Booking appointment - Can I refuse blood tests?

[JumpingIn]

I have my booking tomorrow, but I have a lot more information already than most would have. I've had blood drawn to measure hcg, progesterone and check for infection. I've also had my urine checked for infection. I've had 2 scans and seen the heartbeat both times.

Prior to TTC I had regular STI checks and I also have no symptoms of anaemia (aside from tiredness, which is pregnancy!)

Does anyone know if I could/should refuse the blood tests? I'm needle phobic and I'm trying to reduce stress as much as possible.

 

[ajarvis]

Do some research on the tests that are included with the blood tests. If you decide you don't want them you can refuse. Dr. cant make you get your blood drawn!

 

[JumpingIn]

The only thing I've found on google that I don't already have covered is my rubella immunity. I don't think I've ever been vaccinated so I suspect that might come back negative. I suppose I'll just talk it through with the MW and see what they say.

 

[Nikoru0111]

Is there any way to ask them to use a finer needle? I had my blood taken a few weeks ago with an incredibly fine needle. It took a long time but I didn't even feel the needle and I'm honestly not exaggerating. Then maybe you could just close your eyes and pretend you are somewhere else? Sorry probably not too helpful but I reckon you should probably get your blood taken to check for the rubella immunity as it's probably quite important.

 

[Nikoru0111]

Ah actually I take it back. If you aren't immune to rubella they can't do anything about it anyway...you just have to try as avoid catching it...so I guess you could probably get away with not having your blood taken.

 

[Catiren]

id do anything for my baby even though im afraid of something that everyone goes through

but if you really dont want to get things checked routinely in that way, tell your doctor and they'll let you know the pros and cons about that so you can make a better and final decision.

 

[Charliemarina]

hey hun, you can refuse any medical treatment its ur right BUT i urge u to have the bloods done especially the first set at your booking in appointment they are very important blood tests and they test for so much, just because ur last blood draw was fine things can change (not saying they have) but they can and its always best to know.
i understand ur fears but being pregnant comes with this stuff and to be honest the stress that u will go through for those few min wont harm baby in any way.
think about it this way the more bloods u have done throughout your pregnancy the less fearful u will probably become of needles... labour comes with needles too, i mean 9 times out of ten most ladys have a canular put in for fluids and if u want an epidural (you might say no now but tht could change u just cant predict labour and pain u will have) and that epidural come with a needle too....best to start dealing with your fears now than avoid them and having to have several needles during labour and thats mainly the time u want to be relatively stress free as labour is stressful enough.

 

[ajarvis]

From what I recall the blood tests are tests for things like STDs, Rubella immunity, RH factor, anemia, and determine your blood type. So I haven't decided yet if I'm going to get it or not. I had my Rubella vaccine 5 years ago. I'm not anemic. I don' thave STDs my blood type is on file. I'm just not sure on the RH factor if that needs to be tested every pregnancy or not.

 

[misspriss]

I used to be needle phobic, before I had DS. At my first appointment with DS, it took probably 45 minutes to (start) drawing blood from me. It was awful. One week long hospital stay later, I'm so over it isn't even funny.

I hope you can work through it so it isn't so bad. I had to have DH come sit with me and hold my hand and they gave me a sprite and let me lie back...it was rough. I personally wouldn't skip it, but maybe you can see if you can put it off until your next appointment? I'm not sure if that would screw things up or not. In the US your are seen so often it would probably be okay, but I think in the UK (and elsewhere?) the visits are less frequent.

 

[kissesandhugs]

You probably could but I would highly recommend getting them done. Sacrifices for our babies start as soon as they are conceived!! There will be many times after this too!! hope there's a way they can make it easier on you.

 

[JumpingIn]

I am of course willing to make any sacrifices necessary for my baby and I'm fully aware that this starts in pregnancy. As I said, I've already had blood drawn (twice) to check my hormone levels. The only reason I would EVER forgo the test is if it wasn't necessary due to all the information I've already got. I'm trying to balance things out, as my pregnancy has already been riddled with stress which can't be good for the baby. My needle phobia is a lot better than it was but it would still make the day very stressful, and if I didn't need that to happen, I'd rather avoid it for the baby, not for myself.

Thanks for the input, I will ask the MW tomorrow and let you guys know the answer.

 

[JumpingIn]

id do anything for my baby even though im afraid of something that everyone goes through

Me too, obviously.

 

[kissesandhugs]

Yikes, hope I didn't offend you. Wasn't my intention. You're right stress isn't good for the baby but maybe you can do it first thing in the morning so you won't have to deal with the stress of the upcoming draw allllll day long? It really is a balance of risks and benefits.

 

[MrsKChicago]

I hope your midwife can shed some light. I have trouble with needles too, but more frequent exposure does help. I wouldn't blame you for skipping if you already have the necessary information, but I can tell you for sure that midwives are vampires and there's no end to the shots and blood draws, so I'm not sure skipping one draw will make a huge difference.

 

[Leilani]

Just get them done, yes you might have had everything tested previously, but the medical folk like to have up to date info, as some things do change.

I swore I knew my blood type last time, but was wrong, and this could have had ramifications - mixing rhesus positive and negative!

 

[Emski51]

Also don't the blood test form part of the down syndrom screening that's what my midwife told me they check for certain markers at 10 weeks which is why I have to go back next week for some more blood test and they use the results of the bloods with the NT scan to asses your risk level

 

[MrsKChicago]

I had separate blood tests for the genetic testing. It's possible some offices combine them, though.

 

[JumpingIn]

It's definitely not for combination with down syndrome screening, I'm only 8 weeks and where I am screening is done later.

 

[ajarvis]

The nuchal screen is between 11 and 13 weeks I believe

 

[seabump]

I also have needle phobia, faint every single time. However, to get over my phobia I would ask my partner or friend to accompany me, ask to lay down during the blood draw, and also have my partner/friend tell me a story during the procedure. This helped me TREMENDOUSLY and I didn't faint the last 3 times I had to get blood drawn. In fact I was able to finally even go in by myself and get it down without fainting, I had to lay down but that's fine with me.