So my 1st NHS scan post IVF is in a couple of weeks. I had an initial phone call appointment with a mid wife to get background info etc.
She said because of IVF I'd be under extra care of a consultant and have an appointment in April. Whilst this is great, she didn't explain why. Are IVF pregnancies more risk?! Besides some pretty awful fatigue and nausea, I've no other symptoms. No bleeding at all.
Can anyone tell me if they were also referred to a consultant obstetrician and what it entailed?
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ashbb
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Hello different hospitals have different policies .... they all risk assess all pregnancies, and decide if you are ‘consultant led’ - higher risk, and a doctor will monitor you - or ‘midwife led’, if you’re lower risk and then a midwife will monitor you . Some hospitals say that an IVF pregnancy is automatically referred to be ‘consultant led’ , some don’t.... in my case when I was pregnant I was midwife led despite IVF . But it doesn’t make a huge difference really, you’ll have the same appointments, you’ll just see a doctor once in a while rather than only a midwife it’s nothing to be worried about x
Everything I’ve read always said that once you’re pregnant an IVF pregnancy is exactly the same as any other... no increased risk of complication. I think they just like to be over-cautious because they often don’t know why you needed ivf in the first place (I certainly don’t know in my case) and you’ve been on all the hormones etc.... I was told, for instance, I wouldn’t be allowed to go overdue! Don’t know why
Depending on the health board you live in, it appears some refer you to a consultant if you have IVF.
Mine did too and classed me as high risk so I didn’t even have a community midwife and I had to go to the hospital every 4 weeks and have growth scans from 32 weeks. The extra scanning was great as I was already intending to have a scan every 4 weeks (over anxious!) and I was very well looked after x
I would welcome it! I’ve also been referred to a consultant obstetrician and it just means you have another couple of beady eyes looking out for you 👀. I’m high risk because I have a chequered pregnancy history so I’m happy for this to be the case. You might be deemed an amber risk because it’s an IVF pregnancy. I think every hospital may do it slightly differently. It’s honestly not something to be worried about and will hopefully just give you more piece of mind xx
Good to hear. My wee anxious brain just goes arrrrrggggghh is there something wrong that I don't know about? You're right. More in depth care is a good thing. X
Yes I was automatically referred to a consultant obstetrician as it was an IVF pregnancy. It's standard where I live. nothing to worry about, just meant I had more scans and more care/check ups, was great in fact! Xxx
Same happened to me although it was never properly explained by my midwife so I panicked when I got an appointment in the post as I thought my blood tests had shown something bad! I spoke to a different midwife & was told it was policy in my area to be referred to the consultant for all IVF pregnancies. At my appointment because I had no underlying conditions and pregnancy was going well with no issues, I was discharged back to midwife lead care. I’m not sure whether it’s because many IVF pregnancies involve ‘older’ mothers and/or medical conditions that can complicate pregnancies so they just refer all on regardless? I have no idea! And as others have said it will depend where you are too.
Thank you. Yeah i mean I'm older, but still only mid thirties so was a bit confused. I just started to panic about all the things that could go wrong but getting checked by the experts can only be a good thing.
I'm under a consultant but I have a few risk factors, IVF, twins, age (over 40). To be honest it hasnt made too much difference care wise. I still see the midwives at appointments and any decisions are run past the consultant hut I've only seen her briefly. Try not to worry, I think different hospitals have different protocols and so long as you are looked after well then that's the main thing.xxx
Thank you. Yeah i can understand if there are more obvious risk factors so a bit of a surprise. Goldie24 Explained it well. Glad of the extra care now. Hope you're well. Not long to go! Xx
Same happened to me, I had only one appointment with the consultant who had prescribed a low dose of aspirin, because it is an IVF pregnancy, but I am currently clarified as a low risk pregnancy and I don’t have any extra monitoring.
