Hi all,
I had my first midwifes appointment on Tues and although I was quite looking forward to it I was apprehensive about meeting the midwife after her non-empathy when I told her the doctor was sending me for a scan due to bleeding.
Anyway it turned out she was REALLY nice.
The appointment wasn't very exciting in itself - here's a rundown for those who want to know what sort of thing to expect:
1) Loads of questions about personal medical history - what ailments I have, my parents have, siblings etc
2) Questions about my partner, including quite a few personal ones about our relationship etc (so for those thinking about taking your other half with you, I wouldn't recommend it as it might feel awkward!)
3) Had to produce a urine sample
4) Had my blood pressure taken followed by a blood sample (took 4 attempts to get blood out of my arm but she managed in the end)
5) Opportunity to ask any questions you want (feel free to take a list so you remember to ask everything)
I was told the hospital would be in touch regarding dating scan at around 12weeks - one thing I wasn't prepared for however is that at the dating scan you can have another test done to determine whether you're high or low risk for having a downs syndrom baby. I hadn't contemplated this at all and after the midwife talked me through the initial test and then further tests if I was high risk, I decided I didn't want any Downs screening tests. However as I hadn't considered it before the appointment and hadn't discussed it with my other half, the midwife gave me the number of the hospital and said that if once I'd thought about it some more and discussed with my OH I changed my mind I could ring the hospital and ask them to extend my appt to include the tests. I've since read up on the tests in my 'pregnancy bible' and talked about it and I'm still not going to have the tests - if I have a Downs baby, I have a Downs baby. I know in my heart I wouldn't terminate if I found out anyway so I figured why bother having the tests. Obviously everyone will have their own views on this but for those who haven't met their midwife yet, it might be something to consider in advance.
Anyway first midwife appointment took just over an hour. Second one is booked for early feb and will only be 15mins.
I'm awaiting scan dates from hospital but doubt I'll hear anything pre-xmas.
I had my first midwifes appointment on Tues and although I was quite looking forward to it I was apprehensive about meeting the midwife after her non-empathy when I told her the doctor was sending me for a scan due to bleeding.
Anyway it turned out she was REALLY nice.
The appointment wasn't very exciting in itself - here's a rundown for those who want to know what sort of thing to expect:
1) Loads of questions about personal medical history - what ailments I have, my parents have, siblings etc
2) Questions about my partner, including quite a few personal ones about our relationship etc (so for those thinking about taking your other half with you, I wouldn't recommend it as it might feel awkward!)
3) Had to produce a urine sample
4) Had my blood pressure taken followed by a blood sample (took 4 attempts to get blood out of my arm but she managed in the end)
5) Opportunity to ask any questions you want (feel free to take a list so you remember to ask everything)
I was told the hospital would be in touch regarding dating scan at around 12weeks - one thing I wasn't prepared for however is that at the dating scan you can have another test done to determine whether you're high or low risk for having a downs syndrom baby. I hadn't contemplated this at all and after the midwife talked me through the initial test and then further tests if I was high risk, I decided I didn't want any Downs screening tests. However as I hadn't considered it before the appointment and hadn't discussed it with my other half, the midwife gave me the number of the hospital and said that if once I'd thought about it some more and discussed with my OH I changed my mind I could ring the hospital and ask them to extend my appt to include the tests. I've since read up on the tests in my 'pregnancy bible' and talked about it and I'm still not going to have the tests - if I have a Downs baby, I have a Downs baby. I know in my heart I wouldn't terminate if I found out anyway so I figured why bother having the tests. Obviously everyone will have their own views on this but for those who haven't met their midwife yet, it might be something to consider in advance.
Anyway first midwife appointment took just over an hour. Second one is booked for early feb and will only be 15mins.
I'm awaiting scan dates from hospital but doubt I'll hear anything pre-xmas.
