Experiences with mainstream MDs/DOs after homebirth?

[theelfqueen]

I have an appointment with my new doctor (she's a DO) on Monday to talk about birth control and just for a general checkup. Have you had a negative reaction from your mainstream doc following a homebirth? (NOTE: It's been about a year since my homebirth) Our peds have been WONDERFUL so I retain hope but I'm also really nervous about being treated badly because of it.

Any experiences remarkable on either end of the spectrum, or better still, unremarkable, from mainstream docs would be appreciated.

[Guest*]

My dd has only seen a doc twice since her homebirth (I've never seen a doc since), and homebirth never came up. The doc just assumed she was born in the hospital and I didn't bother to correct her. My dd's birthplace did not have anything to do with the reasons we were seeing the doc so I saw no point in explaining myself in case the doc had strong feelings.

[Mommy_Pooh]

Subbing to thread....


I wanna know too. We do have to reintegrate our babes back into "normal" society at some point, right?

[theelfqueen]

Our pediatricians (I'm the OP) have been nothing but supportive -- they helped us get a Vit K shot scrip in before the baby's birth and helped us find a pharmacy that would fill it. They've been great but I'm a little bit concerned that *I* will receive different treatment when it comes out that my youngest was born out of the hospital -- which it will when I provide records of my last pap and whatnot from my midwife.

[the_lissa]

Our family dr knew about our home birth and thought it was great.

[sapphire_chan]

On the plus-side you've got the perfect argument in favor of homebirth available. If the DO says anything negative just look her right in the eye comment "you really should educate yourself better" and change the topic back to the main reason for the appointment.

[girlsmamma2]

We take our dd's to an fp and she knew before hand that we were having a homebirth but was trying to convince us to have a natural birth at a hospital with her. When we brought dd in one week after her hb, she said 'so it went well, good, you are lucky". Then in the appt, she was asking about the midwives, are they certified or belong to some organization, how much did it cost? I thought really wierd questions. Then she really didn't even give dd much of a going over, almost like she was ticked or offended we didn't bring her in until one week. It kind of irked me at the time because i don't like going to a drs office with a newborn, so to just get questioned about the hb was annoying. she knew better than to push vaxes but i felt for all our stress about dd being in a drs waiting room, to just brush us off was not worth the effort.

i suppose we'll take our third in the same way as a cya kinda thing but this time i'm not entertaining any coversation about hb cuz like pp said, it's none of their business. she told me i couldn't get the birth i wanted at the hospital but also thought hb was risky.

[Emilie]

Yes- I am facing this .... on monday!
My backup doc is great! His medwife he works with - not so much! She is a word I can't say on here- but it was too long to see him- so I will see her- and keep talk to a minimum. I need some birth control- surely she won't want me to have #3 at home!LOL!
Yes- I will let you know how she is.
Emilie

[Mommy_Pooh]

Originally Posted by girlsmamma2

We take our dd's to an fp and she knew before hand that we were having a homebirth but was trying to convince us to have a natural birth at a hospital with her. When we brought dd in one week after her hb, she said 'so it went well, good, you are lucky". Then in the appt, she was asking about the midwives, are they certified or belong to some organization, how much did it cost? I thought really wierd questions. Then she really didn't even give dd much of a going over, almost like she was ticked or offended we didn't bring her in until one week. It kind of irked me at the time because i don't like going to a drs office with a newborn, so to just get questioned about the hb was annoying. she knew better than to push vaxes but i felt for all our stress about dd being in a drs waiting room, to just brush us off was not worth the effort.

Yikes. YIKES!!!! This is what I'm afraid of. We have a GREAT pede so far, although I have yet to broach the non-vaxing issue with her. (hehehe.....that's another topic altogether ) Anyways, my pede is the pede "on call" at the hospital I delivered both of my sons at. I sure hope if we (hopefully) end up with a successful HB with my next, we won't get this sort of treatment. It's darned hard to find any dr's of any sort, whether GP/FP/Pede etc taking new patients anymore where I live.

[SusannahM]

Our family doctor thought it was great. We took DD in when she was 5 days old just for a quick check by the doc (midwife especially wanted us to get the bruise looked at that she had on her head from being born), and he asked what hospital she was borned in, we said we had her at home, he said "on purpose?", we said yes. He said something like "Well, she's been an all-natural girl from the start" or something like that.

He was the same doc, though, that praised me when I told him I went off the Metformin my ob/gyn prescribed for me for my PCOS (causing infertility) and cured it with diet (I was seeing him while I was pregnant at the time, so infertility was obviously cured). He said he wished more of his patients could do things with nutrition like that.

