"Not happy with care during my pregnancy"

I haven’t even had my baby yet (due next year) but I certainly will not be having my baby at Queen Mother’s Hospital.

This is my first pregnancy, so it’s understandable that as I don’t know what’s normal yet, I'm panicking about the slightest thing! I have an overactive thyroid, and as this can stop the baby growing properly I am classed as a complicated pregnancy (not good for my nerves!) So you would think the midwives might be sympathetic towards a panicking high risk pregnant woman wouldn’t you? This is not what I have experienced...

I phoned triage midwife yesterday because

a) My bump has completely disappeared

b) I haven’t had 20 weeks scan date through yet

The whole bump thing - was just told to go to GP who would listen to heartbeat to reassure me. I said that’s not much reassurance, I have an overactive thyroid which can stop the baby growing properly, just because we can hear a heartbeat doesn’t mean the baby is the correct size.

She put me on hold, came back and changed the subject! I brought it back up and she said "well according to your notes you are due a scan at 30 weeks". So I said "so you expect me to go from having scan at 12 weeks to having one at 30 weeks just to find out my baby hasn’t been growing properly the entire time, when I was clearly told I was due more scans for this exact reason?"

She said she would look into it....

I then asked when I was getting my 20week scan date as I will be 18 weeks tomorrow, she said that as of last week they don’t do 20 week scans anymore, and if I want to find out sex I will have to go private.

By this point I am RAGING and told her at my booking in appointment I was told I would get scans at 12 weeks, 20 weeks, 30 weeks, 34 weeks and probably another in between (because of thyroid), I am also not working so how am I supposed to afford to go private, and why should I when I was told you would do it?!

I ended up just phoning GP who is going to see me today, I am not happy about the way she handled it at all, I am now annoyed I didn’t get her name!

So I went to see GP that day (reception put it through as emergency as I was so distressed) and he wasn’t happy at all with what I told him about what happened.

He couldn’t find the heartbeat so got straight on to the phone to the hospital, explained what I had told him and said he was having problems finding heartbeat and he was sending me up to them right now and they would see me whether they liked it or not. Luckily they found heartbeat - bubs was probably just hiding, thank god! Was really panicking!

Although the midwife there found the heartbeat, I feel she behaved very unprofessionally towards me. First of all, I am near hysteria thinking my baby had died. She made me sit on the bed for 15 minutes while she chatted away to another couple about nothing in particular (I could hear everything), and while she was finding heartbeat she seemed to be staring at my fiancé, and coyly smiling at him! She seemed to be looking at him while she spoke to me!

I got the impression I was in the way, being a nuisance and wasting her time. This is the exact same impression I get from other staff I meet, whenever I go there, even the ante natal reception staff that I have dealt with make you think you have ruined their entire day just by being there. At the end of the day - if I am not happy with the care I am receiving during my pregnancy, how the hell am I meant to be able to put my trust in them when it comes to actually delivering my baby?

I am logging everything I am not happy with, and making a complaint, and I can guarantee there will be more to log, and I am also going to change hospitals.