"RAH Maternity Ultrasound"

I had an ultrasound in early August with a sonographer  I wasn't going to bother to complain as I had assumed that was my last ultrasound, however, my consultant wants me to come in again so I wanted to place this on record.

The entire experience left me very upset with my fiance have to calm me while I cried in the car. The sonographer had very poor bedside manner and made us feel like an inconvenience. They hardly spoke other than to inform us of the specific details involved in the scan. They also caused me significant discomfort and after I complained that I was uncomfortable they simply justified that they needed to continue for the measurements and then carried on. They applied so much pressure that I was in physical pain and moving around and wincing on the bed, their only comment being that I needed to stay still, which they said quite firmly and disapprovingly.

They also kept requesting I move closer to them to the point I felt uncomfortably close to the edge of the bed and was hanging off a little but they didn't seem to care as this was easier for them. We asked about the gender of the baby and they were quite rude in the way they said that the NHS dont scan for gender and moving on very swiftly.

I had a scan only 2 weeks prior to this one with a different sonographer and it was a lovely experience. They were kind, chatty and supportive. They didn't hurt me and made sure I was comfortable throughout while also having a wee check for the gender though unfortunately we couldnt see anything. They reassured that maybe we might catch the gender at the follow up scan and my partner and I were excited for this. Instead, the appointment was very upsetting from start to finish and left me feeling angry. This was supposed to be a magical moment for my partner and I, it's our first child, and instead it was a truly awful experience. My stomach was sore for days after from how much pressure they were putting on me.

I want it on record that I do not wish to have them performing any further ultrasounds on me, however, I have had great difficulty getting through to someone who could actually help me with this. I don't know how I will react if they are the sonographer at my next appointment and I feel too embarrassed to discuss it at the reception desk. I called a few times but had no answer. Managed to get through to the midwife team but due to the fact it would need to state the name of the person, they were not willing to add the note to my appointment as it would be visible to many people.

On my next appointment, I hope to have a lovely experience and enjoy seeing my baby which will make up for the upset caused to me at my last visit.