antenatal care

[craftymum]

Does anyone think their antenatal care sucks? I don't see a midwife I see my GP and after waiting half an hour to be seen by nurse this morn the nurse then asked what I was there for!! Like hello does the big yellow folder and the pee pot not give it away!! She then took my BP and it was 98/68 and lectured me about not eating breakfast, I told her I had ate breakfast and that my BP is always low (which if she'd have looked at my notes she'd have seen that) I also have hyperemesis and my weight gain has been very very slow and I haven't put on any weight since my last check 4 weeks ago so when she weighed me and spent 5 mins bent down squinting at the scales which I could see were exactly the same as last time then told me I'd put 4 kilos on!! Which I think I'd notice as I'm still wearing my normal clothes and I keep an eye on my weight to check I'm not losing anymore as I'm still sick a lot and unable to eat properly so when my weight was rechecked of course I was right.

Then I went into the Doctor and told her about the really sore period pains I'd been having she examined me and said baby's head is engaging which is causing this and the pains in my groin and hips, she never examined my legs to check for any problems and just sent me on my merry way. Just feel like they don't really do proper checks and don't seem to take much interest in how I am feeling either it's as quick as they can get me in and out again. Is this just me or do others find their antenatal care leaves a lot to be desired?

 

[amylw1]

sorry to hear your app didnt go well. there does seem to be quite alot of us not getting decent care etc.

i for 1 am on the above list. (i wont go into detail as most ppl are aware of what has/hasnt been going on!)

i get the feeling they see us as another number on their statisics board NOT humans with feelings needs!

 

[craftymum]

sorry to hear your app didnt go well. there does seem to be quite alot of us not getting decent care etc.

i for 1 am on the above list. (i wont go into detail as most ppl are aware of what has/hasnt been going on!)

i get the feeling they see us as another number on their statisics board NOT humans with feelings needs!

totally agree with you it's like it doesn't matter if we are suffering as long as they get the right number of patients through the door.

I actually told my GP that sometimes I can maybe avoid throwing up as long as I don't drink any fluids and she actually said oh that's good if it means you're being less sick!! I'd have thought fluids were very important but hey who am I to argue

 

[DizzyMoo]

I'm like this with my community midwives though, I posted about it in 2nd tri saying i felt they were neglecting us & our babies by rushing us in & out & without checking urine samples or asking even if we were ok, I'm actually taken seriously when i visit the hospital though, so i'll be mentioning it on my next hosp visit.

 

[TennisGal]

I've only ever seen my supposed midwife twice - other than that, it's been stand-ins. I've not been impressed with the care...everytime I have a question, I just get referred elsewhere.

I see a consultant quite frequently, which is fortunate - as if my care was led by my team of midwives, I'd be really concerned.

 

[craftymum]

it's so bad that so many of us are so unhappy with our care and yet there doesn't seem to be an awful lot we can actually do to change it. I think if I have any pains or problems in future I might just call the hospital and ask their advice cos even if I'm wasting their time it'd be better than all the worrying and stressing about not getting the right care, I just feel really neglected

 

[Szaffi]

Here we have a different system, the pregnancy is followed by a private gynecologist. The first one I saw really sucked: he was the most expensive gyne I've seen so far. When I called his office, they gave me an appointment as there was a "cancellation". Well, it turned out that I was given odd appointments, so my NT examination, which should have been on wk 12 was on wk 10. This became a huge problem, when my bloods on triple came back high risk, which he handled very badly too, to the point that hubby and I decided not to see him again.

The new gyne is better, I've never had to wait for her, she listens to all my questions and is very reassuring. But because of the first doctor, we still have a lot of anxiety left, as subsequent doctors have told that our results are not analysable.

I am really pissed off, I feel like I was not given all the information, haven't been able to choose the right options and was way overcharged. I pray that my LO is ok and the confusing test results are really due to my careless first doctor, who was more interested in ripping off one more patient than actually do the examinations at the right times.

 

[TennisGal]

it's so bad that so many of us are so unhappy with our care and yet there doesn't seem to be an awful lot we can actually do to change it. I think if I have any pains or problems in future I might just call the hospital and ask their advice cos even if I'm wasting their time it'd be better than all the worrying and stressing about not getting the right care, I just feel really neglected

I've started calling the Ante Natal - I paged my midwife team three times asking her to call me back about OC tests, and she didn't! When I mentioned it at my appointment, she said nothing

It's really annoying!

The midwife I am supposed to see is really, really good - but I see her so infrequently.

 

[Oushka]

We began with excellent care, then moved house & changed units. We had our booking in appt last week and I left in tears, hubby was incensed at the way they treated us & we wont be returning to them.
My new MW's are a bit stuffy & they make us feel rushed.

We compare everything to the level of care we received from the first unit (and wish we hadnt had to move away from it) that I dont think anywhere is going to match up - however, we're now under the care of another unit (hospital) who so far are being fab and restoring our faith in the nhs.

