Midwife issues

I’ve not heard about that. If it was the case then all midwives should be following that so I can’t imagine it to be true. I personally wouldn’t mind the not measuring the bump as that’s known for being inaccurate but the heartbeat I’d absolutely want. The trust I’m at don’t start heartbeat checks until after your 20 week scan but I asked her at my 16 week appointment if she’d listen and she did it with no fight. My midwife is actually newer and younger than me. Think she’s been qualified 2 years and never mentioned anything like that. I’ve seen two other midwives and they’ve never said either. My midwife checks babies heartbeat everytime I see her, even if I’m in close together x

I’ve also never seen the same midwife twice. First baby here and they rescheduled my 31 week appointment about an hour before the appointment, and the only time they have is a couple of days before my 34 week appointment… so it feels like it’s just being skipped. The individual midwives are all nice, but yeah it does feel a bit chaotic.

I’ve never heard that but nothing should stop you from requesting to listen to the heartbeat - this will just make people want to buy their own doppler which midwives advise against, so no idea what donut wants to rule out listening to heartbeat and measuring all together. My midwife checks my baby’s heartbeat at every appt. I had multiple midwives with my first and it was a joke.

It is frustrating. I saw a different midwife Everytime in my first pregnancy. This pregnancy seemed to be going better but now my midwife is off on what seems to be long term sick. And when you get a new midwife it's just luck whether they are any good but it makes it difficult as they all work differently and they don't know the history of everything you've discussed. I am surprised she wasnt measuring, I have heard of different practices with listening to baby's heart rate but it does seem standard still that they measure at every appointment (even if the measurements are pretty inaccurate).

I’ve never seen the same midwife twice or even at any point with both my last birth and this one. Literally every appointment has been a new midwife and same for the birth. Most trusts can’t allocate you a dedicated midwife. It is quite rare on the nhs for that to happen. With regards to the heartbeat/bump, I sort of get this even though I would want these checked & still done at my hospital. The most accurate sign of babies health is their movement which is why it’s so important. A scan or heartbeat check is only a moment in time. Heartbeat dopplers are advised against for home use and midwives can even struggle with them and as I say it’s only a moment in time, they listen for 30 seconds but really movement supersedes heartbeat checks. Fundal height measurements are so inaccurate but they are a guide and the only thing midwives can use to determine referrals but they do end up causing a lot of anxiety/inaccuracies. So I don’t agree but also can understand the thought behind it.

Never heard that, sounds dodgy. I'd phone up and tell them and say you'd like another appointment and request not to have her again

I’ve have the same issue with different midwives but they are all part of the same small team. The not measuring and no heartbeat check sounds really off and would definitely ask for another appointment

I’ve had the same midwife throughout and tbh I actually think you’re in a better proposition seeing different people, getting different opinions. However I’ve not heard of this new initiative and don’t understand how not measuring/listening would ever be an improvement when it’s non invasive, takes 5 mins and provides a lot of important information x

I feel like I’m extremely lucky as I’ve had the same midwife the whole time however this should be the norm and not lucky - may be because I’m high risk and consultant led - there has been 2 occasions where we’ve waited a few extra days so I can still be booked in with her rather than a new midwife but other than that no problems at all - you can request a new midwife if you feel uncomfortable with the one you have!! Having to go through everything with someone new every time would irritate me sooooo much!! And it’s such a personal experience that changing midwives every time makes it extremely interpersonal I feel!!

So sorry to hear about your experience because it’s sounds awful, I hope you’re okay! I’ve had 2 midwives so far and am 32 weeks also my first one I had until about 24 weeks but that’s because she left and at my last appointment with her my new midwife was there and we were introduced etc which was lovely and then I’ve had her since but I know not all trusts are the same and some people don’t get the continuity of the same midwife which is rubbish!! I did get told by my previous midwife that they aren’t supposed to listen to the heartbeat at every appointment due to some new nhs initiative on fetal movements she said to me they’ll just do it every now and again unless you request it so if you wanted to you could request it at every midwife appointment to listen to the heartbeat- my midwife still listens to baby every appointment without me asking but I think that’s because that’s what she’s always done until this new rule but I’m pretty pretty sure they should be measuring your bump 💕