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DD putting herself at risk, its giving me sleepless nights

(96 Posts)
SuperTinny Wed 07-Feb-24 20:51:38

Just looking for some support.

My DD is well educated and is a very responsible, well paid health care professional. She has a lovely husband and a nearly four year old. Their second child is due by planned Caesarian section (if all goes to plan) sometime the week begining 27th April 2024. Her first child arrived at 38 weeks and she has lost five pregnancies trying for a second child. She has a Schirodaker suture in her Cervix to help keep it closed. Because of this if her waters were to break or she went into labour early then it would be a medical emergency.

My problem is this. DD has decided that above all else she has to visit Harry Potter World with an old school friend. They both grew up reading HP and were mad on the books. They have been to HPW before about ten years ago.
They have booked for 13th April as all previous convenient dates were fully booked.

She will be in her 37th week of a hard earned pregnancy and at risk of an early labour. She will be travelling alone by train and meeting the friend there. She lives 200 hundred miles from HPW and will have to travel across London from Paddington to Euston on the underground on a Saturday afternoon. There is a further train change after Euston to get to Watford, a shuttle bus to the attraction and the nearest hotel is a 2.5 mile taxi journey afterwards. Then there is the return journey on Sunday. The journey across London will be unfamiliar to her and she will be looking at directions etc.

I am exasperated with her that she thinks that a lone travelling, heavily pregnant female who is advertising her unfamiliarity with her surroundings by looking at her phone and boards for directions is not a target for attack or assault. Added to that her pregnancy will be at a very vulnerable stage and I am so very scared for her. On top of that she will have a return journey of around 9 hours for a 3 hour evening visit.

I am losing considerable sleep over this and have had several conversations with her about it. I've tried to reason with her, I've tried to frighten her. I know that I cannot physically stop her but I feel I need to try everything, because if anything happened I would forever regret not doing everything I could to stop this (in my opinion) frivolous and selfish trip.

Am I over reacting like she thinks I am?

eazybee Thu 08-Feb-24 20:30:19

Your daughter sounds extremely foolish, but if she thinks a Harry Potter exhibition is more important than her unborn baby's welfare, so be it. Your concerns won't stop her.

Callistemon21 Thu 08-Feb-24 19:31:37

Do mine tell me before the event?
No.

Will SuperTinny's daughter mention any of her plans to her mother next time?
Probably not.

JaneJudge Thu 08-Feb-24 18:40:18

if she goes into labour she would be admitted to the nearest hospital and would be given a c -section anyway. It is what happens if you are medically advised to have a planned one and you go into labour

I think attack or assault is unusual. Even my youngest travels to wembley on the train

would i want my own daughter doing the journey at that stage of pregnancy? no I wouldn't. Do any of my children listen to me? that would also be a no

Casdon Thu 08-Feb-24 18:32:27

I did say offer BlueBelle, not force herself onto her daughter. I know my daughter wouldn’t ask me such a big favour, she would be too thoughtful to do so even if she thought she’d be struggling without help, which is why I suggested it.

BlueBelle Thu 08-Feb-24 18:24:42

Casdon that is so intrusive into the daughter privacy if she’d thought she needed help in that way she’d have asked for it
And if she had wanted help her husband should be the first person to turn too
SuperTinny has to find her own way to deal with her worries it’s not for her daughter to become a child again relying on her mother to ‘look after’ her
However worried we are about our adult children we MUST keep it to ourselves the daughter is in a well paid job so I m sure she can arrange a taxi if she feels she needs one

You cannot be intruding on her life SuperTinny however much you want to if she’s wise next time she’s going away she ll tell you after she gets back 😀

Casdon Thu 08-Feb-24 18:10:45

You have no power to stop her going, so the only way I can see of alleviating your worries would be for you to offer to drive her to the venue yourself, wait for her, and drive her home again. She can hire a self drive buggy in advance from the venue so she won’t have to walk round. If she is determined to go, would you consider doing that, as much for your sake as hers as you are obviously extremely concerned for her?

Kim19 Thu 08-Feb-24 17:44:27

Whilst I appreciate this is of total concern, it is actually none of your business. The description you give of your SiL is illuminating....

BlueBelle Thu 08-Feb-24 17:38:14

The risk of giving birth 200 miles from home without her partner?
Well at the ripe old age of 21 and green as grass I gave birth to a Breech baby (naturally) and all alone (well apart from doctors and nurses) and 8000 miles from home in the Far East I had to go on a mountain railway to get to the hospital, again alone and overdue
I think we re all much stronger than we think

I didn’t have anyone with me for either of my next two births and I managed fine

rafichagran Thu 08-Feb-24 17:26:57

MissAdventure

She isn't walking there.

Once she is on each train or in a cab she'll be sitting down.

I agree, I would not worry and would respect her decision.
I also think she might feel differently when the time comes, heavy, tired and fed up.

MissAdventure Thu 08-Feb-24 17:21:55

Oh yes, I had forgotten that.
These threads can be reproduced anywhere, and are in Facebook and other social media sites, I believe.

Retread Thu 08-Feb-24 17:17:26

SuperTinny it seems you are overthinking this. You've said your piece, now step back (as others have said).

Importantly, you've given rather a lot of detailed, specific info, and the last thing you need is for this thread to end up in the Daily Wail or the Fakebook page ... these forums are public and sometimes end up being more widely shared and the people being discussed could be identified. Not trying to give you more to worry about! Just saying. (You can ask GNHQ to delete the thread).

Doodledog Thu 08-Feb-24 17:10:58

If you are worried you are worried, and no amount of reassurance from us will change that, but even if she did go into labour at 37 weeks the baby would be very viable, and she is in the UK, not a third world country.