If I need to talk to anyone I go direct to the hospital & miss out the MW's... they tend to pass the buck anyway.

 

[amylw1]

the community team hasnt been too bad (apart from not seen same MW more than twice) its the hospital here that sucks. i have been in/out since 24weeks with bac and abdo pains, they kept saying it was a urine infection and even diagnosed this over the phone and left me a prescription for anti-biotics at reception!!!

it wasnt until i demanded some1 listen to me and went to delivery late at night that the consultant said my muscles wernt stretching enough and sent me for physio (which got canceled as physio was sick and next app was after my due date).

LO heart keeps going tachycardic (very high 170+) and i have been referred to consultant for this. yet when i have been sent to hosp via MW as its
(130-140) for hospital to say "its a normal heart rate go home".


you ring up with contractions 3-5mins apart, crying with pain to be told "they are BH, take paracetamol".

its stupid BUT i am so glad they have ALL been trained with diagnosing over a phone!!!

 

[GersPrincess]

I've seen my midwife twice so far, once at booking in and again at 22 weeks. I cant even get an appointment with her until 38 weeks and then she is booked solidly again, if I made another appointment with her, I'd have to be 45 weeks pregnant to get to it!!
I am supposed to be under consultant care, but I've never met her.. in fact the only person I have had fantastic dealings with is the sonographer who I've seen 6 times in total - if it hadnt have been for her, I would have been really worried this entire pregnancy, but thanks to her I've been able to see my baby growing healthily.

 

[Snowy]

I was really unhappy with the care I was receiving from the midwife at the local doctors surgery that I rang round some of the other surgeries in the area, explaining why I was unhappy and I have now been transferred. My new midwife is 100% better and I am very pleased that I changed.

So far I have had a good experience at the hospital, apart from them losing my blood samples and having to go back and do them again. Like GersPrincess I am also supose to be under consultant care (well shared care in my case) but have never met the consultant.

 

[TennisGal]

I am supposed to be consultant care, too - but I see different consultants. I've seen one privately to get some continuity...as otherwise I seemed to be getting different schools of thought. All so confusing!

 

[special_kala]

Ive got to say i have been pretty happy with my care. I always see same midwife as she works out of gp's and have had a few consultant appointments which have also been with same doctor. Though i did move GP's at 30 weeks and have had 2 appointments with my new MW anf she is pretty shoddy.

She didnt even bother to read my notes, doesnt write anything on my notes at my appointments and every question i ask she "doesn't know". Thanfully will only have to see her few more times then LO will be here

On a plus note any care ive had a local hospital has been excellent

 

[soootired]

Hi if you are unhappy about any of your care ring the hospital and complain, I did and they were so nice about it and sorted everything out for me. (i did have a really good reason to complain though). Off to see my new midwife tomo

 

[craftymum]

the community team hasnt been too bad (apart from not seen same MW more than twice) its the hospital here that sucks. i have been in/out since 24weeks with bac and abdo pains, they kept saying it was a urine infection and even diagnosed this over the phone and left me a prescription for anti-biotics at reception!!!

it wasnt until i demanded some1 listen to me and went to delivery late at night that the consultant said my muscles wernt stretching enough and sent me for physio (which got canceled as physio was sick and next app was after my due date).

LO heart keeps going tachycardic (very high 170+) and i have been referred to consultant for this. yet when i have been sent to hosp via MW as its
(130-140) for hospital to say "its a normal heart rate go home".


you ring up with contractions 3-5mins apart, crying with pain to be told "they are BH, take paracetamol".

its stupid BUT i am so glad they have ALL been trained with diagnosing over a phone!!!

it really is crazy they must be psychics as well if they can just tell what's wrong with you over the phone

 

[littlekitten8]

My community team are pretty useless as well. I have only seen my own midwife twice and both times she was completely useless...rushed me through everything and wasn't exactly supportive when I said I was struggling at work. My consultant team are fine but again I've never seen the same person twice! Thankfully we are moving on Saturday so will be getting a new midwife and transferring to a different hospital. Hoping that they will be a little better.

 

[Rebaby]

I think ours has been okay. We started out with one team of midwives and then moved house when i was about 16 weeks pregnant so have been with another team since, but honestly both have been alright.

I don't always see the same midwife, i'd say across the 6 appointments i've had i've seen 4 different midwives so that does suck a little, but they've all been friendly enough. Probably the worst was my 'booking in' appointment at 12 weeks (before we moved) she couldn't have seemed less interested, really rushed me and i basically felt like i was on a conveyor belt. I was told to leave an hour for the appointment so i'd got the afternoon off but she was done in about 25 minutes, and my head was spinning! But since then they've been okay.

My GP is shite, but i always request to see another GP at the practice who imho is pretty awesome for a GP, really no-nonsense and always takes me seriously and provides me with written information at the end of every appointment re: whatever i've seen him about or whatever meds i've been started on

It seems like across the UK though the level of care is really hit and miss