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What happened at your last OB/MW appointment?

4K views 113 replies 42 participants last post by  2 in August 
#1 ·
Since I find myself wanting to come here and report after every appointment and read other reports, here's a thread to post about your most recent appointment with your care provider, if anyone else feels the same need to share.


Mine went well today at 33w3d. Blood pressure measured 150/40 the first time, to which I shouted, "That's a LIE!", so they took it again at the end of the appointment for a more normal reading of 117/70. Baby is head down with a strong heartbeat, lots of movement and fundal height of 33. I'm up a total of 27 pounds at 164, which is right on track. They took 2 tubes of blood, just to double check everything and make sure that my wacky BP readings are due to nerves, and because my endo hasn't sent results for my last TSH draw to check my thyroid. Everything looks good!

I really enjoy these routine little appointments, just seeing that everything is normal and on track and getting to feel where tadpole's head is and hear her big wobby heart. My next appt. is on 7/20, and I think I have the GBS test then, which doesn't sound very fun, but at least it's not the GTT!

Oh, and when I was having the BP done, I saw the little parade of pregnant patient pee cups, and one was nearly blood red. I asked the nurse, "is that blood or urine?", and she frowned and said, "I think it's urine, but i've never seen urine like that before!" Freaky!
 
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#52 ·
all went pretty well today... bp was 112/62. I did have protein in my urine but doc didn't say anything... did u/s A is in perfect birthing position, yay. and b is transverse, but changes positions a lot!

Okay azreal you aren't going to like this... My next appt. isn't until Aug.
: He said in two weeks but they scheduled it for three and I didn't notice until I left, oops


Oh and he did do the GBS swab
:
 
#53 ·
Saw my doula yesterday and introduced her to my husband.


After they had felt eachother out, he left for a meeting and she and I continued on to some fun exercises. First she had me draw my vision of my birthing experience, which was very relaxing after spending all day teaching pastels and paints to 4-year-olds on sugar highs. Then we discussed it. Then we looked at the Spinning Babies website and practiced different positions and exercises to help tadpole get her head off my hip and into the correct position. I loved the roboso sling shake, but i'm having trouble resting and sleeping with my leg hiked up on pillows. That's gonna be a challenge. We discussed who will be where when during the birth and any fears I have, which aren't many.

I basically said that i'm looking at birth like taking the SAT-- you have a basic idea of what to expect but can't really study for it or plan on it. But i'm super confident that everything will turn out great. Yay!
 
#54 ·
Had a mw appt yesterday. Baby is very low, hb was 124, bp was 130/80. We discussed the swelling I've had, talked about the pain I've been in since stitch removal and both agreed it's probably scar tissue breaking up. And then we talked about end of pg irritations and how dh's just don't get it! LOL She is due two weeks after I am so it's kind of fun to get together.
 
#56 ·
Today was the last appointment with my MW. She is closing up shop this weekend, so I'll be seeing my new MW next week. I'm one day shy of 36 weeks, and up to weekly visits.
BP was good, I didn't look at the scale, but she asked me if I had had any swelling. I said nope, and she said that was a big gain for one week, so she just wanted to check. I knew I couldn't confess to eating cheesecake all week (my dh's birthday cake!) without getting a big lecture...so i just said , huh, that's funny...
And then I mentioned I had just eaten lunch and drank a big glass of water, which was true.

baby's still head down, heart rate is 120-130, and kicking up a storm! My iron levels are back up where they should be (I guess the chlorophyll regimen worked!) and my GBS test results came back negative. Yay!

It was kind of sad being my last visit with the MW I've been seeing all along. She's giving us a pool to use for the water birth at home, and asked us to bring by photos after the birth. So...next week I'll have a whole new provider and situation and everything! It will be interesting to see how different the two are and if my visits will be any different than before.
 
#57 ·
yesterday I went for my 35w appt. I weighed 163lbs (50 lbs. heavier than when I started!
: ). I was 3cm dialated and 60% effaced. BP was 117/79. I measured 38cm at 35w so baby is definitely BIG (which we already knew due to previous u/s given due to mesuring > gestational age) Baby is head down and engaging well. I was swabbed for my GBS and will get the results next week. As far as urine testing goes, my doctor NEVER routinely checks urine, only if you report a problem (which wasn't my experience with the doctor that delivered my DS 4yr ago). I return every wed. from here to delivery. Good luck everyone on healthy deliveries and babies! WE"RE GETTING CLOSER!
 
