Midwives at DMC

[Sally81]

Hello all...I don't know if I am posting in the right section for this but just wondered if anyone had any advice.

I am ten weeks pregnant with my first baby. I am registered at the DMC and still haven't seen a midwife and am very anxious. I do realise that most pregnant ladies get anxious - first time or not and I'm not trying to be a worry ar*e or anything.

It's just that a midwife did call me two weeks ago, i assume to book me in, but i missed her call. I called back and was told they were busy (which i fully understand and appreciate) and have heard nothing since. As I'm heading into week 11 I am full of questions and very anxious to have them answered. I have no idea about local services, antenatal etc or just things in general I should be doing!

Anyway, i know the midwives at the dmc must be incredibly busy and this is certainly not a criticism. I just wondered if any other mums could let me know how long they waited to see one.

Many thanks!

[Magpie]

Don't worry, you won't normally get seen until your 12th week, I believe, around about the time you go for your first scan.

[Knomester]

Hi Sally

The most important thing is to check that your surgery (or the midwives) have sent your details to King's so that your scan can be arranged. Have you heard from King's with a date for your scan?

As for seeing a midwife, I'm not with DMC, but I wasn't seen until post 12 weeks and that was just for a booking in appointment with the coordinator. I saw a midwife at 16 weeks which although seems late is fairly usual I understand for East Dulwich. If there is anything urgent you need or you are having problems then there is the Early Pregnancy Unit at King's but for normal questions, etc I found that most information which my midwife could give me can also be found in a good pregnancy book.

Best of luck!

[Fuschia]

I'm afraid I am in the midst of a complaint against the midwives at DMC for mucking up my booking in (finally managed it at 17.5 weeks this week when the head midwife from Kings came to see me)

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,477482,478283#msg-478283

I hope you have more luck than me. You might find that as you missed their call they have just crossed you off their list... if you have any problems I would speak to the practice manager at DMC or to Jill Demilew at Kings (Supervisor of midwives)

[EmilyE]

I was with the Lanes ( the midwives at DMC) and you don't get seen until 12(+) weeks. Their administration really doesn't seem to be very good, which is extremely frustrating. Just to give you hope, I found it all went very smoothly from 12 weeks when I was allocated a midwife, and so had her mobile number, and completely bypassed the admin part from then on in - I just dealt directly with my midwife (who was great).

I think they do aim to call at about 10 weeks to arrange a meeting, so it may be worth hassling them a bit!

[Sally81]

Thank you all for replying. My mind is a little bit at rest now, though i am sorry for your experience Fuschia.

I have received my scan date, so that's fine and I suppose i will just have to wait to hear from the midwives now....I might call them next week to jig them along.

Thanks again everyone....you've really helped.

[prdarling]

My advice would be to definitely keep calling them to make sure. Don't be embarrassed to pester them and certainly don't assume that they will know about you.

I was with Oakwood for my births and I seemed to drop off their list with my first baby and didn't get seen by them until 17 weeks, even though my scan appointment had gone ahead routinely at 13 weeks.

I just waited for them to call me and it was only when I saw another pregnant friend that I realised that I should have been seen.

I had had a worrying scan at Kings and gone for a private one at the Fetal Medicine Centre and really needed to chat things through with someone so it was a desperately scary time and I really wish I'd pushed it.

This is not a criticism at all, the Oakwood midwives, like all of the teams in ED do an incredible job but they are really really stretched which means that admin slip-ups can happen.

Just be on top of it!

[Smiler]

I didn't think that being registered with DMC meant automatic registration with the Lanes midwives, though am not sure. Fuschia has just posted some useful info.

Agree with PR darling, pestering is sometimes needed for all health services (sadly)!

As others have said, the first thing is normally the letter from Kings about the 11-13 week scan and tests, ante-natal appointments with the midwife don't start til much later (16 weeks or 18 weeks I think) and are infrequent til the third trimester.

[Sally81]

Hi.

Again..thanks for all the replies.

