Pointless (feeling) Appointments?

gaylew5

Maybe it is just my OBGYN group, but i've found most of these 2 week follow up appointments to be pretty useless.  For 3 out of the last 4 appointments (and I know for my next 2 appointments), I just give a urine sample.  The OB asks me if i have any questions or concerns.  She measures my belly and listens to my FHR, and sends me on my merry way.  These appointments last all of 5 minutes... Meanwhile I have to take off the afternoon from work  My gestational diabetes screening at 27 weeks.. and then the sono for baby's head position and testing for group b strep @ 36 weeks is important.  but seriously, i'll have had 3 appointments in between.   When I tried to imply that I would prefer to go a little less frequently, they were like "noo, all of these appointments are very important."  

how do the rest of you ladies feel about these late 2nd/early 3rd tri appointments?

TikiTurtle

The main reason is to check your blood pressure and urine sample to make sure you're not developing preeclampsia. It's not something you want to go undiagnosed. It may seem like a waste of time, but there's a reason for it.

Frogger5

Yup, feel exactly the same. At least mine are still 4 weeks apart - 32, 36, then 38 and 40. Then probably weekly if it comes to that. And I don't even pee in a cup! They weigh me and take my blood pressure, then the OB checks my fundus (doesn't even measure actually, just sort of says, "yup, that feels about right"), takes FHR, asks about questions/concerns, and that's it. The sonos and lab work aren't really connected to the appointments, so I could have totally skipped . .  . well, all of the appointments so far.

But, I know that I (we) are lucky to have such boring appointments, really. If something were wrong, I would of course want more attention. Just seems like a waste if there isn't anything going on. I feel you!

alcrimmins

Almost all of my appointments have been like this. I usually don't have any questions and everything looks good so they send me on my merry way. Annoying, but I don't know what else they would do.

Beckyboutselis

Does your OB have a concern? I'm 30 weeks tomorrow and my appts are still every 4 weeks. Additionally, they don't do a urine check - only weight, BP, FHR, measure belly and answer any questions. It will actually be 5 weeks between appointments before my next one. This one will be 34 weeks, so I'll likely transition to every 2 weeks from then to delivery.

aj1327

Mine are every 2 now that I'm in the 3rd tri. It is annoying to get there, but I'm happy my doctor follows things closely. Better to be safe than sorry I think! I'm close to my doctors office though, and I can leave work at 3:45, so I don't miss work for my appointments.

teather5

I think frequency of your appointments can depend on your provider and/or specific pregnancy. We go every two weeks starting third trimester and then weekly the last 4-5 weeks. That's just standard for the practice.

I agree they do seem pretty pointless by also agree with PP in that they do check to see if you're developing preeclampsia. Unfortunately my doctor doesn't even really ask me if I have questions or even my symptoms... But I always offer them up anyways! I wish it wasn't essentially too late to switch.

Frogger5

teather5 said:

I think frequency of your appointments can depend on your provider and/or specific pregnancy. We go every two weeks starting third trimester and then weekly the last 4-5 weeks. That's just standard for the practice.

I agree they do seem pretty pointless by also agree with PP in that they do check to see if you're developing preeclampsia. Unfortunately my doctor doesn't even really ask me if I have questions or even my symptoms... But I always offer them up anyways! I wish it wasn't essentially too late to switch.

You can still switch if you really aren't happy! If you're just kind of meh, then I guess it's not worth it, but you totally could. Of course, you might like the next one even less!

gaylew5

TikiTurtleBeckyboutselis , no my ob doesn't have any concerns.  i am in my early 30s and have no medical problems and have no scares along the way with this pregnancy. this is just how their practice group runs.

I agree, having boring appointments is a blessing.  I am just working this month in the neonatal ICU (as a senior resident) and i only have one day off a week.. and I either get guilted by my team for leaving early or I have a random Wednesday (and not a weekend day) as my one day off for the week.

gaylew5

My place does every 4 weeks until 28. then every 2 weeks until 36. then every week.

MrsFriede

I know the frustration... I'm having twins so I'm considered high risk, but I'm about as low risk as they come. I have an ultrasound followed by a dr appt every two weeks. The ultrasounds I understand to check growth and FHR, but at my appointments they literally check my BP and ask if I have questions. They don't weigh me, I don't pee in a cup, nothing. My doctors office is a little over an hour drive from my house, I get there for my appointment, wait 30 minutes, have a 45-60 minute ultrasound, wait for over an hour, meet with a doctor for 30 seconds, wait in line for 20 minutes to book the next appointment. It's getting harder and harder to schedule these stupid things around my work schedule...

klkonwi

Yes. Exactly this. I get the reason why but if you are just healthy and trucking a long it is stressful to fit these in and they don't do much while your there !

TLeec16

Just cause your healthy and trucking along doesn't mean something can't change over night or weekly. Yes it may be pointless but it's worth it. I know a few local moms that everything was fine they were almost at the end when they went in for a "pointless" appointnent and there was no heartbeat. It scares me to death.

Frogger5

TLeec16 said:

Just cause your healthy and trucking along doesn't mean something can't change over night or weekly. Yes it may be pointless but it's worth it. I know a few local moms that everything was fine they were almost at the end when they went in for a "pointless" appointnent and there was no heartbeat. It scares me to death.