Hi, I’m a midwife and at every hospital I know of ivf pregnancies are consultant led care. Some consultants do extra scans for ivf pregnancies as there was some thought some years ago that ivf babies could be a bit smaller but this idea has pretty much died out now and the likelihood is they won’t see you again until towards the end of your pregnancy or they will put you back to midwife led care. You have to be textbook “normal” to be midwife led care from the start and around 60-70% of pregnancies will be consultant led at booking. It is routine and nothing to worry about, you will still see your midwife far more than your consultant x
No problems, My job is actually making the decision of who is consultant and who is midwife led in a consultant antenatal clinic so thought I’d share my expertise 😂😂 all good this end thank you.x
Hi my midwife said on the phone on my inital call i would be consultant led however when i saw her she said i am low risk so wouldn't need to see consultant. By 20 weeks i had placenta previa so ended up with a couple of extra scans, and having a call with the consultant anyway regarding a planned section. All the best xx
Standard where I am is to be consultant led rather than midwife led for an ivf pregnancy. I was much happier with that. Meant more regular appointments and with the doctor at the hospital rather than midwife as GP surgery. Don’t take it as a sign there’s something to worry about x
I am both, midwife and consultant. I’m low risk first and second trimester and high risk third and delivery. Midwife led care in between. Consultant 14 weeks, 20 weeks, 32 weeks, 36 weeks and delivery at 39 weeks. Just another set of eyes, my midwife has brilliant communication with my consultant, I was under a new one and then my old one has taken me back over. The only ivf bits that were mentioned where additional scans as some grow big and some grow small. So far baby was growing 5 days ahead. But they aren’t concerned because it has been put back to when my original al period should have been but ivf meds altered that. Lots of luck to you x
Thank you for the detail. I like to know as much as possible to prepare for any eventuality. We'll see what happens in a few weeks once they can tell me more about baby! All the best with yours x
I have 1 point to be high risk which is my age I was 40 at conception it’s took my midwife 3 attempts to get me a consultant app which I just had on the phone on wed just went through previous pregnancies as I’ve 2 kids health history, gestational diabetes pre-eclampsia etc which I’ve had no problems with both. I should of had a a growth scan at 28w again my midwife has chased numerous times but consultant is now arranging hopefully for next week, other than that I doubt (unless scan shows anything unusual) there will be further consultant app. There’s nothing to worry about it is actually better if your consultant lead if u do have problems.
First of all congratulations! I was also referred to the consultant in our area, I've only had a phone call with him where he mentioned not wanting me to go full term and if I'm happy they'll contact me at 36 weeks to book me in. Apparently they don't like IVF pregnancies to go over full term. I have some other complications so am getting the extra monitoring down the line, but that's not related to IVF. I'm thinking the more monitoring we all get the better, especially as we're quite naturally more anxious because of the journeys we've all been through. Wishing you the best of luck! 💕
I was referred to consultant obstetrician and had two extra scans because it was IVF pregnancy. Most of my care was midwife led. I was given option to be induced at term. I think they just like to monitor you more closely given the difficulty getting pregnant in the first place to make sure no potential risk factors are missed. I was discharged at 36 weeks and had all options open to me in terms of birth plan etc. Try not to worry and enjoy the extra opportunities to see your little on the ultrasound 😊
Thanks for posting this ashbb and thanks to everyone for replying. I had my first appointment with a midwife this morning and she decided to refer me for consultant led care due to having ISCI. As I had seen the replies here before the appointment I wasn't shocked 🙂 She said it won't really affect my choices, just another layer of care to make sure we're well.
Good to know. Yeah i was just a bit surprised. Suppose a part of me just wants the pregnancy to be "normal" after the trauma of infertility and IVF.But as everyone says, any extra care can only be a good thing. Hope yours goes as well as possible xx
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different hospitals have different policies .... they all risk assess all pregnancies, and decide if you are ‘consultant led’ - higher risk, and a doctor will monitor you - or ‘midwife led’, if you’re lower risk and then a midwife will monitor you . Some hospitals say that an IVF pregnancy is automatically referred to be ‘consultant led’ , some don’t.... in my case when I was pregnant I was midwife led despite IVF . But it doesn’t make a huge difference really, you’ll have the same appointments, you’ll just see a doctor once in a while rather than only a midwife 
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