Waiting for my ob / gyn for my first prenatal visit--stressed out

[mrssenorita]

Hello Ladies,

I was wondering is it so difficult to get an appointment with doctor after positive pregnancy test? usually after hcg blood test what other tests and evaluation needs to be done? like prenatal evaluation ? what do you do if you don't get an appointment for 10 days , just wait?? Now i am really frustrated as I want to know how many days/weeks i am pregnant. How early an ultrasound i done to determine gestational age of the baby?

Any suggestions, ideas??

[JudiAU]

There is no benefit to an early ob visit/ultrasound. It doesnt tell you much and generally can induce a lot of stress because until 8w or so their is little fetal development. If they do a dating ultrasound to early it can look like the fetus isn't developing properly and subject you to a lot of extra tests. If an early miscarriage is going to happen, then there is nothing they can do.

So, breathe, take prenatal viatmins with folic acid, and wait. Earlier ultrasounds aren't much more reliable than counting days from your last period, if you know.

[mrssenorita]

my last period was july 2nd but i have irregular periods.  I am not even excited and not ready to share good news yet.

[mrssenorita]

also early miscarriage does happen? why?

[pokeyAC]

My RE does an ultrasound around 6-7 weeks, but a regular OB often will not see you until you are 12 weeks.  If you don't have a history of miscarriage or infertility, they don't have you come in earlier because there isn't much to do.  I agree with JudyAU, breathe and take your vitamins.  I know it's an anxious time but there isn't much you can do now but wait.  Take care of yourself, get your usual exercise, relax and wait. 

[Kynid]

With my first, 5 years ago, I didn't get an appointment at all until 12 weeks and then they didn't even do an ultrasound until 20 weeks. This time my first appointment was today at 7 weeks and they did a dating ultrasound an will do another in 3 1/2 weeks to confirm the dates because I have long cycles. I am so glad I got one because I think it is horrible to have to wait. It was bad enough to wait 3 weeks like I had to just for the appointment, but it's because they can't see anything much earlier anyway. 

[Teles]

Yeah, they typically aren't in a hurry to get you in if you don't have a history of complications/miscarriage. Early miscarriages happen all the time. They're tragic, but there really isn't anything you can do to prevent them so long as you're taking care of yourself appropriately.

I know that this early in the process can make every minute seem like an eternity - especially if you haven't told anyone yet - but I can tell you from experience that pushing off the first ultrasound is so much better than getting it super early. I had my first at around 7-8 weeks because I had a miscarriage immediately before this baby (with no cycle in between), but now I'm still waiting for the next one scheduled for 21 weeks. The farther along you are, the more there is to see and the more confident you can be in the results.
 

Pregnancy is a giant waiting game.

[sageowl]

The wait is frustrating, but you aren't missing much in the meantime.  They don't do much in the first visit except run a boatload of blood/urine tests and do a more "official" pregnancy test.  Things done get "interesting" until a couple months in.