First prenatal appointment

[anonymousk]

Has everyone already scheduled their first prenatal appointment? I am torn right now, because I was seeing a doc for infertility and am not so sure I want to deliver with my regular OB, who I haven't seen since January. The infertility doc has another progesterone check scheduled for Nov 5, so I think I'm in good hands until then. I am looking into the midwife option, although I have to see one of the midwives who deliver in the hospital to keep dh happy. Naturally I don't know them and don't know anything about them.

Would it be terrible to do my first prenatal with my old OB and then tell him that I'm going to see the midwife? I've talked to him about it before so I think he'll be cool. He doesn't really deliver babies anymore but his son is my husband's best friend and so he told me he'd be happy to deliver ours... so complicated. :lol It's occurred to me that a) it would be really nice to have a doc who is practically family and b) maybe it would be better not to be delivered by a doc who's practically family. :dizzy

How long does it take them to get you in? Is anyone else getting a flu shot?

[quarteralien]

You shouldn't get a flu shot in your first trimester, and by the time you're in the second trimester, I think it will be too late.
As for your appointment, I don't think it would be terrible to go to your old OB and then move on. Do you feel a need to go in right away? I saw a CNM for DD's pregnancy and she got me in for the day after I talked to her for the first time. This time, I'm torn as well. I want to UC so badly. DH, of course, is scared of that option, but says he might consider hb w/ mw. Homebirth midwives in this part of our state are underground because no OB will agree to back them up. :irked: So I could see an underground mw, but I'm not sure if she would want me to double up with a regular CNM or not. So many things to sort out. Either way, I don't plan to go in at all in the first trimester. I just don't see a point. If I miscarry, there's nothing anyone can do about it, and I want some peace during this pregnancy. But I'm still thinking about all my options.
So that probably wasn't especially helpful to you, was it? :o

[mama to 2 girls]

I went ahead and called my m/w that attended dd2's birth (at her FSBC) and she said that as long as I am comfortable the law here will allow me to go as long as 14 weeks before she "needs" to see me....but I tend to get impatient about things so I will probably go in at about 10-11 weeks. :)

As far as the flu shot goes, we don't "due" vacc. at all for anyone in the family....but that is just ME. :) Hopefully someone else can be helpful in that department. :)

Sorry I probably wasn't too helpful either! :o

[quarteralien]

the law here will allow me to go as long as 14 weeks before she "needs" to see me....

:scratch Can you elaborate on this? I've never heard of this.

[mama to 2 girls]

I live in FL....I guess by law if I haven't had any care at all by that point, I am risked out of having a m/w attended birth....m/w's here aren't allowed to attend births at hospitals, so we have to birth at either a FSBC or have a homebirth.

I hate it...but I don't have enough moxy to go UC.

:)

BTW, anonymousk.....I started out with the OB that attended dd1's birth, only went to two appts. to confirm the pregnancy and then switched over to my m/w.....I didn't even tell her because I knew she would try to talk me out of it, telling me it was dangerous...I am glad too! because I went for my pap smear after dd2 was born and she raked me over the coals! I don't think I'll be going to her ever!

So, no there is nothing wrong with starting out with your OB. :)

[quarteralien]

Fascinating. That sounds like something that would be the case in Big Brother New York as well. But it wouldn't matter much if I saw an illegal midwife I suppose. :p I'm a wannabe birth activist. I guess I need to learn how to lobby.

[anonymousk]

I think I want to get in soon for a few reasons, but mostly because we've had a long hard road to get here and this being our first I just want to know that we're as okay as we can be. After all the attention of the infertility doc it's a little weird to be suddenly unsupervised. But I'm hanging in there. ;)

I am leaning towards the midwife because there hasn't been much natural about this process so far and I'd like to get some of that back if I can. I already know I want as natural a birth as possible, whether I end up with the OB or not. On the other hand, I worry that the causes of our infertility will make things more complicated down the road. But I guess this wouldn't really be happening if I didn't have something to worry about, right?

