Don't just settle fight for your rights!

[Thirdtimelucky]

Firstly despite having some problems recently, I'm so glad that my baby is ok, at the end of the day that's all I care about. But I and others have experienced a change in the way that mums to be ate treated due to the ever decreasing amount of funds available for health care, I've had to fight to get two antenatal classes, and still don't know how to breath through labor, healthcare visitors have to be called out by us for advice instead of offering, mountains of leaflets dished out, mums to be expected to arrange all their own appointments, having to use the same sample tube for every midwife appointment. How can that be hygienic? Sooo please please please, ask for tests, ask for more information, and ask for more support. I've found that if you don't ask for it you don't get handed it

[ritz21]

I surprisingly felt the same. And its a pity obviously a lot of us are not doctors or mid-wives and therefore its but logical we do not know everything we should be worried about or not worried about. I sometimes thinks its good to have doctors in the family or friend circle, but that might not be the case for everyone and I wonder what do they do.

Last time when I was with my mid-wife and asked her about certain vaccines I must be given and those I must not be, she was rather looking perplexed and told me - "now you are in our hands and its our job to keep you and your baby fine" I was stunned by that answer - they dont expect us to be aware ! but I thought it better to smile and reply back "I normally like to be very aware of the health care I must need, because I keep hopping between continents". She was obviously not very pleased as I did not meekly submitted to her.

In all this, I do feel a lot insecure - being an immigrant and that too one who has recently migrated I am not very aware of who is a good doctor who is not in the area - everyone I know goes to NHS and not to private practitioners (it makes me wonder if thats because they are expensive or they are not good)

But seriously I hope, health care instead of being standardized and free be more specialized and affordable/accessible. And I think a lot of us would use the later one.

[tigernoodles]

This has not been my experience at all. I have been offered all the support and advice I need at every turn, my midwife and the maternity unit have been utterly fantastic, kept me fully informed of everything I should need to know and I feel prepared and calm about labour and what comes afterwards.

[tigernoodles]

This has not been my experience at all. I have been offered all the support and advice I need at every turn, my midwife and the maternity unit have been utterly fantastic, kept me fully informed of everything I should need to know and I feel prepared and calm about labour and what comes afterwards.

[Thirdtimelucky in reply to tigernoodles]

I am so glad that you have had the kind of treatment that every mum to be deserves, gives me a little more hope that not all services have dropped their standards.

[rhibot]

It's awful that you've had to fight for what should be standard - I'm in the North Yorkshire area, and the NHS have been brilliant, proactive, helpful and certainly nothing like reusing sample jars! It's sad for the midwives too if that's going, who wants to go to work and not be able to provide the care you know you are capable of? But, my experience so far, I really couldn't have asked for anything more.

[LunaD]

I have found my midwives in Edinburgh to be brilliant, very supportive and helpful with everything. It's a shame it isn't like that for everyone. I suppose NHS services can sometimes be very stretched, particularly in areas where there is a lot of immigration. But I would like to think even if this was the case in my area I could still ring up and ask questions if I was worried about anything.

I don't think they teach breathing through labour anymore as they say it is something that just happens naturally with encouragement? That's what they told us during our antenatal classes anyway. Also I don't think it's particularly unhygienic to clean out urine sample bottles and reuse them, but maybe I'm just gross!

[Thirdtimelucky in reply to LunaD]

Apparently they've moved the criteria for glucose tolerance testing back to a bmi of 30 instead of 35, which is brilliant if your 28 weeks now, but not when you haven't been diagnosed until you're 36th week. The damage has already been done if I go full term baby will be12 lb, if I'm induced then there's a high risk that baby's shoulders will get stuck, or suffer brain damage. Or have problems with their neck and spine due to getting its shoulders stuck. Because of the size of bays shoulders as a direct result from my gestational diabetes which was not detected. I can handle most things and say oh well that's ok, but you don't jeopardise my unborn baby's health, if the risk for baby seems to high to me then I will push for a c section.