First Trimester Care!! Help Please!!

My sister -in-law is 10 weeks pregnant, after 3 years of trying for a baby. She did fall pregnant last year but unfortunalty lost the baby at around 9 weeks. She has just been to see the midwife who has informed her that she won't be seeing her now until 28 weeks. She has already had a first scan, and her next one isn't until 21 weeks. Meaning that it is almost three months between any type of contact with anyone! She is also down as a high risk patient because of her past.

The midwife had also informed her that she proberly won't feel the baby until around 22 weeks, because of her size ( i'm guessing that she's proberly around a size 18). The midwife also did not carry out any checks on her, even though she is aneamic (is that spelt right???).

Can anyone advise if these are normal? She is extremley worried about losing the baby again, and it does seem to be quite strange that she's being left for so long! She has asked my advice, but apart from my own experiences as a mother i don't have a clue!

Is she under the care of the midwife throughout her pregnancy, or does she have some appointments at the hospital in between seeing the midwife again?

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

Just the midwife! She has no visits until 28 weeks, apart from the scan!

Has the midwife told her she is classed as high risk in this pregnancy? It seems strange if that is the case, that she isn't under the care of the consultant at the hospital. But I am not very clued up on this side of things, so could be normal procedure.

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

She said it's down on her book/record. Seemed strange to me, but am not sure!

Hiya Vicki,

The NICE guideline on antenatal care (available at www.nice.org.uk) sets out what is good practice in terms of antenatal care in the UK - most health trusts use this to plan the care that women receive.

Your s-i-l should have had some blood tests taken at her appointment with her midwife (or have been given some forms to go to the hospital to have these done), one of these is to check for Anaemia. She should have had her blood pressure checked and her urine tested when she saw her midwife at the booking appointment, and screening tests among other things should have been discussed.

She should have another midwife appointment at about 16 weeks, where her BP and urine would be rechecked and the results of her blood tests taken at the booking appintment should be discussed. Most trusts offer another scan at about 20-22 weeks where they have a detailed look at the baby, check the internal organs and take lots of measurements and generally make sure that everything looks OK. Then another midwife appointment at 25 weeks (if it's her first baby) and 28 weeks. If she is classed as high risk, she might have some of these appointments at the hospital in the doctors clinic rather than with her community midwife, but a previous miscarriage doesn't make someone high risk on its own.

If you are not happy about what your sister in law has been told, she can always phone the hospital and ask to speak to the community midwifery manager to check that she has got the correct information

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Love Dory xxx
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Thanks for posting that Dory, this is what I was thinking, but wasn't 100% sure, so didn't want to put incorrect information.

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

That's great thankyou! Will pass all that on to her! X

Hiya I was high risk with my youngest and I was consultant led and he arranged from 22 weeks onwards I was to see him one week and the midwife then next but my friend is low risk and has only 4 weeks left she has only seen midwife 4 times in this pregnancy.
Donna
X xx X

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echoing Dory really, I would expect her to have a routine a/n check up at about 16 weeks.
Previous misc does not make her high risk so she sounds as though she is just about on the right schedule off appts, bar the 16 week one, as long as her blood tests have been done. She is obviousbly anxious due to her past obs hist, but plead with her not to go and buy doppler from mothercare to listen to FH as she will get her self into a right old state if she cant find it! The early days are very hard for women as they are relying on MW to tell them that everything is ok as they unable to feel FM's just yet, but going to the MW even weekly will not change anything.....if she is going to misc she will do it whether she sees her MW 100 times or once. Harsh? but true.
congrats to her for getting pregnant again, and i hope it all works out well for her
x

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