How to space out appointments without causing trouble?

[onetwoten]

Pretty much what the title says... I'm getting to the point where my appointments are going to be scheduled for every 2-3 weeks... and I really don't need to see the doctor that often. DH is a paramedic, and I have a doppler and scale at home. I have my blood tests next appt, but after that... I really don't have a reason to continue going until the last few weeks. 

How do I go about suggesting this without pissing off the office, and/or making them think I'm some kind of delinquint mother? I have no problem fighting with them for what I want in labor, but I don't want to cause trouble before I need to. 

[Adaline'sMama]

I would just tell your care provider that your DH is a paramedic and you have a doppler at home and you'd like to come about every 6 weeks for an appointment in the office, and a little more often when you get into your last month or so.


Why dont you want to go? Is it a financial issue or just that you dont want to go to the office?

[onetwoten]

It's not that I have anything against the office, there just doesn't seem to be much of a point to heading down there, paying for parking, taking time off work, etc etc, when I really don't have any concerns, and am not getting anything out of the visits right now. I'm only in her office for about 5 minutes total, but it disrupts my whole day. 

[rparker]

One reason for going to the annoyingly frequent end of pregnancy appointments is that it allows both you and your HCP to become more comfortable with each other and the better rapport you have the better your birth experience will be. This goes both ways, it makes it easier for your HCP to do her job if she's more "familiar" with you, your personality, and what your concerns/preferences might be. When you go to birth in a hospital, odds are most of the nurses will be strangers, but your HCP will know you, your birth plan, and be in a position to advocate for you if necessary. (I've had a doctor do this for me.) It's also a good reason to schedule your end of pregnancy appointments with any partners your HCP may have if there is a significant chance that she won't be attending your birth, so you get a chance to go over your birthing preferences at least once and aren't total strangers.

[sweetpea_119]

If they're really interested in having you come in on their schedule & you don't want to follow it, why not just call a week or several days before the appointment & say that you can't make it then, can you reschedule?

[kathrineg]

I hear you! I'm pretty sick of going to the office myself. The less comfortable I am walking around, the more I have to go in. Boo!

The thing to check would be certain tests that they do at certain weeks of the pregnancy, like GBS swabs (necessary, in my opinion) or cervical checks (not so necessary in most cases, again just my opinion.

Obviously they check blood pressure and things like that, you have the equipment but do you know what to look out for? 

They also might ask you certain questions at certain appointments, at one of mine they asked me about pain relief options, circumcision, whether I wanted to donate the cord, whether I would be breastfeeding...

So they might be peeved if they miss those kinds of things or have to reschedule. 

Good luck!

[1love4ever]

I hate going to appts.  I am seriously considering a totally unassisted pregnancy and birth next time including doing all my own prenatals because of the time, costs, and quizzing that this will save me.  By quizzing I mean not having to hear "You really need to be vaccinated"  "you need to get the group B strep test"  "you need to be checked for GD"   "why are you refusing these tests?"  Etc!!   I have an awesome midwife who does not quiz me this pregnancy, but because she lives 150 miles away, I am seeing a Dr for some of my prenatal visits, and this is what I get.

[lunabin]

This may be obvious, but healthcare providers are also working from a standpoint of liability as well.  If you are going into your third trimester, then any changes in your blood pressure or weight, heartrate changes, movement, or positioning of the baby, etc. can be signs of other issues.  Plus, someone mentioned, you'll likely have GBS testing, and my midwife quizzed me monthly on the meds I had to take when my water broke (because I'm allergic to penicillin) and didn't trust the hospital staff to give me the right thing in her absence.  

Your choice is just that - yours.  But, I would imagine most doctors/midwives will be reluctant to not assess you at least every 6 weeks.  In breaking their protocol, they would be liable if something went wrong or they missed a problem.  

I also find it very inconvenient having to go so frequently - especially working full time with a toddler, husband with 2 jobs, etc.  So, I made it very clear to the secretary that I need appointments either first thing in the morning, or at the very end of the day and cannot wait around if they are running late.  She was very accommodating, and now I call to be sure they are running on time.  It seems perfectly reasonable to ask to space your appt's more, but I wouldn't want to make anyone too upset over it.  

