Successful UC, now what?

[yayforbaby]

So i know a lot of the same questions probably get asked here over and over, and i apologize if this is a major repeat! I'm due in just a couple weeks, and we were trying to figure out what our plans should be after a successful UC. We have backup doctor, who wants to see us every week from now until i go into labor (when i am supposedly come in for my planned cesarean, ha!), but i think i'm going to postpone and delay those appointments as much as possible since he never even remembers who we are anyway, lol.
Anyway, my question is this: If all goes well and there are no complications in which a transfer might be necessary, do we even need to go to the hospital at all? How do we handle that with our backup doctor? Do we just call and say we ended up not needing him? Lol. How does that work? I'd rather just go ahead and schedule a newborn well-baby check-up at a pediatricians office and not ever go the hospital at all, but would it be easier to just go in after the baby is born and say "oops?" Or will they admit you? Make you or the baby stay? Because that's what i'm wanting to avoid. If i could just go to the hospital a few hours after baby is born and say, "oops, baby came faster than expected, we're fine" and that's that, perhaps that might be easier. But if they freak out and want to admit me or the baby, i dont want to deal with all that. Sorry if i'm talking in circles! Any thoughts?

[Greenlea]

I would think as long as you and baby are fine, you don't need to go to the hospital at all.  

I had a home birth and neither me or the baby went to the hospital, and I didn't bring my baby to a ped until around 2 mths and only to establish a doctor/patient relationship.

But I also had my midwife saying I didn't need the hospital at all. As long as you feel comfortable diagnosing yourself as "fine" then I think it'll be okay not going in at all.

[yayforbaby]

Thanks Greenlea! That's what i'm thinking. Any idea what an appropriate thing to call and say to backup doctor's office would be? 

[BaileyB]

You could just make an appt with the ped and say it was a home birth.

[BaileyB]

As far as your backup doc, you could call his or her office on the next business day and say baby came too fast and was born at home. What and how much you tell the doc really depends on any future relationship you would have with them. Some may get suspicious and some may be willing to believe patients more.

[fayebond]

Assuming all went well, I would wait for the doc to call me, but go to the ped. for a checkup.  Granted, I'm doing an HB, not a UC, my ped. is really awesome and supportive of parental choice in childrearing, so it could be different if I didn't like him...  Also, your doc's office might remember to call you, or, they might not.  I went through three different practices with this baby, and eventually dropped them all.  None called me to ask what was up, although when I called one to cancel an appointment they did ask why.  I just said I'd found another care provider and they were cool, the lady on the phone said they have to ask why in case you miscarried.  

[BaileyB]

I have dropped my OB as well, because I am going UP now, and I haven't gotten a call looking for me either.

[DuchDork]

Do you mind my asking why they scheduled a c/s?

[roadfamily6now]

I have had an accidental UC and we did go to the hospital...... nothing was wrong, we just went..... and they kept the baby in the NICU for 3 days even though there was NOTHING wrong with him. I was treated like I was never there, completely ignored for 12 hours before my OB showed up and said I was fine to go.

I personally would NOT go to the hospital unless I felt I needed to go. I would schedule an appointment with the baby doc for his 1 week check up.

[amyjrn23]

At every hospital I've ever worked at when moms come in who just deliveried like at home or in car kinda thing they are admitted as postpartum (at least 24 hours) the baby gets not only the traditional assessment ie weight, measurements, ect but additional testing for "out of hospital delivery" which includes blood work looking for infection and prophylactic iv antibiotics while waiting on lab results. The theory being "we don't know if mom was gbs+, how long ruptured, chorio, ect" roadfamily6 I'm guessing that's what happened with your baby.

The up side is if you go in the hospital will handel the birth certificate as opposed do you doing it yourself, which I understand that depending on your state can be a pain in the ass.

I would personally want baby seen at the 2-3 days, but that's just me. You could prob have a midwife do at well baby at home if you prefer.

[tiqa]

Our last was born a UC and we went into the hospital afterwards (a couple of hours later) because we were on Medicaid and I was paranoid of CPS coming out.  (My last baby was tested for drugs etc because I had a precipitous labor, and was LBW, etc. - of course I never did drugs with him, but since he was born 10 months earlier I wasn't sure if anyone would think that was suspicious with another fast labor, UC, etc.)  Plus she was a 36 weeker so I did want that reassurance that she was OK.

Anyway, I was fine, baby was fine.  They did a once over on both of us and invited half the L&D unit in to talk to us but that was all.  They admitted me overnight for observation, didn't admit the baby.  She didn't get any vaccinations or anything, although I did consent to a hearing test for her. (I was never separated from DD, even though the nursery nurse did roll her eyes at me in a major way and make a snarky comment about how I didn't trust them to take the baby from me.  I shrugged and went along anyway.)  They saw she was nursing fine and I didn't have issues either and we went home in the morning, not even 24 hours later.  We followed up with the pediatrician every couple of days until she was bigger.

Overall I was extremely satisfied with the experience.  But I don't know if that would pan out in a similar way in our new location.  This is a very slow L&D unit and I've met a lot of the OB's here and I get the impression they would be less relaxed about the whole thing.

ETA:  The most annoying thing about the process was that they made up the birth certificate saying that she was born in the hospital... oh well.  I don't care that much about a piece of paper, but it still wasn't accurate.