#58 ·
Went to my 35 wk appt today. My bp was good, protien was +1 which is good as it's been +2 the last few times. Turned in my 24 hr urine so I should get those results tomorrow or Monday.

Met a new dr today (mine is on vacation). He was pretty funny.
Him: So by this point you had already had your dd.
Me: Yep.
Him: So, I bet you're really ready to be done then.
Me: Yes.
Him: Well, you do have a couple more weeks. Oh, and you had a really long labor last time too.
Me: Oh yeah.
Him: Bet you don't want that to happen again.
Me: Not if I can help it.
Him: Yeah I bet!

He was so funny and laid back. Then he went to measure me and he said that I was 38 wks but also teased me about the baby being up so high that he couldn't get any higher in the coming weeks anyway.

He also never asked to do the GBS and I didn't remind him,
. I was thinking about turning it down anyway and he made it easy on me.
 
#59 ·
had an appointment yesterday, 36 weeks + 3 days. did the gbs test. while there i decided to let her check my cervix. i was 2cm, 50% effaced, and between -2 and -1 station! i felt like i was walking on cloud nine afterwards thinking whoo hoo! here we go! of course, i can be walking around like this for weeks and weeks, ha ha (good thing i had to work last night. i would have never been able to sleep. and then, one of my patients -i work as RN in a birth center- had a baby and was 36 weeks and 2 days. i kept thinking about her baby and thinking someone just around that size was in my belly wiggling around!) anyway, back to my appt. bp was good. it's been on the low side, but normal, all along. gained 1 pound in last two weeks; but i'm up like 35# total. and i guess not really much else. otherwise a pretty routine appt.
 
#60 ·
Had my 36 + 5 appt on Monday and GBS was negative
, so I'm clear to avoid the saline lock and IV!

I was checked (can't believe my impatience this time around, esp since babe's room isn't even finished.) 1cm dilated, 50% effaced and baby is engaged (-3 station.) So, now I don't have to worry about restricting my movement in labor (dr was worried about cord prolapse if water was broken and babe wasn't engaged.) That was a huge relief to me.

Other than that, not much going on. Babe's hr was good (149), my blood pressure went down again to 106/62 and I lost 2lbs.
 
#62 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ursula Rose
* i tested positive for gbs. boo hoo. i'm going to do herbal suppositories and test again in a week at our 39 week appt.
Opps, I totally forgot to even ask my midwife about the GBS test at my homevisit! And she didn't mention it either. I guess I should at least discuss it.
Sorry your's is positive. I hope the herbal remedies work!!

- Krista
 
#63 ·
I had my 36+5 weeks appt on Tuesday with a substitute midwife (I like her better!), and my first vaginal exam since December. She did the GBS test, and then saw that I had tested positive in a previous urine test a month ago. No one told me, so I was clueless. She said sometimes it goes away on its own accord, and hopefully the swab she took will come back neg. Fortunately, at this military hospital, they won't make me have an IV (just a hep-lock) unless I really need it, and they will let me do intermittent monitoring if all is going well. Phew! She said, "So you're going to try to do it naturally... no wait, not "try," you'll be able to do it!!" Good thing she corrected herself!

I spoke later at work about "stripping the membranes" and made one of my coworkers so sick, he had to walk out of the office. The funny part is I wasn't even saying the really gross stuff, and he had been fine earlier when our boss was talking about finding maggots in his garage. Some people are too funny.
 
#64 ·
Had my 38 week today - measured 38 weeks, gained a lb or two, HR good. Didn't have more than a trickle so I wasn't able to pee in a cup very well.

Last week I found out I passed the GPS.

ambotchka - my DH gets all grossed out by 'unladylike' things that I do, like fart or burp or *gasp* talk about poo. I think some people are just grossed out by physical stuff.
 
#65 ·
I'm going back and forth about the GBS... Part of my wants to do something to help me test negative (ie the garlic), but part of me says that if I'm positive, don't I want to know?

Do I really want to avoid antibiotics if I AM positive and this may improve outcomes?

Even though I'm totally not an antibiotic kind of woman (I think I took a round in 2001), and I think that most cases of invasive newborn GBS aren't going to be treated with 2 doses of an antibiotic. Plus, I'm allergic to amoxicillin, so it'll have to be something more than Penicillin I get, which just makes the number of hours you have to be treated that much longer (Clindamycin is 2 doses 8 hours apart, as opposed to 4 hours for penicillin)

I think I might defer to CDC guidelines for this.... They say if you are "unknown" (cause youi refused/declined/missed the test), over 37 weeks, with no risk factors (prolonged rupture of membranes being a big one), then there is no need for antibiotics. If you develop the risk factors, then you get the antibiotics. That makes alot of sense to me, so it might be the way I lean.

