Needle phobia - booking appointment

Yes me!!! On my last lots of bloods at 28ish weeks I had to take my 3.5 year old daughter with me & had to force myself to be brave!! That made it even more terrifying!! But I find that either just chatting absolutely shit and sucking on some form of sweet really helps me & take a drink with you as I get super light headed afterwards and my blood pressure goes very low!!
But if you just mention to the midwife that you have a phobia they will help you through it and will even lay you on the bed and make you as comfortable as possible!

Good luck lovely xx

Don't look and maybe talk to the person taking the blood to not think about it. I am the same way and not looking helps.

I hate needles/bloods and usually faint, ask them to lay down, look away and just talk to the nurse about anything! Laying down you’ll notice a big difference and if they have a fan that’s even better

I also have a needle phobia (with a history of fainting) but I’m 35 weeks now and must have had around 8-10 lots of bloods/ jabs since being pregnant and have been fine!

I’ve found if you explain you’re anxious to the midwife/ nurse beforehand they take it easy and try to do it quickly for you, or they may find someone else who’s a little more experienced to do it (or you can ask for a more experienced person before the test). You can also go to the hospital instead if you feel better doing that.

I have also used numbing cream for all my blood tests during pregnancy, that has helped loads! You can get it from the chemist or Amazon.

I also took my parter and that helped as a distraction.

You could also try box breathing, may be worth a google if you’re unfamiliar with it but it’s basically a distraction breathing technique.

You’ve got this, honestly I’m terrified of needles and must admit I still am, but it does get easier! Xx

I hate blood tests, not sure if it's the needle or just the veins and blood, but I ended up throwing up at my first bloods 🙈
One thing I used to do is wiggle my toes, I saw it on TV, it makes your brain focus quite hard on wiggling all your toes at the same time 😁 so it would distract me
Definitely don't look, just face the other way, I think if I ever looked, I'd probably pass out
And sometimes I would play a game on my phone or read work emails - again just about distracting your brain with something else you can focus on
But it definitely gets easier! x

Try and order some emla cream it’s very good numbing cream, I’ve used it when having my eyebrows microbladed! X

Don’t look, use headphones with music on, tell them not to warn you when it’s going to happen, take someone in with you to hold your other hand and squeeze the shit out of it. I conquered my fear just this week of blood tests, unfortunately when you’re pregnant you will be pricked and prodded a fair bit

Yes, I have severe NP which has previously ended in me being hospitalised due to severe low blood pressure, fainting and shock.

I have been having therapy under Steps2Change for the last 24 weeks which has been fantastic.

Other tips I’ve picked up over this pregnancy (and 7 successful blood tests!)
- be very clear with any health professionals the severity of the phobia before they start any procedure.
- drink plenty of water the day before and the day of to help them get blood more easily.
- practise applied tension techniques to prevent low blood pressure and fainting.
- use breathing techniques (I use my up-breathing from hypnobirthing)
- look away for the entire procedure
- have someone with you to distract you.
- USE NUMBING CREAM. I tried a couple, EMLA and one I found on Amazon. You can’t feel a thing if applied correctly.
- lay down for procedure.
- if you have a ‘preferred’ arm make this clear. I have had rooms rearranged to accommodate taking blood from my left arm!

Don't do what I did and think it's over 🤦‍♀️
I thought it was taking long (I don't think the nurse was very experienced in it so definetly ask for someone who's done loaaaaads of blood tests) so I looked down at my arm to see if it was over thinking it should have been.
I ended up getting so so lightheaded and because of my morning sickness it caused me to have to go to the sink and throw up before the nurse was even done. She applied the little cotton while I was throwing up and it didn't cover it very well and I cut my throat from being sick meaning I started throwing up blood too 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
I've definetly had better experiences after that but do still get dizzy. Laying down and water helps with that

Thank you ladies these are some really great tips, definitely going to be using these. Especially the breathing techniques, distraction tools, numbing cream and making sure they know the severity of it and ensuring I have an experienced person! xx

good luck! 🥰

I used to be scared of needles and I'd also never had a blood test.

I do what a lot of people have suggested and just look away which really helps. I hardly feel anything most of the time and if I do it is no worse than when I accidentally jab myself with a pin while sewing.

Blood tests usually take less than a minute (maybe 20-30 secs?) and immunisations are around 5-10 seconds so it's definitely bareable and I just try to think about something else and breath while reminding myself it will be over really soon.

I tell them not to count/tell me when it goes in and ask them to just talk to me.
Also don’t look when I get it done.