[mehndi mama]

Allright, here's the sich....
I'm about 6+ months pregnant, and we've been doing a UP all along. I haven't seen anyone at all regarding my pregnancy.....and didn't even think to, until someone mentioned needing proof of pregnancy for the birth certificate. Last time, I was on WIC & maternal support services thru the health dept, so they had my record as proof. But we decided not to do WIC or MSS this time because we've gone mostly organic and don't want to submit our info to get Medicaid (don't ask - DH is very wierd about who has our financial/SS info

)
We don't have health insurance, and my usual doctor has moved away, so I'm without a PCP as well.
Any ideas of who to go to for proof of pg? Can it be ANY doctor? My mom works in an orthopedics office - could I go in & ask one of the surgeons to sign something? I'm kinda stumped - I don't want to have to go to a regular doctor's appointment just to get this, nor do I want to pay anything! It's very obvious I'm pregnant. Could a nurse sign something? Is there a standard from used for this sort of thing?
OR.....do I even need to worry about this? Those ladies who give birth without knowing they were pregnant have gotten BC's for their babies, right?

Yeesh! Help! What would you do, if you were me?

 

[miamommy]

With my first pregnancy i went to Planned Parenthood for it. They just give you a test..they know that you need proof to get medicaid so they will assume that is why you are there at 6 months. They just give you this paper that says you tested positive and the date that they think you are due.

 

[wende]

Yep, I was going to suggest the exact same thing.

 

[paquerette]

Check what's actually necessary in your state/county. Some places you'll need something from a doctor/health professional, but other places you might just need something notarized from someone who saw you while pregnant, or even a picture of you pregnant. I remember reading about one mama who took in very graphic birth pictures to show to the staff!

Nothin' like a picture of a gooey baby coming out of you for proof!

 

[Jane]

You can also take a picture of your belly with today's newspaper in the picture as back up.

 

[Spookygirl]

My first pregnancy my proof of pregnancy came from my psychicatrist, so I think as long as they are an MD it's okay.

 

[weebitty2]

planned parenthood'll charge ya $10 for a pregnancy test, and give you a lil slip of paper with your EDD based on LMP .. I know it works for WIC and medicaid.

You could always also just videotape the birth .. it worked for my SIL, and made the registrar so damned squeamish he couldn't watch it and didn't try to deny anything. :LOL

here's a state-by-state guide of what's "required" to register a birth, either in-hospital or at-home (since I can't for the life of me remember where you live!) not all states are in there, but most that I've been through have a "anyone attending the birth that saw you pregnant and can vouch you birthed the baby" clause that states whoever that person is can provide proof of pg. (Does that make sense?)

 

[danaalex]

i was going to suggest planned parenthood too

 

[Lila]

Your local Pregnancy and Advocacy center (sometimes called Crisis Pregnancy Center, though they are always happy to help with wanted pregnancies) probably has ultrasound equipment and probably would not charge you for a preg. test. I went to a place here in Dallas called Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center and they did a 3-D ultrasound for no charge. It's worth looking into.

 

[Maprilynne]

This is completely OT, but Spookygirl, I LOVE your quote about nursing. I hope you don't mind, I just stolle it and put it on my signature for another board that I frequent. A board that probably needs to see it.:eyeroll Thanks!
Aprilynne

 

[paquerette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by weebitty2 here's a state-by-state guide of what's "required" to register a birth

Was there supposed to be an URL?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lila Your local Pregnancy and Advocacy center (sometimes called Crisis Pregnancy Center, though they are always happy to help with wanted pregnancies) probably has ultrasound equipment and probably would not charge you for a preg. test.

Depending on where you live though, they might be hostile about UCing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lila I went to a place here in Dallas called Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center and they did a 3-D ultrasound for no charge. It's worth looking into.

However, there is some dubiousness about the safety of private ultrasound services. Apparantly they're often even higher in (frequencies? Can't think of the right word) than the usual medical ultrasounds, for which there is also debate. :-/

 

[FreeRangeMama]

I would look into exactly what is needed. I am in Alberta, so I am sure it is different here, but all I needed to do was writed a description of the birth (who, where, etc) and 2 letters from people saying they knew me and I was, in fact pg and gave birth. I also had to fill out some paperwork. Where they asked for "doctor or midwife" I wrote my own name and when they asked what qualifications this person had I wrote "mother". I did it all by mail. The only problem was it all had to be completed within 10 days of the birth.

Just call around and ask for exactly what is required. If you don't like the answer, call again and ask someone else. Often the policy "changes" depending who you talk to.

 

[weebitty2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paquerette Was there supposed to be an URL?

wow, now THAT's preggo-brain. Yep, lemme go get it again :LOL

http://pages.ivillage.com/unassisted...aws/index.html

 

[mclisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehndi mama Any ideas of who to go to for proof of pg? Can it be ANY doctor? My mom works in an orthopedics office - could I go in & ask one of the surgeons to sign something? I'm kinda stumped - I don't want to have to go to a regular doctor's appointment just to get this, nor do I want to pay anything! It's very obvious I'm pregnant. Could a nurse sign something? Is there a standard from used for this sort of thing?

I doubt the local ortho doctor would want to get involved in this. Do you have a local community health center? They would go by a sliding scale fee based on income for how much they would charge for a visit.

 

[mehndi mama]

Ah, rats - Michigan's not on the list

Oh well - I think I'll take a run into the County Building today, and ask the County Clerk exactly what is needed. Since I'm obviously pregnant, she may be able to notarize a form right then & there, or give me whatever I need to get signed. If not, I know now that I can go to Planned Parenthood, and I know there's a Pregnancy Resource Center right on the highway, too.

Thanks for all the ideas, ladies!

Oh, BTW:

Quote:

I doubt the local ortho doctor would want to get involved in this.

The local ortho docs know me and all about what I do, as this is my second UC and my mom has worked for them a long time. If it meant signing a form saying they saw me pregnant, I know one or two of them that would do it no problem. But I don't think I'll have to resort to that anyway.

 

[theelfqueen]

How about planned parenthood or a similar clinic?
Obviously I didn't read the posts

 

[sprinkle pocket]

wow! thanks so much for that link to the states' requirements. we're doing up/uc (1st birth) and we've been wondering what we need for the bc, but i've been too nervous to check...we're in a small town and got the 2nd degree when we registered our marriage and they found out that my maiden name would be dh's middle name. they thought it was the weirdest lunatic thing they'd ever heard. i just didn't want to make myself known to the ladies in the county office, and risk them knowing i'm up/uc if i didn't have to. sounds like our state is *very* easy and even has a clause for birth without an attendent! yea!

 

[its_our_family]

I went to a Crisis pg Center. They were surprise I had already tested, was 12 weeks along, and excited about it.

The lady said, "Well, this is easier than normal." They were very excited for me. The test was free. What they did was give you a urine test then they sent the test and your info to an ob in town. Then he would verify the test and send you a letter and one to the state. It worked out very well.