FWIW, the CDC also recommends treatment if you have +GBS in urine during this pregnancy, even with a negative culture.

I guess I need to talk to my midwives.
 
#66 ·
Had my 35 week appointment yesterday, and all is well!

Gained 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks... funny how that coincides with the new release of Chik-fil-A chocolate milkshakes, eh? But they say i've got 4 more pounds to gain for the recommended 35.
: I like this idea.

BP was a little high but still normal. Baby is in perfect position and wiggling all over, even kicked the MW. Heartbeat has slowed down a bit but is still fine. They did the GBS test, so i'll know the results next week when I go in for my now weekly appointment. It wasn't nearly as invasive as i'd feared! They also looked over my birth plan and said it was fine, even getting a giggle about the bit of "no in-laws in the maternity ward". MW suggested poison dart arrows, which I heartily approved. Huzzah!

(I like this thread, too. It's fun to see what's happening to everyone else... satisfies the nosy part of me.
: )
 
#67 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by BetsyS
I think I might defer to CDC guidelines for this.... They say if you are "unknown" (cause youi refused/declined/missed the test), over 37 weeks, with no risk factors (prolonged rupture of membranes being a big one), then there is no need for antibiotics. If you develop the risk factors, then you get the antibiotics. That makes alot of sense to me, so it might be the way I lean.
They do? Can you provide a reference? This would be really helpful for me.
 
#68 ·
we are going to look at the cdc gbs protocol too.

we have lots of issues to sort through:
i am allergic to penicillin
dh and i don't use antibiotics ever
the gbs test we took just says there is gbs present and not how much

in the meantime:
i'm doing herbal-c suppositories
taking lots of extra garlic
(does anyone know what else can be done?)
 
#69 ·
There are two regiments in HEarts and Hands:

Take twice a day with breakfast and dinner:

2 capsules lactobacillus acidopholous (2 billion per capsule)
1 capsule echinacea 350 mg
1 capsule garlic 580 mg
1 capsule or gel vitamin e 500 mg

Also place one clove of peeled, unnicked garlic in vagina every other night. Remove in morning.

Or

Each day:

6 capsules EHB by NF formulas (antibacterial supplement)
Tea tree oil suppositories (soak cotton ball or tampon with half tto and half olive oil.)
500 mg vit c ever four waking hours.
 
#70 ·
Today was my 36 wk check. Told dr about how weird I felt this morning and how baby had been quiet the last few days. He checked me and said I'm still high and tight (bummer, lol) but I know that can change quickly or not at all but it was interesting (never got to do it with dd). Baby is head down though, yay!!! I also had a NST because of the decreased movement. Said that baby was looking good, so that made me feel a little better. I ended up letting him do the GBS test. If I'm neg then I won't have any hassle at all. If I'm positive, I'll do what I can to correct it and have it rechecked. Now I get to do NSTs 2x a wk. I'll also see my reg dr on Tues (her first day back from vacation). Oh and my bp was a little higher 140/82, then they had me lay on my left side and it was 130/78.

I'm really torn about all of this. I want to be as non-interventionalist as I can, I want a natural, drug free birth. But on the other hand with my protein being high and now my bp edging up, I want to be really cautious too. I don't want to try so hard to not have interventions that I end up causing more problems, but I don't want to be strapped down with monitors and on all sorts of drugs with all the problems that I had during dd's birth. ugh, thanks for listening mommas.
 
#71 ·
Had my 36 week visit today. I have been having horrible low back pain and cramping lately so I agreed to be checked. The baby is extremely low (thus the back pain) and I've started to dialate. Of course he said, "I have no idea when you will deliver because none of this means all that much." But, I feel better just knowing that the baby is head down and low and there is a reason for all my back pain.

Had the GBS test today but don't know result yet. Maybe I'll deliver before we find out.
 
#72 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 2 in August
Oh and my bp was a little higher 140/82, then they had me lay on my left side and it was 130/78.

I'm really torn about all of this. I want to be as non-interventionalist as I can, I want a natural, drug free birth. But on the other hand with my protein being high and now my bp edging up, I want to be really cautious too. I don't want to try so hard to not have interventions that I end up causing more problems, but I don't want to be strapped down with monitors and on all sorts of drugs with all the problems that I had during dd's birth. ugh, thanks for listening mommas.
Jen, even though I've not been in your situation - I understand what your saying. There are so many things to consider with Pre-E. Have you considered asking your regular dr how s/he feels about your bp climbing?

