to late to switch OBs?
giaM28
member
my OB knows i want to go natural and she supports it. yesterday i went in for a growth u/s and met with the other dr in her practice. ive met him a few times before because one of the two will be delivering me.
baby is growing great...but big. he said that he wants to do a c/s if LO gets to big. he gave me a funny look when i told him i want natural and drug free delivery. I felt like everything he said was trying to convince me to use drugs go c/s. it really pissed me off. im scared that if he is there the day i go into labor im going to have to deal with all of this over again. i have tumors in my spine so im aware that ill be in extra pain because of it but im sure its something i can handle, ive been through a lot of pain and ive experienced (from what ive been told) pain that is worse than childbirth so im confident in myself and my body. ive been told my my neurologist (been with him many years) as well as my high risk that natural birth should be uncomplicated for me, yet this asshat filled my head with doubts yesterday.
im meeting my OB on the 16th and im going to tell her that i do not want him there but it might be unavoidable. im thinking of switching OBs now because i really dont want to deal with this one Dr
Re: to late to switch OBs?
It's kind of late to switch OBs. Maybe you can keep your birth natural if you hire a doula. I didn't have one, but I've heard a lot of times a doula can help you and the health care provider stick to the plan.
I had "sure we support VBAC" bait & switch pulled on me at my MW/OB practice and found out at 30 weeks of some pretty unacceptable restrictions the OBs & hospital were going to put on my birth. It took me a couple weeks to research where else to go & who to use but by 34 wks I switched to a truly supportive MW practice.
If this tool is freaking you out, that's enough reason to go but I don't recommend waiting to talk the other Doc because you are right, there will be no control over who you end up with. And unless you are truly deformed or baby gets stuck in an unfavorable position (which a MW will help you reposition) there is no such thing as a baby who is "too big" to get out.
Start doing your research now on who is natural friendly in your area - a MW practice will be your best bet. When I called around here 35-36 wks was the cut-off to switch for most practices. To make things faster, go in and request a copy of your records from your OB and when they ask why, tell them. If you are going to get any guarantees that Dr Toolio won't attend you or pressure his partner into CSing you, you will get it then or not at all. Good luck & stick to your guns!
Nope. I switched at 25 weeks then again at 32. A provider who is truly supportive of natural birth will probably be accustomed to receiving patients late in the game after the women have run into problems with their original provider and their birth plan. My local ICAN chapter was the resource I used to quickly find supportive providers.
I think previous poster's suggestion to hire a doula if you're going to stay is a good option as well.
I don't think it's too late to switch. I switched at 20w (granted, not as far along as you) but it was no problem. My old OB transfered my file to the new MW, she looked it over, asked some additional questions, and that was it.
If I was you I would feel a lot better with a new doctor. Having someone basically tell me that I would need drugs is so not cool in my book.
I agree...it is not too late at all! Best of luck finding someone who is more supportive of your goals!
i switched from an OB to a MW at 26 weeks and had my first appointment wtih them at 28. they accept moms until 42 weeks!
i think if it's somethign you are really concerned about, you should at least look into switching. i've heard that many OBs won't take you past a certain week. can you consider a MW? or lie and say that you just moved to wherever you live and need a new doctor?
do you have a doula? if not, i would def. recommend that you get one as I can see other doctors saying something similar to the one you want to leave. a doula will help shield you from that.
my hypnotherapist does a "fear release" exercise. it has been extremely helpful to me in letting go of my fears related to a repeat of my first labor, which ended in surgical birth. if i were you, i'd look into this too. to get what your doc said out of your head. for good.
I switched doctors at 32 weeks, so it's not too late! But you're definitely borderline (a lot won't take transfers after 28 weeks, but if you talk to them they'll probably bend their rules).
I had a very similar situation to you. It wasn't until I got to about 30 weeks that I told my OB I wanted to discuss birth plans and he gave me a weird look and blew me off, and I realized I wasn't going to get the birth I was hoping for with him.
What I did was start by calling doulas recommended by friends of mine. I had a really great conversation with one for over an hour on the phone and she gave me the skinny on all the hospitals in town and recommended several practices (everything from OBs/hospitals to midwives/birthcenters) that she thought would be a better fit for what I wanted. The next week I switched to one of her recommendations.
Even if you don't switch, hiring a doula could be a great move for you - they'll help you carry out your desires and remain clear headed. They can't make decisions for you, but they'll serve as a consultant if you get into a situation where teh doctor is recommending medical interventions.
Never too late! I was late twenty-something weeks (28 maybe?) when I switched to a MW practice last time. Somebody on the board switched at 36 wks, I think. You're much better off switching rather than going into L&D dreading what the ob is going to make you do! Can you switch to a MW? That will be a better way of ensuring a natural birth.
Oh, and watch out when you leave the ob practice. Not that everyone would have this experience, but mine told me that if something happened to my baby it would be all my fault since I was switching to a midwife (and told another patient who left that her baby would probably die since she was leaving them to have a MW-assisted home birth). If something negative is said, take it as a BIG sign that you're doing the right thing.
this for sure! i think its SO important to find a place that supports your wishes! just because someone has DR attached to their name, doesnt make them right or mean that you have to do what they say.
It's never too late--start making phone calls right away and mean business.
Also I agree about the 'measuring big' ploy. The only time I have ever found that to be true out of anyone in my peer group including the online GP girls was in a case of near-insulin-dependent GD and the baby was 9.5 lbs. Every single other time the baby was at least an entire pound less than estimated.
Too bad you aren't on the Jersey side of the Hudson. I switched to a great MW practice in early 3rd tri and would totally recommend them to you.
Never too late to switch! Trusting your provider is soooooo important.
Mucho likes purple nails and purple cupcakes
I switched at 36 weeks with DS. And I actually loved the hospital-based midwives I was seeing previously, but just felt that I needed to do homebirth instead. If I hadn't loved my hospital-based midwives, it would have been a super-easy decision to switch.
My homebirth midwife was unfazed by me switching so "late." She has women come to her at 42 weeks when their providers are forcing them into an induction...
Mommy to DD1 (June 2007), DS (January 2010), DD2 (July 2012), and The Next One (EDD 3/31/2015)