Can you remind yourself of that when you start to worry? As you say your daughter has spent a lot of money on this trip, and has an obligation to her friend, she is not likely to cancel it, so it might be better to get used to the idea that she will go, and concentrate on making yourself feel better about it.

Germanshepherdsmum Thu 08-Feb-24 17:10:06

Especially after losing five pregnancies, needing a planned C section and having a stitch which must be removed immediately if labour starts, I really don’t understand why any woman would take such a risk so late in pregnancy. I don’t consider she is at risk of being attacked, but such a long and arduous day, much of it alone, seems to me the height of recklessness. I worked until less than a week before my due date and remember how very uncomfortable it was to walk any distance - and by all accounts she will be doing a lot of that at HPW even if she takes taxis to avoid the Tube. Surely she remembers how she felt late in her first pregnancy? There might be a lot of hospitals in London, but what if she goes into premature labour on the train there or back? If it were my daughter I would nag her relentlessly - she seems not to understand the risks she is taking.

pascal30 Thu 08-Feb-24 17:05:40

well you obviously have nil respect or liking for your SIL.. how dismissive,, you need to let them live their own lives

SuperTinny Thu 08-Feb-24 16:55:50

Thanks everyone. I think I probably over-emphasised the bit about being attacked. I have lived and worked in London and in Watford so I'm aware of the journey. She has not.

But all things considered this is still a risky trip. Her previous labour was long and complicated. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, believe me I was there throughout. The baby nearly died and they both spent two weeks in hospital recovering.

She as an 80% chance of it happening again so the planned section is for a good reason.

As for only having another adult to consider she also has a four year old and an unborn baby. To paraphrase Harry Enfield my SiL is nice but dim. I doubt he has any concept of the mileage involved or the risk it presents. He did not have a passport when they met (not needed) and had never been out of the county he was born and raised in.

I think she will be tired and exhausted and heavy and uncomfortable. I can't seen how she could possibly gain any enjoyment out of this trip. If it goes ahead it will cost close to £500 all in with tickets, train fare, accomodation, taxis, food and incidentals. Not exactly an incentive to change her mind at the last minute and also her friend would lose this money as well

I take on board all your comments about health care facilities but her life and the life of her unborn child will still be at serious risk, just in the short time it might take for emergency services to reach her.

For me this decision is absolute bonkers and adding risk to an already risky situation. I know that going on about it could damage our relationship, but in all seriousness I'd rather that than her and the baby dead.

Millie22 Thu 08-Feb-24 13:03:10

Probably not a good idea to do such a trip towards the end of your pregnancy. She may well be really tired.

The idea of Harry Potter anything would put me off going anyway but I hope she enjoys it if she actually goes.

25Avalon Thu 08-Feb-24 12:12:26

You have to let her do her own thing no matter how foolish you think it is. The more you remonstrate the more likely she is to dig her heels in. You could try the approach has she planned for all exigencies - what will she do if x happens, does she have a plan. She may well have. As others have said she may well change her mind nearer the date. Fingers crossed she does.

Cossy Thu 08-Feb-24 12:03:34

I’m a little confused about being assaulted or attacked? I worked in London for many years, was often out in the evenings and travelled whilst pregnant with baby one and two, I was never assaulted or attacked?

Cossy Thu 08-Feb-24 11:59:56

I think she’s barking mad! But equally, she’s a grown married woman and presumably her husband is ok with this?

Perhaps she’s just feeling totally fed up and keen to see her friend?

Fingers crossed it’s all ok and it’s in a central location with hospitals etc so I’m guessing she will get blue lighted to a maternity unit in worst case scenario? 37 weeks is very viable.

Callistemon21 Thu 08-Feb-24 11:49:48

Ph1lomena

Whilst I think it's unwise to do such a trip at such a late stage of pregnancy, I don't think she's likely to be attacked or assaulted. I'm not sure why you think that would be the case.

I'd take a taxi, though, rather than the Underground.

I very much doubt she'd be attacked but there are pickpockets about.

Ph1lomena Thu 08-Feb-24 11:46:33

Whilst I think it's unwise to do such a trip at such a late stage of pregnancy, I don't think she's likely to be attacked or assaulted. I'm not sure why you think that would be the case.

Maggiemaybe Thu 08-Feb-24 11:27:37

Everyone is talking of the risk ...
What exactly is The risk?

The risk of giving birth 200 miles from home without her partner?

Though, thinking about it, DH missed DD1’s birth and we lived 3 miles away from the hospital….

Mollygo Thu 08-Feb-24 11:14:01

Iam64

I don’t think you’re missing anything notspaghetti. It’s her choice

Exactly, and if her trip goes ahead, probably/hopefully with no problems, what an example for those of us, including me, who would have been too tired, uncomfortable etc. to attempt such a trip. perhaps she thinks it will be easier with the baby inside than organising such a trip with a baby in a sling/pushchair etc.

Iam64 Thu 08-Feb-24 11:04:44

I don’t think you’re missing anything notspaghetti. It’s her choice

NotSpaghetti Thu 08-Feb-24 10:34:31

Everyone is talking of the risk ...
What exactly is The risk?
Presumably of going into labour whilst the stitch is in place - but surely that can happen anywhere?

Is that really more likely to happen in London than at home? On the whole we tend to know when labour is starting and in her situation she'd surely seek assistance.

At some point presumably she's got an appointment to have the stitch removed - unless they will do this in April at the Caesarian? If this C-section is planned two weeks later then the Harry Potter trip the medics obviously think the stitch is safe enough till then?

Maybe I'm missing something?