Do you guys interview your m/ws? Do you just call and ask for an interview appointment? My one girlfriend here who delivered at the m/w center said not to go there because there's a new m/w and she is not good. So I'm on my own.

[quarteralien]

I got recommendations from friends with the CNM team I went to last time. This time, I'm definitely interviewing. I actually would have done that, but a friend who was also considering homebirth said the mw's wanted her to be pregnant before they talked. :shrug. So I'd say, ask around of people who have similar views as you. You might also try the Finding Your Tribe forum.

[DandeCobb]

the practice i go to does 1st appts at 8 weeks. mine is dec 3rd. my midwife sadly was recalled into active duty in the military and will be gone for a year. :gloomy: so i am seeing the DO at the office, i have only seen him once when i got my IUD out and the verdict is still out. no flu shot here

[prothyraia]

I'm going to schedule an appointment with my midwife when we get back home (visiting family out of state right now). I'm actually not certain I want to go with her again- she's wonderful but only does hospital births- but figure I might as well start doing prenatals while I sort out what I really want.

Edited to add: Although, under different circumstances, I'd probably wait until the start of the second trimester to start going. Right now I don't have health insurance, but I can get on a state plan once someone official confirms that I'm actually pregnant.

[mchalehm]

I had my first appointment today--it's early but they wanted to draw blood for a beta. (I guess because I have PCOS and therefore am higher risk for m/c?) I'm not sure exactly what the point is because I'm not sure what they would do if the numbers aren't doubling. But I'm feeling sick enough that I think this babe is growing.

Anyway, I think you could definitely switch to your midwife partway through as long as you don't leave it too late. I wouldn't want to switch near the end of a pregnancy, but close to the beginning I think it would be fine. I doubt that your OB would mind.

[veganf]

I'll probably call my midwife in January, after the holidays are done :lol .

And no, I will not be getting a flu shot. I did ONCE, 16 years ago, and I have never been so sick (with the flu) in my entire life. Never ever again. Not to mention that as a vegan I am now morally opposed as well.

[pazerific]

when i got pg with my dd, i felt that strange sense of limbo too, where it felt odd that the OB didn't even want to see me until at least 8-9wks as long as i had a blood test to confirm the blatantly positive home tests i had taken. dh and i went to one appt with them, and then to the hosp for a more sensitive ultrasound since the dates and size of dd weren't matching up. after that i never went back. i felt so out of control with my care at the OB, like they were calling the shots and i was just along for the ride.

once we decided to go the mw route, she didn't even want to see me until 12-14wks, and that was just fine with me. this time i don't feel that sense of urgency to get to the doc/mw. i called my mw at the end of last week, and she offered me an appt either this week, or in the begining of dec. i opted for dec, cause there's really nothing she could do this early, aside from congradulate us in person. but i totally understand that if this is your 1st pg or you've been struggling with fertility that you would want to get in earlier just to be sure everything is ok. :)

[delicious]

well, i just found out yesterday. i did call around today and made a few appointments to meet some midwives. we live in a different state than my last hb, so i can't use my old mw.

with my last pregnancy i didn't start prenatal care until 12 weeks or so. we were just too busy. so now i feel like i'm calling super early.

and no, NO flu shot here. you could not pay me.

[Stayathomemommy]

The day i found out i was pregnant with #5 i called to make an appiontment. The same CNM has been through this with me my last two pregnancies so its funny when i called and they said "HI, Angela, congrats, it will be good to see you again!" I went in the next week to get blood taken, i have hypothyriodism so the midwife monitors me pretty closely so i am on the right amounts of meds. But i didnt actually see the midwife. My first prenatal is the end of the month so that will be 8 weeks. I like going, its fun because i like taking that time out of my crazy life to think about the baby and it seems so much more real going in and talking to the midwife.

i will not get the flu shot either.

