
Trigger warning: substance abuse
Hi all,
So I’ve been basically in distress all weekend. At my booking appointment they asked about alcohol/smoking to which I confirmed drank socially, but no smoking. Then they asked about cannabis use, and I said (believing it was best to be honest about my overall health) that I had smoked before (last time, about 9 months before I fell pregnant at a festival) but no habitual use and like with drinking, nothing at all now I am pregnant. I even joked that I didn’t even eat custard without checking it was safe first.
Anyway, I happened to check mypregnancynotes and noticed she’d written “substance misuse in this pregnancy” and then it changed to “substance misuse concerns at home” and I honestly couldn’t have felt like a worse person in my life. I was hysterically thinking they’d take my baby away, or they’d refer me to the social or something. I was convinced she’d misunderstood or thought I was a junkie.
I called her and clarified what I had said and even said “if you’re concerned, leave it on but please reassure me you don’t believe I will harm my baby” and she immediately apologised and has now removed it from the system. She said she had understood that while I hadn’t smoked during pregnancy or did it habitually, she thought my partner did which is why she put “misuse at home” but I clarified his was the same of mine, last use at a festival.
Thankfully, it is now removed from the notes and says “no social factors of concern” but I’m sharing this to encourage everyone to check their notes in case there are any misunderstandings.