Not happy with my midwife.

If you feel like you've not received proper care then you need to speak up, otherwise nothing changes. Contact your midwifery team, contact PALS at your NHS trust... That said, there's no such thing as "your midwife". Some teams will try to offer continuity of care but it's not a requirement. Similarly, being weighed isn't a requirement. I was only weighed at my booking appointment and that was only after I consented. You can always refuse care by a student midwife, or request that a qualified midwife is present as well. In my experience, whenever a student is present they should explicitly ask whether you're OK with it or not. It's weird that she's not measured fundal height as it is in the guidelines, I think. Again, worth raising a complaint although there might be an explanation. If you're having growth scans anyway then fundal height becomes essentially redundant because it won't give you any extra information. You're going to see a midwife quite often from here on, so it's worth acting now x

It’s definitely not too late to change - I had a named midwife and changed at 32 weeks after a number of issues knocked my confidence in my midwife. As Paulina said, if you want to make a complaint contact PALS. However if you just want to change without making a complaint then contact your trust’s midwifery hub and ask to speak to the head midwife.

I’m not looking into getting anyone in trouble at all, it’s my first baby so I don’t know what’s to be expected. I’m having a growth scan because it’s my first and I’m epileptic not for any other reason. I think I’m just going to ask when I see her next if there’s a reason she hasn’t measured me, it’s literally on the timetable of what to expect at each appointment so I’m thinking she’s just lazy. Also I wasn’t saying anything bad about the student, she was lovely and Informative, but the midwife should have been in the room to supervise to ensure vital information wasn’t left out/ overlooked

Again, you really need to speak up if you're not happy with the level of care or think something else should have been done. I know it can be a bit uncomfortable, but ultimately if you want anything to change you'll have to do it. For example, my midwife genuinely forgot I was supposed to have an extra blood test last time I saw her. I reminder her, she looked through my paperwork, said "oh, yes, of course!" and did it. Had I not asked, she wouldn't have done it. Similarly, in your case, if you've not got the referral that you need you need to chase it up - annoying but better than waiting for someone to remember they were supposed to do it!

I just hired my doula at 33 weeks. I wouldn’t say it’s too late.

I agree with what Paulina said but also if you’re already scheduled to have growth scans they don’t measure your stomach as it’s just doubling up. I’ve never had my stomach measured during either pregnancy for that reason

How you feel is absolutely valid but I just wanted to say my midwife hasn't measured my stomach either - this is because I'm now having regular growth scans which is more accurate than the bump measurements.

it’s never too late, i changed midwives at 30 weeks because she was bloody awful and kept setting me up for the wrong appointments and telling me to take medication i didn’t actually need to take cause she read my chart wrong🙄 have yet to meet my new midwife but she can’t be any worse. you’ll feel loads better when you’re more confident in the woman/man providing your care

I've not been weighed since like week 12 (I don't actually mind😅), But I don't get weighed by midwives at hospital appointments either. If you're having growth scans they don't measure your stomach at midwife appointments. It's my first baby as well got my 32week growth scan tomorrow, hope yours is all good! (My baby is definitely big - at 28week scan he was 11 days ahead of due date 😳😅🫣)

Every trust is different I haven’t met my midwife team yet either 😂. Ended up with different people as shifts changed over in birth anyway annoyingly in my last 90 minutes of birthing I got a whole new team. I get growth scans and no belly measurement. I did last time and weirdly their prediction was more accurate than my growth scan! 😂

I wasn’t happy with my midwife (for a long time) and then I tried to change but they were so short staffed or didn’t care that it never happened. I got a doula because I wasn’t getting the support I needed and had a stressful pregnancy which was so worth it. My doula then got me transferred to the home team early and it’s completely transformed my experience. I went from highly stressed and worried about labour because I had no trust in my midwife to feeling so happy about what I’ve got planned. It will make a huge difference, if you can!