Anyone been to the drs/midwives yet?

[AmandasMom]

I had my first appt last wednesday. I refused the internal, they didn't have a problem with it. They took some blood, gave me a bag of "goodies" and sent me home. Going back on April 21st.

I'm still feeling ok, that has me a bit worried, but I'm trying not to worry.... i guess until I hear the heartbeat I will worry.. well ok, I'll worry all 9 months..

[tuffykenwell]

I went to the midwives on Tuesday...went alright but I still have some issues (I had a c-section last time and want a homebirth vbac this time).

The midwives don't do internals until 40 weeks and honestly I will likely refuse even those. I really don't care how much I am dilated thanks and that is about all the useful information they can give me at that point.

I refuse a lot of tests. I don't do the triple screen, don't do GBS testing and don't do the "standard" us. I also don't allow the use of the doppler (okay I did with DS but I won't this time LOL).

I have strong UC leanings but I am going to the MWs out of respect for DHs peace of mind. We will see how things pan out over time.

Steph

[Seeking Refuge]

I had my first midwife's appointment on Wednesday and it went well. We checked my iron and I peed on the strip. She took my blood pressure and weighed me and then we sat and talked for about an hour and a half until she had to go. She apologized for rushing the prenatal

I couldn't help but compare that visit to the 5 minutes the OB/GYN's had for my prenatals with the other kids. The coolest thing about it is that she has really cut back on how many clients she will take. She was feeling overwhelmed because last month she delivered six babies so now she is only taking one client per month. She is leaving the whole month between October 17th and November 17th open for me. I am really lucky to have called her as soon as I did and to think I was going to put it off until 12 weeks.

I hate the 38-40 week internal exams because I am always dilated early and don't want to hear about it.

StephToo

[FSUBecca]

We are having a homebirth, but I have been to the OB practice my midwife works with as backup to have my inital labs drawn, etc. First reall appointment with the midwife is 4/20

[canadiyank]

I have my first app't next Friday - I am excited b/c I am going to see a midwife at a birth center...my last birth was induced and very medicalized and I blame part of my PPD on that. I'm not sure about a homebirth (a little nervous still), but I will try to bring it up. I was talking with an old lady at my church the other day and she said "I was born in that house." What a cool thing to be able to say!

[scheelimama]

I will be having my first appt. on April 7. It's primarily for everyone else's peace of mind, cuz' I know they can't really do anything. They'll probably want to do a pap though, which sucks, and draw blood to tell me that I'm pregnant, which I already know. Since I can't hear the heartbeat yet, it's not really that important to me. I will be having my baby at a birth center with a midwife.

Steph,
I'm just wondering why you will refuse the doppler. It gives me peace of mind to hear the heartbeat. Just wondering.

[Attached_Mom_to_7]

I will be having my first "oreintation" appointment on April 9th.

I have been there already though, a couple of weeks ago I had a UTI and needed treatment.

I agree on forgoing on most of these tests.

I will not be doing the alpha test, only as needed ultrasounds, and whatever else I can get out of for tests, I don't think I'll be doing any!



~Rachel

[heatherevond]

My u/s is Friday and I plan on seeing my OB two weeks later. I feel safer getting the "extra" work done now. I need my Pap done (due in May) so I am sure that will be done at the 9 week visit. After that I will happily switch to monthly visits.

That will be a welcome reprieve after going in for all of the fertility visits.

[tuffykenwell]

Originally posted by scheelimama
Steph,
I'm just wondering why you will refuse the doppler. It gives me peace of mind to hear the heartbeat. Just wondering.

Based on what I have read there is some risk that US can cause increased problems in some areas (sounds pretty grey right?)...doppler is based on the same technology as US but is actually stronger. So based on the idea that it could possibly cause problems...and really doesn't provide any useful information I have decided to forego it.

My belief is if a test is done just to "provide peace of mind" it isn't worth it. If however I was for example testing small for dates (which can be an indicator of placenta previa...) I might consider US at that point...but probably not at 20 weeks since there is precious little (read nothing) that they could do to fix the problem. I would allow a US before birth however to determine if the previa still existed (since it really isn't compatible with vaginal birth KWIM?)

Here is a link if you are interested in more information... US Info

Honestly I am trying to pay attention to my own voice in this pregnancy...ie my instinct. I think it is more powerful than we give it credit for.

Also I guess the doppler really didn't ever provide me with much reassurance because just because we hear the baby's heart today doesn't mean it will be there tomorrow...I had a dear friend who lost her baby at 37 weeks after getting a perfect US the day before. No I don't think the US caused the loss in any way but the reassurance of the US caused the docs to be slow in responding to my friends intuition/instinct which told her that something was very wrong. I don't know if the situation could have been changed through quicker intervention though but it did make me wonder.

I guess what it comes down to this pregnancy is I am trying to have faith and provide my body with positive thinking. And keep in mind I had an absolutely perfect pregnancy with Rhys which ended very badly with a horrible induction/c-section nightmare so I am a bit leary of intervention (since it went so horribly wrong last time...) so I am a bit biased.

YMMV

Steph

[scheelimama]

That makes sense. I guess I didn't realize that doppler was actually stronger than U/S. Hmmm... Well, I'll still probably have the doppler and the U/S, but at least I'm more informed now. I really enjoy hearing my baby's heartbeat and seeing my baby on that screen. It's just so fun! Thanks for all that info Steph.