[finnegansmom]

I don't have one yet - I'm touring a birth center on Wednesday and meeting the midwives there. I really don't want to do the hospital route. It was too clinical and I was just wasn't really comfortable. I would do a homebirth but we are at least 30 minutes from the hospital and my DH is WAY too nervous about it.

The birth center actually seems really nice - it's in a nice old brownstone downtown portland and is very close to the hospital just in case.

[punky monkey]

I scheduled my first pre natal appointment today. I will be 8 weeks when I see the OB. DP will not go for midwives or a non hospital birth so I have to have it in the hospital.

[4Marmalade]

I have my first appt. with the midwife on Wednesday and I will be 5 weeks. It's mostly an introduction for myself and dh. She said it would take about an hour just getting to know each other, talking about previous births, etc.... I am looking forward to it.

[quarteralien]

I scheduled my first pre natal appointment today. I will be 8 weeks when I see the OB. DP will not go for midwives or a non hospital birth so I have to have it in the hospital.

I hope he's done his research to back up his stance. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be pushy, and believe me, I understand midwives/out of hospital birth is NOT for everyone, but I went the OB/hospital route first time just because I didn't have the courage to stand up for what I knew the real research has been saying about alternatives, that in most cases they are BETTER than hospitals/OB's. I still have nightmares about DS's birth. That may not happen for you, but I honestly have the hardest time being happy for firsttime moms, wondering if they will go through what I did. I DO NOT want that to happen to ANYONE else. It was horrific, and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. :( PLEASE PLEASE make sure it's the right decision for YOU.

Sorry, off my soapbox, just my 2 cents.

[ekblad9]

I'm kind of in two worlds. I've done both hospital and homebirth. I had a couple good hospital births, a couple not so good, a great homebirth, and a homebirth transfer. I'm not sure what I'll do this time around. I figure I have lots of time. As of right now I have an appt with the OB that delivered my last baby ( hospital transfer). I like the practice alot and go there for my yearly exams. The OB is really nice but I hate the whole hospital thing. Not just the actual birth but also (mostly) the prenatal mumbo jumbo. I'm looking around at other options just not sure what they are at this point. Money does play into it, sad to say. So we'll see.

[yamilee21]

I've met one midwife, have an appointment set up to meet another, and am still trying to get in touch with a third. Then I have to decide on one of them, so I think I won't have my first real appointment until early December, which will be toward the end of the first trimester already! :eek

[Tiger Lily]

OP--sounds like you've made the decision to go with a MW, but I was going to STRONGLY advise you against seeing your DH's best friend. I used to go to church with one of my docs and I knew his wife pretty well. It got kind of awkward seeing him in the halls, and then something happened where I didn't really trust his judgement anymore. Luckily we moved soon after so it was a non-issue.

As far as my 1st, I'm kind of in limbo too. I'm currently spotting and had a m/c 2 months ago, so I'm just waiting to see what happens. And then there's the whole care provider thing. I really want a HB, and plan to go to one of the local MWs. The only trouble is that if I need a transfer, I'm at the mercy of whatever FP resident happens to be on call. So I'm toying with the idea of seeing my OB for a few months and then asking her if she'd take me in case of a transfer. She probably won't, but I figure I can always ask, right? :loveeyes:
Jen

[Spark]

When I was like 2 seconds pregnant, I made the call to my MW. I think she's my best bet at avoiding Hyperemsis this time around. So, my appointment is today actually. :)

[veganf]

I have my first appt. with the midwife on Wednesday and I will be 5 weeks. It's mostly an introduction for myself and dh. She said it would take about an hour just getting to know each other, talking about previous births, etc.... I am looking forward to it.

That first visit is so much fun. I remember it like it was yesterday. I can even remember what clothes I was wearing and what flavour Luna bar I was munching on to keep from feeling too sick. :lol

All you first timers, have a great time!!

[Ahimsa]

My midwife doesn't start seeing women until they are 12 weeks, so we will probably just have the first visit after the New Year.