midwife appointments - is this normal?

hippychick1

I am 8 weeks pregnant and had my first midwife appt yesterday. I feel really lucky as she is lovely and came to my house. She was here for nearly 2 hours!!! To be honest, the booking in appt can be done later, but it is nice to know who your midwife is!

iglimpse

Nothing to do with shortage of midwives. Very few people are seen before 12 weeks, that has always been the policy.

Personally I think it is wrong because in those early stages, you are very receptive to information and have lots of questions. After the excitement of finding out, you can feel a bit adrift from 0-12 wks.

Where I live, you don't even see the GP once you know you are pregnant, you can book with the midwife to confirm it. Then she sees you 12 weeks later, then more regularly after 26 weeks. No matter who you see in the early stages, GP or midwife, there is no excuse for not giving good advice e.g take folic acid.

nadnad

i agree that there is not enough advice expecially in the early days. although i am to see my doctor quite regularly - she has never once given me any advice on which foods to eat/to avoid, she has never mentioned ante natal classes and i've just found out that there are 3 i should have attended already as they are specifically about nutrition and early pregnancy - so i've missed those.
there is very little information and nobody really explains whats supposed to happen, to me your first pregnancy is a huge deal, I know its not a sickness or illness, but i think more information should be given by healthcare workers - I mean if it wasnt for the internet I would know very little!

inkie

it all seems very different in england than northern ireland. i know that any of my friends who have been pregnant say that they see the GP/midwife at least every 4 weeks up until 30 -32 weeks then every 2 weeks and for the last 4 weeks every week.

It seems that they are still following the traditional pattern of care delivery i.e once per month up to 28 weeks, then fortnightly up to 36 weeks and then weekly until delivered. This was the 'once size fits all aproach to maternity care'. However, care should now be planned more individually, with differences being made between high risk and low risk etc. A lot of midwives are still entrnched in the old way of doing things - just because that's how it's done, when current research shows that withe low risk women, there is no detriment to fetal or maternal outcomes if they are not seen according to the the traditional patterns. in relaity this means that care is given according to need, rather than according to 'what we've always done'. Of course, the midwife is only a phone call away anyway, and professional advice should always be the best.

Snaggles

I'm still only seeing my midwife every three weeks (I'm 35 weeks) - don't mind though, I'm fed up of being poked and prodded lol! I was late booking in too (partly laziness on my part and partly due to lack of appointments), and very late with my dating and anatomy scans. I'm hoping the baby will come a bit early to make up for it hahaha!

Inkie, you do sound like a fab midwife - wish you were mine!

inkie

Inkie, you do sound like a fab midwife - wish you were mine![/I

Cheers! I only do minimal hours now, just keep my hand-in (no pun intiended!),and fulfill the practice requirements to maintain my registration. I'm actually a full-time vicar now!

Carmina_Piranha_3

awww, you could do the birth and christening

perhaps some of the problems with people wanting information etc. could be solved by giving out the bounty etc. packs earlier?

my GP actually keeps a stack of 'baby welcome' packs behind reception and they are given out as soon as you find out you are pregnant. you collect an 'antenatal pack' from reception which is the 'green notes', midwives phone numbers, FW8 form, MAT B1 or whatever the relevant forms are. so when the midwife does the booking in you can have the FW8 ready for her to sign for posting off to get your card for free dental treatment.

we get a dating scan at around 12 weeks here, and that's before you see the midwife, so the scan people need the green notes.

as far as i can remember the midwife gives you a card for collecting a bounty pack from mothercare, and an emma's diary pack from boots. both contain a softback book that has all the information you want to know, especially in the first 12 weeks.

if those cards were given out with the green notes it would save a lot of people worrying about where to get the information they want. from speaking on the bounty forum it seems not many people get a baby welcome pack during pregnancy and not everyone gets the emms'a diary or bounty pack from the midwife either.

iglimpse

nadnad wrote: »

although i am to see my doctor quite regularly - she has never once given me any advice on which foods to eat/to avoid, she has never mentioned ante natal classes and i've just found out that there are 3 i should have attended already as they are specifically about nutrition and early pregnancy - so i've missed those.

Very sad situation. You are probably now in regular contact with your midwife. For the next one, insist on seeing the midwife for all your checks.

niknaks

I had my first appointment at 6 weeks, and my booking in at 9 weeks.

I am in a rural area of East Yorkshire. Suspect it is a regional thing?

Tashja

hi

I should have had my forst appointment at 9 weeks but midwife was ill so I had my first/booking in appointment at 11 weeks.

I then had dating scan at 12 weeks which put me at 13 weeks.

I will now be seen every 4 weeks then eventually every 2 weeks.

I did have 2 early scans 5 weeks and 6 weeks) due to a previous Heterotopic pregnancy and a miscarrige.

I am now 14 weeks and see midwife at 16 weeks for a load of blood tests

T xx