Frustrating antenatal appointment

Hey girls, Well today I had was will hopefully be my last antenatal appointment - and it was really disappointing and frustrating. I am doing the Domino scheme, but due a bleed early in the pregnancy, I was put on a consultant's team and seen way back in Nov, before I was apporved to have the midwife led care. Since then it has been midwife appointments only until today - I was told my last antenatal app would be in the hosp as that was standard. First of all, I was not seen by either of the consultants of whose team I am on (both are female) instead I was seen by a male doctor who didn't even introduce himself to me. I said to him, you're clearly not one of my consultants anyway and he laughed, but still didn't say his name, and it was only when his medical student introduced himself, the doc said his name so quickly that i didn't even catch it. He didn't ask me how I was or anything at all, just said get up on the bed and we will measure you etc.. (fair enough, they aren't always in good form or full of chat) So, his bad bedside manner aside, he told me to get up on the bed, glanced at my chart and said, 'oh you're overdue' which was news to me as my EDD is this Friday! I said no i'm not, told him when due date was etc.. and he said well the date both your scans gave is 23rd April, so you are 2 days overdue. Now i had seen that date mentioned on the scans, but when I asked my consultant about it (months ago - start of November) , she was completely dismissive and said No your dates are still the same, we would only change your EDD if the scan was showing a difference of a week or more. ANd since then, at every single antenatal app I have been told my edd was the 27th. When I said all this to the doctor today, he totally dismissed it and said I was overdue. Then he just said grand make an appointment for next Wed, you will be 9 days overdue by then. ANd that was it!! If I am really overdue, well then why wasn't I offered a sweep or told what would happen if I didn't go into labour etc... I know from what I have heard they don't let you go more than 10 days over, but he never said that, nor did he have anything else to say - no mention of induction or anything else, I was ushered out the door and all in all I would say I was seen for a total of about a minute and a half. I am totally bewildered now. I have had a consultant and a doctor be equally dismissive about the dates - so who is correct? I don't want to be bamboozled into an induction before the full 10 days have passsed, but now I don't know when those 10 days are up. Also I would of course want to try a sweep before anything like that, but by his reckoning, going back wed week would not allow any time for that. I am pretty much just having a little rant here. I don't think there's much any wollies can do for me on this matter (unless you have had something similar?!) I am going to ring the midwives and try find out what the story is. In the mean time I am annoyed and confused as to what the situation is!

Oh how annoying for you, especially this close to the due date to be messed around like that. I think if I was you I'd just ring the midwives and speak to them, just to reassure yourself at the very least. I know my first appt was similar in that I was less than 3 mins with the consultant, haven't a clue what her name is as she didn't introduce herself, so when she asked if I wanted midwife care I jumped at it. Hopefully I will be with the midwives fir the duration, but I do know a girl due 2 wks before me who had a section last time, and she was told she will be with the midwives but her last few wks she will be dealing with the consultants as she had a section last time. So maybe its just the fact that you had the bleed they are putting you back to the consultant led care. Also re the dates of the scans, they told me I was 6 days earlier than based on my LMP. But they didn't change it as it was a difference of less than a week, she said they won't change it unless it's more than a week. Ring the midwives, put your mind at ease.

mrswifey give the midwives a ring! It's pretty standard in the Coombe not to be seen by the Consultants - at all but two appointments I have been seen by either registrars or SHOs. Unless there is a problem you do tend to be in and out very quickly - jump on the bed for a quick scan and I only get fundal height measured if there's a student doing it. That aside, what EDD does it have on your appointment card, chart etc. In my experience this is the date they use. My fundal height measured 43 last Friday and baby has consistently measured 2+ weeks ahead since anomoly scan but I still have my original EDD. I am back in the Coombe at 39 weeks & the guy I saw on Friday said to me as baby is head down at this stage it's just a case of waiting for labour to start but failing that overdue policy is 10 days but they would speak to me about it more at next appointment. I don't know what the Coombe offer regarding sweeps because to be honest, most people I see at the appointments are in and out so quickly it's hard to imagine many get them at their regular AN appointment. I'm not sure if any of that helps but I think the midwives are fantastic so either ring the Domino ones or give the hospital a call and ask to speak to a midwife!!

Thanks for the replies. Well it gets worse - I have had several phone calls over the last hour with the Domino's midwife, to discover... I am not on the Domino's scheme!!!!!!!!!! Due to an error their end when I originially signed up for it, I was put on a consultant's team and then signed up to do midwife led care. I never knew this and all along when I mentioned Domino's scheme, no one ever checked or said anything about it. I feel really upset now, feel like the whole thing has just been turned on it's head and I don't know where I stand. The midwife I spoke to was really really nice and apologetic, she said as it's a new service there was some confusion about whether people were doing that or community midwife's scheme. She said there would be no diff in my care, that I could still go for the natural labour and still have the early release home thing, but I just feel a bit shocked. So as a result, all she could advise was that I make my appointment for next week and will have to chat to the consultant then re my dates - so I am totally none the wiser - am I overdue or not and now I am suddenly on a whole different scheme than I thought I was. Also as I saw a different doctor today - one who was not listed on my team, I don't even feel confident about who I will see next week - I certainly don't want to see him again - he was no help today. Probably just the hormones now, but I actually started crying when I got off the phone, I don't know where I stand with anything now.

