I've been seeing an OB my entire pregnancy (I'm 27 weeks), and I'm about to begin care with a midwife. I actually switched OB's a couple months ago, to a very hands off OB, before I knew I would be able to have a homebirth. I'm on the fence as to whether or not I want to continue care with my OB. The only reason(s) I am even thinking about continuing care with my OB are:
1. If a hospital transfer becomes necessary, there won't be any hassle, and I won't have to deal with an unknown random OB.
2. I'm currently on Medicaid after we lost our ins. coverage, and I have heard stories about women being dropped in our state when they've had a homebirth. The only real concern with that is if I were to transfer, it would most likely be an emergency. The hospital bill would be enormous, and if I am still covered by Medicaid, our cost would be zero. We don't do well baby visits, but again, if there were health issues, I would like for the baby to be covered if we qualify. Of course, even if my medicaid for pregnant women were canceled, we could just re-apply for the baby individually-I think.
I'm incredibly fortunate to have found an OB that allows me decline any tests or procedures I wish (so far-like the GTT). My appointments with him are quick-"Hi, how are you? Any questions or concerns? Everything looks good-see you in 2 weeks." (Literally like 3 minutes) I really just view the appointments as a nuisance, but a harmless one. Honestly, I think I could call and cancel/reschedule appointments to space them out, and he wouldn't say anything, but I also don't want to press my luck.
I guess I'm just torn, because all my reasons for continuing care with my OB are fear based-and have nothing to do with the actual care I'll be receiving from my MW-and mostly related to insurance and red tape. It's all from a "what if" perspective, and I try not to make fear based decisions.
Then part of me feels silly, because if the appointments are as quick and easy as they are, why not keep going for the piece of mind I can have regarding my insurance? Then there's the part of me that wants to kick the dust of medical model maternity care off my shoes and not look back.
Sigh. I hate making decisions when I'm hormonal.
1. If a hospital transfer becomes necessary, there won't be any hassle, and I won't have to deal with an unknown random OB.
2. I'm currently on Medicaid after we lost our ins. coverage, and I have heard stories about women being dropped in our state when they've had a homebirth. The only real concern with that is if I were to transfer, it would most likely be an emergency. The hospital bill would be enormous, and if I am still covered by Medicaid, our cost would be zero. We don't do well baby visits, but again, if there were health issues, I would like for the baby to be covered if we qualify. Of course, even if my medicaid for pregnant women were canceled, we could just re-apply for the baby individually-I think.
I'm incredibly fortunate to have found an OB that allows me decline any tests or procedures I wish (so far-like the GTT). My appointments with him are quick-"Hi, how are you? Any questions or concerns? Everything looks good-see you in 2 weeks." (Literally like 3 minutes) I really just view the appointments as a nuisance, but a harmless one. Honestly, I think I could call and cancel/reschedule appointments to space them out, and he wouldn't say anything, but I also don't want to press my luck.
I guess I'm just torn, because all my reasons for continuing care with my OB are fear based-and have nothing to do with the actual care I'll be receiving from my MW-and mostly related to insurance and red tape. It's all from a "what if" perspective, and I try not to make fear based decisions.
Then part of me feels silly, because if the appointments are as quick and easy as they are, why not keep going for the piece of mind I can have regarding my insurance? Then there's the part of me that wants to kick the dust of medical model maternity care off my shoes and not look back.
Sigh. I hate making decisions when I'm hormonal.
