work" there so even if your surgery is poor that doesn't mean the midwife is part of it).

I don't see why social worhers would be involved, if she sees her GP if she has any problems.

I know a woman who spent nearly her whole pregnancy in China, away from good medical care. She monitored her own blood pressure, urina and baby's heartbeat.

It's compleletely up to you if you don't want a midwife. Having a supportive midwife can be a fab relationship.

As you get bigger - you may feel more vulnerable and need checks for peace of mind.

The midwife doesn't see you that often. They aren't into lecturing - have you had a bad experince? Is this your first pregnancy?- if you don't like your original midwife, please contact the midwifery manager who can arnge for you to have another midwife who you get on with.

The reason midwives see you are to montor the health of you and your baby. I would think that your hospital dr's would be extreemly concerned if you weren't being checked over. If you don't see a midwife you are at risk of the following conditions being undetected - gestational diabetes, small fetal growth, increased fetal growth, low liquor, polydramnious (too much amniotic fluid), preeclampsia, breech, urine infections, abnormalities in fetal heart beat - the are loads more.

Also the midwife can sort lots of things out for you, give info and tips re common ailments in pregnancy and generally be an advocate for you.

Ultimately the health of you and your baby is your responsibility.

as others have said, of course you can refuse. if your GP is amenable, you could ask him/her to monitor your urine, BP and foetal heartbeat.

i think worse outcomes care associated with sporadic/no ante natal care

an independent midwife might be worth looking into, or seeing community midwfe and if you find her not to your taste, request a different one

i am very much pro women making their own informed choices in pregnancy and birth, but there is the baby's health and wellbeing to consider too

tigerFeet In both my pregnancies I was 'lectured' by midwives. I still saw them though, just exercised my right to ignore their comments and in some cases their advice. In one case the mw was just stupid imo, in another she was merely quoting guidelines as a matter of duty.

Oh took too long to post.

Bear in mind that a midwife also tends to have far more experience than a GP. And you say 'if I have any problems' - you should know from your previous pregnancies that most antenatal checks are proactive and not reactive. By the time you think there is a problem it can be too late.

JL1 Nobody is dictating - they are just asking you to THINK about it before making that decision - the legalities are you don't HAVE to see anyone - but this is YOUR decision and you take responsibility for it - that's all.

As an example High blood pressure sometimes = less blood supply to the baby = small/slow growth which in turn can lead to a baby dying before birth. But if you don't KNOW you have high blood pressure how will you prevent the possible consequences?

That's the bottom line and the type of factor you need to consider before making your decision - talk it over with your GP.

BTW my midwife team let me down so badly in early pregnancy with my first that my GP actually AGREED I would be better off with no mw care.

People have been giving birth long before midwives even existed so Im sure I will survive, as will the baby. I dont want any pain relief during birth, Im independent and dont like being told what to do as an adult, and not a puppet or nodding dog.
Theres too many clowns and not enough circuses...
More people should refuse to ocnform and have a little individuality and spirit

i suppose the main factor to consider is if some undiagnosed but treatable problem caused issues with your baby, how you would feel afterwards, having declined antenatal care.. you have to face the fact that you might miss something being picked up on that could ultimately compromise your baby.

how does your partner/DH feel about it all?

have had dreadful midwifes during my pregnancy and birht with dd2 - can completely understand were the OPoster is coming from, i 'd advised either private obstetrician if you can afford it or see a gp for bp check, etc, if you do not see anyone you will not get referred for anomaly scan at 20 weeks ? if you would carry on wit th epregnancy whatever the results of antenatal screening then don't bother but just get the gp or the practise nurse to check your blood pressure and dip your urine.

I can't see any point in not seeing a midwife-their job is to help you. I have found them all to be very friendly-but then I was friendly towards them.

is JL1 a completely new poster or namechanger?

Namechanger i think..

there are times to be non conformist, and i don;t believe that the ante natal period is one of those times.

i am a doula, and i encourage women to make informed choices about their care and their births.

IMO, refusing care that could help your baby is not a decision that should be taken lightly and one i would not feel comfortable supporting.

i was asked to attend a free birth recently, and decliend, not just for legal ramifications, but because i believe a MW, even if just in the next room , is good to have around, just in case.

you won;t know if you placenta is too low to allow vaginal delivery, or your BP too high, or if you have GDD or any other serious issues that could compromise your baby's health

Yes, I'm starting to see why the OP has problems with MW "dictating" to her if she objects to us pointing out perfectly reasonable problems with her intended course of action.

You are quite right, OP, women have been having babies forever without trained MWs. Care to google on rates of infant/mother mortality 100+ years ago and you may not be so keen. Being less gloomy most women had their mothers, sisters, friends to help them. Delivering babies was something most women had done.

Are you going to free birth as well? Or just turn up at delivery suite in labour?

JL1 - plenty of us do not conform and have plenty of spirit, but not at the risk of missing problems that may harm the baby.

Starlight - I don't doubt that people are lectured, I have been on the receiving end of it fom HCPs myself (not by my midwife though).

I just wondered why the OP thought she would be lectured. My understandingn of her post was that she was under the impression she would be.

I do wonder why she isn't looking for a new health centre or midwife if she didn't like her previous experience.

Apologies OP if I have this wrong but I am assuming that you have an issue that you think you will be lectured on. Are you overweight? A smoker? I am overweight and put on a lot more weight when I was pregnant. I was fully expecting lectures during my pregancy, which never materialised.

I just think it's a bit odd to automatically assume that you will get a hard time from your midwife and refuse antenatal care because of it.

Im a new poster. If I feel the need to attend labour ward i will but hope to complete this with my husband, just as. Seeing a midwife does not ensure a healthy baby.

JL1 Are you okay? You sound EXTREMELY defensive. What were your previous births been like?

You don't need to agree to any treatment or tests, but it seems a little bit silly to refuse ALL contact with a mw.

I'm sorry, I think you are a complete and utter idiot if you refuse all ante natal care. You are also being outright selfish. Your baby has rights as well.

The reason for having ante natal care is that it can pick up life threatening problems. For example you might be rhesus negative and need anti D. Lack of proper ante natal care is part of the reason high child and maternal mortality is so high in countries like Afganistan.

In our area the hospital has a saturday clinic for people who have problems getting to ante natal appointments. There might be something similar in your area. Its worth asking you GP. Or your GP can do a lot of the necessary tests like glucose, arranging blood tests, measuring blood pressure.

JL1, I dont mean to be overly dramatic but if I hadnt seen a midwife, I would be blind, or dead as would dd2.