I think the main thing is that you still get your wishes regarding the birth and early release home. I can sympathise though regarding differing dates from the consultant and the midwives. I’m not going to the Coombe but from an early scan and doctor I was given a EDD but the consultant changed it and ever since everyone has gone back to my original date except this consultant (who by the way is very nice and highly sought after by private patients - I am public) but that doesn’t help me as in my head I have one due date but I think it’s the wrong one! I personally find consultants lack the personal skills that midwives have – they have an empathy with you or something. Anyway hope you feel better about it soon and your next appointment answers your questions.

Thanks Bigsuprise - yes thank god all is still pretty much the same with regards to the type of labour I have been working towards. I think at this stage of things I am just really not able for the uncertainty over it all and it's really hard not knowing if I am overdue or not. It's annoying to be now 'under' a consultant when that was not what I wanted - and If I wasn't, there wouldn't be this issue as it would be just the midwives telling me my dates etc- it's not like I can just ring up the consultant and ask them! As you said - a lot of them do lack the personal skills. I am just hoping now that I will go into labour naturally over the next few days, so that it won't be an issue!

First off mrswifey There's every chance you will go into labour before your appointment next week so fingers crossed none of this will be an issue. I was doing community midwife clinic until 18 weeks when I was transferred back to consultants clinic due to sickness and like you I am still hoping for a drug-free birth and early transfer home - this is totally do-able regardless of what 'clinic' you are under so that's a positive! When you go in next week, you know when you get your urine & BP checked with the midwife, ask her to put your file in the consultants file - explain the mix up if necessary but as you'll be past your EDD either way they'll understand why you want to see the consultant. I'm under Team E and from what I see when I am in there it is only the 'problem' cases that go into the consultant (I saw her twice) and the routine appointments are then divvied up between the rest of the team. I can totally understand how off-putting all of this is for you but don't let it affect your preparations for the birth you hope to have

Thanks ohsotired, you genuinely made me feel better there!! Thanks for advice regarding what to do next week - you are right, I will just ask to see the consultant & can explain the mix up. I hear you about the whole 'clinic' thing not really making a difference, I think I just got a bit of a shock when she said I wasn't on the domino's list - it was nearly like as if she had said, 'Sorry but you are not down to have your baby in the Coombe'! I am getting over it a bit now and you are right, I won't let it put me off my plans - I think my mind went straight to thinking my whole birth 'preferences' were going out the window... Lumen, thanks for your reply - on my charts etc.. it all says the 27th, the only place it says the 23rd is on the two printouts from the scans. So maybe he was wrong, but he sure sounded very darn sure of himself! I knew alright that they tend to just lash through people, but I suppose I was expecting a bit more from a last appointment - talk of what would happen if I went more than 10 days over, when I would be induced under those circumstances, how was I feeling, would I be offered a sweep etc... Maybe I have just been spoiled be seeing midwives all along!

Sorry to hear about your experience Mrswifey. As regards your due date, I had an original due date of July 14th with my daughter and when I went for a scan it was changed to July 10th but nobody used that date. They still went by my original date so I wouldn't pay too much heed to the date on the scan especially if there is only a few days difference in it. Relax for your last few days and take it easy.

Thanks seans missus - yeah I had always ignored the earlier dates on the scans, but when a Dr is insisting you are 2 days overdue and that the scan dates are the correct ones, it's hard to be sure! I think I am just going to continue to think of tomorrow being my due date and try to forget about yesterday alltogether - there seems to be a few of us who had different dates on scans, so until/unless a consultant tells me otherwise, I am choosing to ignore your man yesterday! The only thing is, I have also remembered I asked him was the head fully engaged and he kind of nodded and said something along the lines of Pretty Much! I didn't think there is such thing as pretty much - either it's fully eng or it's not! On my notes he wroted Ceph LV - I know the Ceph bit means it's head down (and I knew from last weeks antenatal app that it was close to being fully engaged) but I don't know what the LV stands for and can't find any info online. So now that's annoying me today!! Trying to forget about it, but I am one of those people who likes to know what's what - so here I am Overdue or Not? Head fully engaged or Not? Suddenly not on the Domino's scheme but with no real reason why! I do realise there is no point in stressing about it, and it hopefully won't make any difference because I will go naturally myeslf soon (fingers crossed) but I have never been someone who is good at just 'forgetting about something!! Ah well... thanks again for all the replies and listening to me give out girls, I really appreciate it!!