I mean, is she approachable, can you ask her things?

My midwife? Yeah, shs very nice and approachable, but I just find it, because it’s my first I dot know kind of what to expect. I only get, know what to expect if someone maybe asks me,Well, have you done this and m like – orWell, has your midwife asked you this – and m like,Well, she hast to be hones.

So now when I see my midwife I go and ask her,Well has such-and-such happened, and how do I do such-and-such at certain times Because when I normally see my midwife I get checked for the normal checks like a urine, my blood pressure and the position of the baby, but she doest ask me any other questions apart from that, to be honest, which I find hard.

Why do you think that is? Is that because she thinks yore young or what?

I dot know, I really dot know. Because it’s my first time and I dot know what to expect and I dot know really know how it works.

And you dot know what you dot know?

No exactly. So m glad that ve got [partnes] mum because shs a midwife. Any questions I do have, ve been asking her, which has been very helpful to me as well anyway. So I dot know.

it’s not ideal, is it?

No.

So what information were you given about screening tests, and m thinking about blood tests as well as the scans?

I wast given, I think I was given, I was given a leaflet. I read that.

And that was at what stage?

That was, I think that came as part of my pregnancy pack when I went to the hospital, and I saw a doctor and they took my blood and urine, and that day I was given a pregnancy pack and that came as part of it. Scans, she didt, she, yeah she told me a little bit about scans and how they work, yeah, and we didt talk, we didt talk much about screening at all.

So nobody kind of said,Do you want screening

No, and like I said, because I dot know what to ask for and what to think, I wast, I didt really ask for a screening.

And that 20 week scan, where you can actually see legs and arms and a face. How did it feel like seeing the baby on the screen?

That was nice actually, that was really nice. Me and… – my partner didt come with me to that one, because he was at work and he couldt get the time off – but his sister came with me. And we were still, we were looking to try and figure out the sex still, and just to see the baby – because she was trying to get one of the face, and the baby kept on hiding, hiding his or her face.

So every time she went there he would just cover his hand, cover his face with his hand. And you could see it kicking its legs. I found that, I cat think of a word. I think it just may mean, some time, even though when I was three months I know m pregnant, but I think I actually felt more pregnant after seeing that second scan. I actually thought,Oh my God, m going to be a mu and it started actually really sinking in after seeing that.

And she even had to, because the baby was hiding his or her face, I had to get a, – oh, I dot know the name for it. She had to put something up me instead, because the head was down here, so that was the only way that she could. Because she turned me on my side, I went on the other side and he still, he or she still wast moving, so she had to put that up me just to find out if the head was all right but she said that everything was fine.

I didt mind. I thought, when she first said that I thought,Oh my God, it’s going to be like a, a smear test And then I didt even really feel that it was really up there. And she was moving it about and taking the head and she said,Oh yeah, well, the heas fine, it’s the right size and your babs at the right siz and everything else, and then took it out.

But I didt, it didt really bother me. I think I was so excited anyway seeing the baby on the computer that I think, it didt really bother me at all, I didt really think about it.

Yeah, I had eight of them taken and she explained what some of them were for, to check for rubella, my blood count cells, I think it was, and to check for the Dows syndrome and other things. I also had a problem with that though, because I only got my results last month back.

Because normally yore meant to see the midwife and she was meant to, every time she went to get my results she couldt see anybody. So it’s only, I – well, she said thatHow come you havet got your blood And it should be written in the back of my book and it wast, so she had to keep on chasing them to get it back.

So when she did get it back she did go through it with me. I had to, I asked her about it, and my red blood cells are low and my iron is low, so m taking iron tablets at the moment now, but that could have been done ages ago if they had – you know, because I took these blood results in July and wre in January now.

And is that also the case with the blood test for Dows syndrome risk, that came back late?

No because it was taken the same time I had these – but because there was, they sent it in the post I already got that anyway, so I knew about that, so that one wast a problem. It was just my blood results that I didt get back.

And what about sickle cell, thalassaemia – have you had screening tests for?

That was also done the same time as well, but I havet had any results back about that. I havet had any results back on that neither.

FootnotA separate DIPEx site on&nbspScreening for sickle cell and beta thalassaemia and other haemoglobin variantis also available.

Would you go through it all again, all the screening?

Yeah, I would, I would.

Did it ever cross your mind not to have any of it?

No, I just, to be honest, I just followed what I was told to do, to be honest. I think if I was to go through it a second time maybe d say d have more of a choice and say,I dot want thi orI dot want tha. But because it’s my first time and I dot really know what I was doing, I just went for everything that I was told I had to go for.

And thas how it feels like, that yore just basically, you were told?

Yeah.

And not much choice or decision?

No.

Is that right, do you think? I mean, how should it be done? What would you say to health professionals, looking back over your experiences?

Because even though my friends had been through it and they can tell me what they had been through, everyons different, so I would have liked maybe my doctor or my midwife to sit down and say,Well, yore pregnant, how do you feel about it and tell me what wre going to do in every stage, and explain every stage to me, so at least I know what m going through.

Most of the things, ve been learning through books or like, or asking my friends questions. But at the end of the day everythins different for everybody else. But I would have really liked someone to sit down and explain a lot of things to me.

Thas why m glad in a sense that ve had my partnes mum, because then she can explain certain things that I was stuck with and she recommended certain things to do, for me to do as well. So m really glad that I had her but if, if I didt then what do you do if yore by yourself and you havet got nobody? You need someone like that to help you out, or just explain things.

Have you had friends whve had the sickle cell screening?

ve had a, she must be , ve had a, my friend who I grew up with, her big sister had sickle cell and she gets it really bad because I think on her second child they were recommending her not to go through with it because she gets so much pain.

But she did go through with it. My friend, m not, I know shs meant to go for screening but m not too sure shs gone because shs kind of frightened about finding out if shs got it or shs carrying it or not. But I know shs seen her sister go through it and it’s kind of frightened her off.

Would you want to know if you were a carrier?

Yeah.

So, yod actually quite like those blood results back?

Yeah.

What would you do, do you think, I mean if, it’s hypothetical but if, if somebody had told you that you were both carriers for sickle cell, what do you think, how would it have affected your thinking about the pregnancy?

It would frighten me more, I think d think about it more. But as I know it’s a 550 chance – because sometimes even though yore a carrier the child might not necessarily get that, so it’s, but it would kind of maybe alter my decision as well, or maybe make it, make me take a little bit longer.

Thinking about whether yod go ahead with the pregnancy?

Yeah.

FootnotA separate DIPEx site on&nbspScreening for sickle cell and beta thalassaemia and other haemoglobin variantis also available.