As far as I am aware being registered at DMC does mean automatic registration with the lanes. I did nothing extra to be registered with them, but was told I was lucky to be a patient there already as many pregnant women register at DMC in order to receive care from the lanes.

As I said, I had already received my scan date for Kings and further to my first post I have now heard from the team there and am booked in for my first appointment.

[loopylou22]

I had a midwife from the lanes (my son is 17 months old now) and I saw her for the first time at 12 weeks. I cannot speak highly enough of my midwife,she was ab fab. And up till now she still keeps in contact to see how baby and I am. Just hang in there and hopefully once you've seen her she'll give you her mob number so you can bypass the admin dept.

Good luck xx

[180176]

agree with loopylou; the lanes were fantastic for me and both my pregnancies. i think there have been a few problems more recently as they seem oversubscribed - victims of their own success and good press i guess. they are super busy and are careful to prioritise the patients who need them most at any one time - generally the ones who are about to drop vs the ones who are early pregnancy and while early pregnancy, esp the first time round, can be quite scary, you end up appreciating this further down the line!! really can't praise them enough, they are fantastic.

[R11]

I also agree with the last two posts. I was clueless about all the antenatal services and initially, like you, was anxious that I didn't hear from the midwives until I was 13 weeks other than having my scan booked. I then had my first appointment cancelled as my midwife had a birth but, as the others said, you later appreciate their need to prioritise. From my first appointment with my midwife, who I had direct contact with, the service I received was absolutely fantastic throughout and particularly for the birth. My baby is now 8 months and I am so thankful that I was with DMC and the Lanes.

[Scoobies]

Hi, I am with DMC, my baby is due at the end of August. I made my introductory appointment through the reception and saw an assistant midwife. You then get put on the list to be allocated a midwife, this happens after your scan. There are two levels of service, one in the lanes where you get allocated your own midwife, which is excellent - though there are only limited spaces. If you are not on this service then you will go through a midwife based in Dulwich hospital, this is the old fashioned service where they don't accompany you to the birth. Give reception a ring and just ask to book an introductory appointment, that is what I did.

[littleEDfamily]

Just to add a vote of confidence for the Lanes, who just delivered our second baby. What a different experience from rocking up at Kings and getting a random midwife, and then having even more random midwives visit afterwards. The service really comes into its own in the latter stages of pregnancy. In the early stages, for any scares, you really do need to rely on Kings directly.

Absolutely lovely ladies, who know their stuff and allowed us to have the kind of birth we wanted at home. And luckily baby was compliant!

Highly recommended.

[Belle]

Wow littleed family - didn't realise you'd had your baby, congratulations!

[littleEDfamily]

Yep - she's here! And I just cannot thank my lucky stars enough that I was able to have her in ED with the great services available here - if you get in early enough that is. Incidentally, I rang DMC to register with the Lanes literally the same day I found out I was pregnant (4 weeks 1 day) and they offered me an appt with a midwife a day or so later to (as I recall) 'book in'.

[snowboarder]

Congrats lEDf! Oh this whole midwife/school etc get your name down early situation is VERY stressful! The price of living in a nice area?!?

[Pickle]

Congratulations!

[neilly1973]

are the lanes just for home births? I have just got on the list with lanes and am really pleased but my partner is wavering on homebirth in favour of waterbirth at kings in the birthing centre (our first baby)... one of the main problems is living in a first floor flat and the weight of the birthing pool may be an issue for us...

if we decide to go hospital instead of home, does anyone know if we will be able to stay with the lanes as I can't find a website for them...

any knowledge/advice welcomed!

thanks

[littleEDfamily]

Firstly, thanks for the congrats, Pickle and SB.

Neilly1973, the Lanes are not just for homebirths. Apparently around 30% of their babies are born at home, 30% normal hospital birth and around 30% births with some intervention (at hospital).

Stick with the Lanes - you'll have all the options you need.

[neilly1973]

little ED family - that is music to my ears :)

thank you :)

and more importantly congrats! x