He's also the one when I asked about the pre-natal vitamins he prescribed and what they had in them because I might just supplement what I was already taking with what I needed that was extra in them, replied that I was a smart woman, and just could compare what the ingredients were and to supplement accordingly, he trusted me to figure it out, LOL!

One other thing that I remembered happening at his clinic was that one time a lady was yelling at another associate about being prescribed a certain drug, and how she didn't want to take drugs, etc. He just said, wow, then just don't take it, you're not obligated to take every drug you're prescribed, or just discuss it nicely, no need to yell at your doctor.

Anyway, I knew he was a little more open to non-traditional things than most docs.

[laohaire]

I tore a lot during my HB, and went to the ER to get stitched afterward. The OB on call (had to be an OB, because stitching the peri is so specialized that just any old doc wouldn't do) was the one that I had ONE APPOINTMENT with before I got a midwife. OMG, he was such an ass. He tried to throw my midwife out, but I know my rights and stately clearly that I wanted her with me. Thankfully he did a good job on the stitching.

I also saw a FP for carpal tunnel a week or so later (I got that from bending my wrists too far, maybe, or something when I was in labor and didn't give a darn what kind of stress I was giving my hands). I don't know how it came up that I had a homebirth, I didn't volunteer the information, but I didn't lie when she asked a question. She gave us a short lecture on how lucky we were, and I stopped that cold by responding "Yes, we were very lucky we educated ourselves and decided on a home birth rather than risking a hospital birth." She dropped that subject fast when I said that.

[TurboClaudia]

the one MD we've been to with our son (a pediatrician recommended by his naturopath) didn't ask, so we didn't say.

but then again, we live in a mecca of homebirthing options as a state with one of the highest percentage of babies born not in a hospital. i think it might have more to do with the birth options climate in your state and specific area...

~claudia

[mama_at_home]

We haven't taken the babies to a doctor. They are perfectly healthy so there is no need. I am healthy, too, and my midwife does "well mother" check-ups so unless something serious comes up, I don't think we'll be dealing with it.

[tracylhl]

I haven't had to face this yet, although I'm sure that I will. My ped. knows that I am planning to HB this time around and is supportive of it. She even recommended the MW and told me that she thought that I was a "good candidate" for HB. That said, I was at her office tonight and she warned me that if I did have to transport or see an OB afterward that I would hit resistance. I told her that I was fully aware of this and was willing to accept it. She said that she thought it was fine and that she was excited to hear how it all goes! Yeay! I have a great Ped! Also, she's supportive of selective and postponed vax'ing and supports our work in contacting a DAN dr. for problems that my ds is facing. She also tells me that she isn't sure that it will help, but she doesn't argue with me and understands where I'm coming from! I'll keep her!!

[Red Sonja]

During this pregnancy I am receiving concurrent care from my homebirth midwife and my primary care physician, a D.O. (Mainly so insurance covered my 20 week ultrasound and GBS testing, and for the unlikely event that I go into preterm labor again.) At my last appointment (18 weeks, to schedule ultrasound) I told my doc that I was having a homebirth and she didn't have any concerns about it, seemed interested by the idea. She asked when I wanted to see her again, figuring there was no need to double my maternity care, and we agreed on 36 weeks for the GBS test. After that I'll just go in sometime after the baby is born to get birth control.

[honeybee]

We told our fp at about 18 weeks that we were planning a hb. She is the doc that delivered ds, and she was wonderful, But, she doesn't do housecalls! She was a little surprised, but didn't question our choice then or later when we took ds1 in for his 2-year checkup. She just said, see you in the spring, after your baby's born! We took the baby in at 2 days and again at 2 weeks. She looked at our records from the mw, smiled and said, "Well, it looks like you had a great birth and healthy baby!" And, of course, she told us how beautiful baby was, and commented on how much ds1 had grown, etc. I love our family doc!

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by TurboClaudia

but then again, we live in a mecca of homebirthing options as a state with one of the highest percentage of babies born not in a hospital. i think it might have more to do with the birth options climate in your state and specific area...

~claudia

Offtopic, but I just have to say OREGON RULES!!!! *Ahem* Thank you, now back to your regularly scheduled thread...

[DesireeH]

I havent had to face this yet either. I havent been to a real doctor for myself since the day I had my first baby, 3.5 years ago. LOL Daph has never been a doctor yet and I havent either.......

[myniyer]

Originally Posted by laohaire

"Yes, we were very lucky we educated ourselves and decided on a home birth rather than risking a hospital birth."

We have decided to see ND's for this baby's well-baby care so I doubt we'll be having any kind of discussion about the homebirth other than "good for you"

[orangebird]

Both docs I have seen since my first homebirth (I've been to the doctor many times trying to figure out my bizarre back pain) never batted an eye. They acted as if it were completely normal.