[Mulvah]

I did lengthen my appointments by 1-2 weeks during my entire previous pregnancy.  I simply called to reschedule.  Yes, it takes extra time away from the office staff, but it would have been a point of contention with my previous provider (my assumption based upon other things they had issues with) and I simply didn't want to fight about it. 

[onetwoten]

Originally Posted by kathrineg 

I hear you! I'm pretty sick of going to the office myself. The less comfortable I am walking around, the more I have to go in. Boo!

The thing to check would be certain tests that they do at certain weeks of the pregnancy, like GBS swabs (necessary, in my opinion) or cervical checks (not so necessary in most cases, again just my opinion.

Obviously they check blood pressure and things like that, you have the equipment but do you know what to look out for? 

They also might ask you certain questions at certain appointments, at one of mine they asked me about pain relief options, circumcision, whether I wanted to donate the cord, whether I would be breastfeeding...

So they might be peeved if they miss those kinds of things or have to reschedule. 

Good luck!

My thing is that I'm 28 weeks, my next appointment is where they're doing the final blood draw and GD testing. And then there's nothing again until the 36ish week mark when yes, we have agreed to the GBS testing. 

My husband is a paramedic... so I'm pretty confident that he's catching the changes in my BP etc, and with the doppler we're measuring baby's HB as well to see that it's still in a normal range with no weird fluctuations. I'm also semi-monitoring the baby's movements, which I promise you, she's still active!

A lot of it will depend on this 29 week appt and how things go. It will be my first opportunity to be able to ask her questions about my birth options. But I'm also trying to be realistic in that... well... she won't be there for most of the labor- just the last few minutes to catch the baby. 

Originally Posted by lunabin 

This may be obvious, but healthcare providers are also working from a standpoint of liability as well.  If you are going into your third trimester, then any changes in your blood pressure or weight, heartrate changes, movement, or positioning of the baby, etc. can be signs of other issues.  Plus, someone mentioned, you'll likely have GBS testing, and my midwife quizzed me monthly on the meds I had to take when my water broke (because I'm allergic to penicillin) and didn't trust the hospital staff to give me the right thing in her absence.  

Your choice is just that - yours.  But, I would imagine most doctors/midwives will be reluctant to not assess you at least every 6 weeks.  In breaking their protocol, they would be liable if something went wrong or they missed a problem.  

I also find it very inconvenient having to go so frequently - especially working full time with a toddler, husband with 2 jobs, etc.  So, I made it very clear to the secretary that I need appointments either first thing in the morning, or at the very end of the day and cannot wait around if they are running late.  She was very accommodating, and now I call to be sure they are running on time.  It seems perfectly reasonable to ask to space your appt's more, but I wouldn't want to make anyone too upset over it.  

Yeah I get the liability thing. It's less of an issue here, but still something to consider. 

I think I have such a hard time with this because I would totally do a UC, and likely a UP if DH would agree. I have done more reading than anyone should on pregnancy, and with his medical background, he's a pretty good backup. So much of that they do at this stage just seems repetitive to what I'm already doing. The one thing I'm curious about right now that I can't do, is for the Dr's experience to help me palpate baby's position, because I can't tell, and coming up on 30 weeks I want to start coaching her into a good position. 

But yes, I definately don't mind being seen every 6 weeks, even keeping it at once a month would be ok. It's just knowing that it's about to go to every two weeks, and then every week... that has me shuddering. 

Originally Posted by Mulvah 

I did lengthen my appointments by 1-2 weeks during my entire previous pregnancy.  I simply called to reschedule.  Yes, it takes extra time away from the office staff, but it would have been a point of contention with my previous provider (my assumption based upon other things they had issues with) and I simply didn't want to fight about it. 

This is what I want basically... But you're right while I want it, I don't want it to anger my provider and make her less likely to work with me. It's something I desire, but not worth a big fight. 

Anyways, I guess we'll see how the next appointment goes, and go from there. 

[lunabin]

I hear you - going every 2 weeks is a LOT!  For my first, I only went once a month until the last month when they had me there every week (ugh).  I do not plan on seeing my midwife that often until I have to!  I'll keep my copay thanks very much...  

[justKate]

What if you just stretched each one out by a few days--so when they say, "okay, we need to see you in three weeks" you say "well, that week isn't good for me, how about Thursday or Friday of the following week?"  That way you aren't being disagreeable, you're just making it work with your schedule.