[momsgotmilk4two]

I went to an OB appt. which lead to my seeking out midwifery care for this pregnancy. He is supposed to be "Bradley friendly" and is actually the backup doc for the midwives I'm seeing. He just wasn't my cup of tea. I said I didn't want an IV to which he responded with, "That's fine, but you'll have to have a hep lock" and outlined the reasons why. I know his reasoning and I still don't want the stupid hep lock, like I had to have last time: He said that I could shop around, but he'd be very surprised if I could find an OB willing to forgo the hep lock. We'll see what the midwives say since they still deliver out of hospitals.

Also, the OB when seeing that my previous baby had shoulder dystocia said, "Oh, so did they cut a big episiotomy?". When I told him no, actually I didn't have one, he said, "Maybe if you'd had one, he wouldn't have had shoulder dystocia": So I guess that means he believes in doing them preventively: Besides which the Dr. was no where to be found when the shoulder dystocia prevented itself, just the nurse was there.

So, we'll see what the appt. this Friday at the midwives brings. I know that they spend more time with you and a friend reccommended them so I'm hoping I'll really be happy

[tuffykenwell]

Originally posted by scheelimama
That makes sense. I guess I didn't realize that doppler was actually stronger than U/S. Hmmm... Well, I'll still probably have the doppler and the U/S, but at least I'm more informed now. I really enjoy hearing my baby's heartbeat and seeing my baby on that screen.

Ya I really enjoyed it last time (since declining the doppler is a new one for me LOL) and I am gonna miss those sweet sounds since they seldom found the heart tones with just the fetoscope (I weigh about 190 pre-pregnancy and I am 5'2").

I declined the standard 20 week us with Rhys but he got two non-standard ones anyhow LOL. One at 7 weeks to date him and another at 42 weeks to check fluid levels.

I think it is awesome to have the technology but still have the choice to use or not to use it KWIM?

Steph

[Megamama]

I'll be the only one who hasn't been to a midwife/ob yet..we just moved here in December and I'm not sure what I want to do. Ideally, homebirth, but it's apparantly not legal here? I am not sure. Anyway, I need to think about things and I don't feel it's necessary yet I didn't go to a practitioner at all with Elijah until about 15 wks. I like taking my time and making a good decision. I'm taking great care of myself and if I was worried, my best friend is a midwife...in fact, she heard Eli's heart before my regular midwife.

anyway, I am going to call a practice that's been recommended this week and see if they take my insurance...I'm much more empowered about birth now. I highly highly recommend taking "Birthing from Within" to those of you who wish to take a class. Bradley, no offense, seems a bit husband centered and I'm sorry..he's not the one giving birth..he's not a coach, he's a daddy. Just my opinion, not trying to flame.

Hugs,

[Annabel]

My first appointment is at 10 weeks, with a midwife. I intend to have the baby in the birthing centre like I did last time (good experience) I am worried they will be all booked out by then though. Not much I can do about it anyway. So I have 5 weeks to wait until my appointment.

[jecaly]

i'm not seeing my midwife until next week, at 8 weeks--just like last time. she'll weigh me, palpate my belly although the fundus is still below the pubic bone at that point, give me a breast exam, and talk to us a lot.

in short, it won't be a very informative visit. it'll be nice to see her, though!
she was really supportive through the miscarriage, and i'm looking forward to working with her. oh, and we don't plan to doppler or ultrasound unless there is cause for alarm, which means i'll probably feel the baby moving around before we hear the heartbeat with the fetoscope. i think that's sort of neat, though.

we're planning a home birth, likely with a tub.

*j

[momsmyjob]

I haven't been to either yet. I'd like to find a midwife but I can't seem to in this area. I've used an ob previously but the last one I used retired in the middle of my pregnancy and referred me to someone that I did not like. So this time I"ll have to find someone different If I use the Dr. route.

[AmandasMom]

Oh yeah i meant to ask this, when I went in for the 1st dr's visited they wanted to test me for TB. I refused. But I've never been asked to test for TB before. That normal?

[jecaly]

i know that my friend who teaches kindergardners has to get tested for tb every year; i think it's a law here that anyone who works with kids has to get tested. i don't remember it being one of the things they test us preggos for, though!

*j

[mom2amelia]

I go in April 16th, at 10 weeks. Since I had my annual a few months ago, I'll get to avoid that.

I see the OB who delivered Amelia- I'd never met her before that, and now she's my favorite! It makes visits enjoyable.

There is a group visit that I could have gone to, but I went the first time and thought it was a total waste of time, so I opted not to this time. Typically you are seen between 8 and 12 weeks for the first appointment.

I love hearing the heartbeat- that is when it really sank in the first time.

[indiegirl]

I went to my midwives to get some blood work done and then for my in-take. This is my third (fifth pg), so nothing new! It was so great to have an entire hour with my midwives, though. I told them I got pg again just so we could see each other (har har).


I've also had one u/s because of some funky progesterone levels. The u/s looked great and I felt comfortable refusing to take supplements. My midwives supported me and gave me lots of great info about the (non)effectiveness of progesterone supplements.

Jesse