MIDWIFE AND HOSPITAL DRAMAS, CAN ANYONE GIVE ME ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Question

I am 19 weeks pregnant and have had awful midwifrey care throughout my pregnancy, i saw a midwife at 9 weeks who never took my bloods and did not give me my much needed notes. I had to go on a later date to the hospital to get my bloods done at 12 weeks and then my midwife cancelled our next appointment and just forgot about me. I rang on 3 seperate occasions and finally 8 WEEKS LATER she arranged to see me. This appointment she did not even turn up for, no phonecall nothing. I made complaints to her supervisors and asked to switch midwives. 9 weeks after my 1st appointment i saw a new midwife, she then told me that it was my responsibility to book my 20 week scan and that i needed to be quick. She said that she would make sure all my details were on the system and that i should go to the hospital and book it asap. When i got to the hosp there was no details on the system and i had to wait while another midwife put them all on. When i went to the scanning departement they told me they had no free appointments for 4 weeks!!! Which would make me 23 weeks, i am not prepared to wait that long as i am not the one who has been complaicent and not done my job properly, i am also not comfortable with being cared for by midwives anymore.

Does anyone know what i can do, i complain and make phonecalls and it just seems like i get palmed off. Can i get the care i need without paying for it and what can i do about the scan?

Answer 1

get a doula. http://www.doula.org.uk/

you have been mistreated. i am sorry that you have had to deal with that.

Answer 2

It doesn't sound like your midwives are very responsible. Have you considered switching to an obsetrician to care over your pregnancy? You need the best prenatal care, especially in a situation like this, and it doesn't sound as if you're receiving it from any midwife.

If you are not planning a home birth, I would switch to an obstetrician. There are more than one ultrasound clinics around, and an obstetrician is bound to be able to get you into one of those, if they can't get you into the hospital, before you turned 23 weeks. Also, your appointments would all be scheduled and not cancelled. Postponed? Maybe..mine always are, by at least an hour or two, but I'd personally rather wait an hour or two after my appointment and receive quality prenatal care than have it constantly cancelled on me, have the midwife not show up and not receive prenatal care at all.

And regarding the reporting, I know here in Canada there is a College of Midwives that you can report midwives too if you don't feel as if they're doing an adequate job. Look online or in the phone book for somewhere like that, like the College of Midwives, and report them there, or simply call the midwife place and ask if there is a such place that exists. Perhaps clueing in that you are unsatisfied with their services and ready to report them might start getting them to do their jobs.

Good luck.

Answer 3

i would without doubt, complain complain complain, this is totally unacceptable behaviour! I have had three midwives over the course of my 5 month pregnancy so far and only the third is remotely friendly. The other two i felt rushed and they looked bored, it really was awful. you shouldnt have to be going through all this stress!! good luck!

Answer 4

Is it possible for you to travel to a midwife? If so, I'd suggest going to the next city/town.

My midwife was an hour away, but worth it. She was wonderful. I had relatives in that town that I could have stayed with them while in early labour, so I had plans to leave at the first sign of his imminent arrival.

I did have to fight a bit to be taken on, though, but it might be worth the fight to not be so stressed out!

Sounds like that organization just doesn't care at all, and that mentality bleeds down, so I don't think expressing your concerns to the supervisors will help. The midwives are so lackadaisical cuz they can get away with it.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

p.s. as to the scan have you talked to the hospital and told them if an appt. is cancelled, to call you? If you can get right there, they may accommodate you that way. If not, then if it can't be done, it can't be done. Don't stress about it. Yes, I know that's easy for me to say...

Answer 5

Did you book your midwife appointments through  your surgery or was it a midwife team?

You should have had a midwife appointment (at the doctors) at 10 weeks (I was told this was the earliest they would take my bloods)

At 12-14 weeks (at the hospital) for the first scan

At 12-14 weeks (at the hospital for your midwife's appointment with them)

At 13-15 weeks (back at the doctors)

At 20 weeks (for 2nd scan at hospital)

Won't write the rest of them as there are so many!  Point is, if they haven't taken your bloods yet or done a 12 weeks scan, they won't have been able to test for all of the usual blood disorders or the possibility of Down's.

Go back to your GP and ask him/her to refer you to someone else.  You should also be able to the get the GP to give you a referral form for another hospital to do the 3 month scan.  I know that I could have gone to 3 in my area.

If you stick with the new midwife and she has gone on holiday, she dhould have arranged cover  - find out what the position is.  Best of luck

Answer 6

I would make an official complaint. Maybe threaten them with the Ombudsman ( not sure thats the right spelling :) ) My sister has had trouble with general care all through her awful pregnancy. (twins)

She did get the care she needed after a lot of nagging.

She was rewarded on Aug 9th with two beautiful babies. A boy and a girl.

NAG NAG NAG them...make them so sick of your complaints that they do what they're supossed to do!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.