I don't know how you feel about herbs, but I've read that Nettles can decrease bp (not sure if it would be making your symptoms or if it would actually resolve them), but I've been taking Nettle tea for the last 7 weeks and my bp went from 124/68 to most recently 106/62 (that's the lowest it's been since about 30weeks). Nettle also has Vit K, iron, and helps reduce edema and I've noticed next to no swelling since I started drinking the tea.

If you are still high and tight, you are most likely not a good candidate for AROM (unless you start to dilate soon.) So, if you need to induce soon, then cytotec/cervidil and pit are probably the way your dr will want to head.

Have you considered using EPO to thin the cervix? And, sitting on a birth ball to bring babe's head further into the canal too.
 
#73 ·
Hi everybody,

Well had an appt with my reg dr today. First she was happy that I was still pg (she's been on vacation for 2 wks). Good news is that my bp is still staying out of the danger zone. It was lower than Friday which is good. My NST was good. Bad news is that my GBS was positive, I knew I should have refused it too. Oh well too late now. I asked about trying to make it go away and she pretty much said once + always +. She also mentioned inducing me if I make it to 38 wks because of increased risk due to the pre-e. So she had me do a quick u/s, luckily they had an opening and just slid me in. Baby is head down laying on my left, perfect position for labor. He's measuring about 6lbs so he's still a little peanut. Got my first real look at his face (he usually covers it up with his hands) but today he was playing with his feet instead and she got a pic of his face before he covered it back up.

So, I'm going to go try to find some EPO and start using that. I don't want all the meds and drugs that I had to have last time when my water broke and they induced me. So I'm going to do whatever I can here at home to get things going before she sets up an induction date. I've been doing hypnobabies and there is a baby come out script as well as the birth day affirmations and birth guide so I'm going to start listening to them. Not today, but probably on Thursday nite/Friday (my dh's next day off). I want a natural birth and I know that the longer I'm at the hospital, the more bad memories from dd's birth will come back to me so I'd rather get there ready to push than be there from the very beginning.

Question about the blue/black cohosh. Is it a pill you have to swallow or is there another way to do it? I have a huge aversion to taking pills (basically birth control is the only pill I can swallow without gagging). I'd like to try them but if the only way is swallowing a capsule or pill, it's not going to happen.

thanks! Jen
 
#74 ·
Just had my 37wks+5 appt. I was cramping and contracting all evening, so I was glad to hear I'm effaced (50%) and dilated (1cm). Not much, but I feel like I was uncomfortable last night for a productive reason. I would have been disappointed if I wasn't effaced. The bad news is that I'm pos for GBS, but it's not the end of the world, I've decided.

After that high (being dilated,etc) my midwife said I could probably have the baby at the birth center instead of the military hospital. I was so excited! I called there, talked to them about insurance, and nearly had my appt to get seen by them when ... they found out I'm active duty and not a spouse/dependant. Apparently, women in the military are not allowed to go there, but the wives of men in the military can.
: So unfair!!! I immediately started bawling from disappointment and b/c it just wasn't fair. DH was there, and he said, "it's ok, we'll have a great birth!" After that I had to go back to work. I'm trying to be Pollyanna and think positive -- hey, I'm dilated! (Even if it is just 1cm... at least things are working.) Maybe the baby won't stay in there forever after all. Sixteen days until I'm due.... I'm ready NOW.
 
#75 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 2 in August
Question about the blue/black cohosh. Is it a pill you have to swallow or is there another way to do it? I have a huge aversion to taking pills (basically birth control is the only pill I can swallow without gagging). I'd like to try them but if the only way is swallowing a capsule or pill, it's not going to happen.

thanks! Jen
hey Jen, I know next to nothing about black/blue cohosh, but there is a ton of info in the Birth and Beyond forum in the midwives section. Now that seach is enabled, I bet you'll find a ton of info with dosages,etc. I'm not sure if it's a tincture or pill form though. But, I'm thinking tincture? GL!
 
#76 ·
Had my almost 37 week appt today. Since the midwives and I all had different ideas about baby's position last time, and I've been paranoid about a breech delivery, and since she couldn't feel a head from the outside, I opted for my first ever VE while pregnant (20 second quickie just to check position). And I'm happy to report that the head was right there, even if baby is posterior (hence more difficult to judge position from the outside). No dilation or anything yet, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm just glad it's head down now!! It feels so different being posterior though.
And I actually honestly forgot to even ask about the GBS again
.

- Krista
 
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