Consultant appointment
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It depends whether you're under consultant care or not. I'm under midwife led care - low risk, had no growth scans or diabetes tests etc. Likelihood is I will only ever see midwives.
Yeah, as @Alexandra said consultants are only for pregnancies classed as ‘high risk’ you may be seeing it a lot because it’s fairly common for second time mums etc to get bungled in this. For example I’m consultant led because of the birth of my first baby and don’t really have any other risk factors. Hope this helps x
Sure not everyone has one, I do because I have PCOS that puts me at higher risk of gestational diabetes. So there has to be a reason for it. Have chat with midwife if worried but this was all done for me without it being mentioned so I’m sure if you needed to see a consultant it would have been arranged xx
I only see the consultant after extra growth scans because I have a low PAPP A risk factor (don’t google it, it’s very confusing!) but I’m also seeing the community midwife as normal too.
Thank you everyone! Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something I needed x
I'm a high risk pregnancy so under consultant care but a lot of the girls I know haven't seen a consultant. I think it just depends on your pregnancy☺️
You also see a consultant if you ask for planned C section! So if you have any worries or anxiety about giving birth then they get you to see one
@Dominique when will I be asked about my birth preferences? cus so far I've not even had a conversation with anyone about birth yet
@Mollie my midwife has booked me in for birth plan discussions at my 36 week appointment. The NHS website says it should be the 34, though!
@Loren right okay, I've been having a different midwife every appointment but I've got one this Thursday so I'll ask then, they mentioned talking about feeding plans but that was it so ill query it on Thursday, thank you!
@Mollie as Loren mentioned, it’s at the 36W appointment they discuss birth plans :) it’s a longer appointment than the others (30mins). Have you had your 34W appointment yet? If not, at that one they’ll let you know that the next one will be the birth plan one so you can prepare! Please do also ask them any questions you have at any point, whether about feeding or anything. I often jot down a little list of things before the appointment on my notes app I want answers for and it’s very handy.
Pretty sure at my 34 week they noted down we had discussed feeding.. but we definitely didn't 🤣
I’m only seeing a consultant as I’m high risk. I was having twins but not anymore
@Mollie I just kept telling them at every appointment I want a c section and finally they booked me in to see a consultant - usually you just see midwives all throughout - they did the same as @Loren and said at 36 weeks il see the consultant (I honestly feel that’s a bit late) - I’ve been booked in at the sister hospital which I also find strange but I think consultant appointments are harder to get (according to one of the midwives)
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It's a good thing you haven't needed to see one. Means you simply have a low risk pregnancy. Although grateful for being able to regularly see my baby on a scan, it gets very exhausting travelling to the hospital and waiting for long periods every week (sometimes twice a week) to see a consultant. It's also very nerve to be constantly being hyper aware and cautious due to having high risk pregnancies.
@Cassie I had twins. One died when I was 12 weeks. Plus I have a heart condition
Not seeing a consultant is a good thing 🥰 means you're have a great, low risk pregnancy. Seeing consultants can lead to more medical interventions. Midwife-led care is more than enough for most pregnancies!
Consultant appointments are only for pregnancies that are high risk, or if there’s some kind of health condition with mums or baby (maybe gestational diabetes, or fibroids etc) so they need that extra monitoring. People who are consultant-led may also get extra scans like growth scans to keep an eye on baby. But for a standard low risk pregnancy you won’t see a consultant and will be midwife-led, so will just attend your usual midwife appointments.