Yes, but they can't do anything about it if there's already no heartbeat, and you would feel no movement anyway, so how did having that appointment actually help anything?

klkonwi

Apparently @Frogger5 you didn't read a word I said. I said I GET why they have you come but when your doing just fine it seems silly and hard to schedule and pointless. I am an OB nurse and I'm fully aware of why but I also know most women know if something is wrong with their body and are hyper aware ........ Everyone has different view points!

klkonwi

And by @Frogger5 I did not mean you I typed the wrong one. I meant @TLeec16 . So sorry. Wrong typing

klkonwi

Also I am not healthy right now and trucking along lol so I get that they are good and annoying at the same time

kyleegail89

I'm actually shocked that you ladies don't get a urine at every visit. I worked at an OB office for over 2 years (medical assistant at the time) and we got a urine sample on EVERY pregnant patient regardless of if they were normal, high risk, or were there the day before. We always checked for protein and glucose, because you never know how quickly things are going to change.

My office starts every other week appointments at 28 weeks and then every week starting at 36 weeks. They increase in frequency incase something goes wrong because the further along you are the more likely you can develop hypertension and other issues.

I totally get the frustration though, taking off work and going is a huge pain!

Just be glad you're not in my shoes, starting at 32 weeks I have to have biweekly testing ( ultrasound and NST) because I have pregnancy induced hypertension. Not only is it expensive, but I do training for our new medtechs and it's hard to take time 2 days a week.

Either way, ladies, we don't have much longer! Woohoo

katyertl

I also worked at an OB office and would have women complain about this but then I'd have others complain that they wanted more appointments to feel more at ease. No one will ever be happy with it either way.

ksimo6

They never take my urine. Didn't with my daughter either. My appointments are 4 weeks apart until 32 weeks... Then it's every two weeks until 38 weeks. Every week after that. I guess it varies by the doctor and the practice.

ElRuby

Yeah I have same experience... The worst is when I see one of the doctors with poor bedside manner because not only do I feel like I just wasted my afternoon but I also feel like they are annoyed by my presence! (Yes I understand importance of visits and yes I have a choice to only see the nice doctors but who knows what doctor will be on call when I deliver!)

henrytviii

I feel so lucky that my doc is a 3 block walk from my house. I work weekends so I have Fridays off to go in but it stinks to use up time on my only day off. I am low risk but I do feel like these appointment have a point. Always a urine check. 3 weeks ago I had low iron. This week I needed by whooping cough booster and we talked about abdominal supports so I could continue running. I always have list of quick questions on my phone. Things like how soon I can fly with newborn etc. I trust my doc more than the internet. My last pregnancy these final appointments led to extra ultrasounds due to potential IGR or low fluid. I want the checks this time so we can catch that again if needed. So far so good.

amabarne

I'm with you but at this point in my last pregnancy I was going in for bi-weekly external fetal monitoring. I had DD at 34w1d by emergency c-section. I'm glad I was going in every few weeks or else we could've missed her distress. Don't even want to think about it! But it definitely helps me put into perspective how important these quick, "pointless" appts are.

KaLikeAWind

I'm at 30 weeks this week and already at every other week appointments. They started that around week 28. I think it is just the policy for this practice, and I've seen it as an example of the appointment schedule online and in books as well. I don't know if my 'advanced maternal age' plays into the timing of these appointments, either. I don't mind going, gives me a chance to ask a few questions and get pointers for my various aches and pains

lindsladle15

@MrsFriede, if they are hard to schedule, ask if you can schedule all/most of the rest of them the next time you're in there. That's what I did last pregnancy and I plan to do next week when I'm in. It was so helpful with work....especially since appts fill up quickly at doctor's when you are scheduling them so close together.

amabarne

@lindsladle15
That's genius! I had to have an intern see one of my patients yesterday because I forgot to block off enough time to get to my appt. Oops!

virginiaunicorn11

I just had this conversation with DH on Tuesday! We said we just need to be so grateful and hope things stay boring. But it is comforting to see my thoughts typed out by others here, per usual.

Hormonal grateful hugs to you all, and here's hoping for continued boredom!

taboullio84

If you can check all that at work.. I'm not sure what they need you in there for besides money.

HoosOnFirst

Yeah my later appts are at weeks 30, 33, 35 then weekly after that. I heard about this from friends so consciously picked a doc close to work so it didn't kill my whole day each time!

finchfeeder80

My biweekly has quickly turned into weekly. I have a nurse appt next week for a blood pressure check, then my 32 week check in the next week. The following week is a growth check with the mfm. The week after I start weekly biophysical monitoring with the mfm since I'm overweight; and while there hasn't been any issues with me or the baby (except for a slightly elevated bp my last two visits) they want to make sure things stay that way. And at some point in there my OB will start her weekly appts. Which means TWO visits a week. My work is going to be so happy when I finally have this kid and go out on leave. At least I'll have met my annual deductible by d-day!

auburnmamma

I'm just thankful to have boring appointments.

Serenamarr

I am on my dads insurance policy because he is head of pharmacy at a hospital, and as long as I stay within that hospital's network of care I don't have to pay a dime for anything. The downside is we live 2 hours away from there, so every other week OB visits are really really going to stink.

Edit: forgot to say, it is especially frustrating to drive two hours and wait 30 minutes to get in to the room just to have a nurse weigh me and the doc come in for literally 3 minutes and check the heartbeat and send me on my way. I have a scale and Doppler at home.......

thenichleys

The urine tests are very important! I didn't know I had a problem until it came back that blood is in my urine. I had been associating all of my symptoms with pregnancy when I really have a kidney stone. I'm very thankful for the visits every 2 weeks, and hope they return to being boring again soon!

PhoenixFrances

I don't think mine would be so annoying if I got in and out but on average my appointments take two hours!!! That seems ridiculous to me!!!

mghershkowitz

Mine are pretty boring too. I'll probably be with the doctor for 10-15 minutes max. As soon as I arrive to my appointment they have me give them a urine sample. Then they call me into a room, they take my weight and my blood pressure. We wait another 10 minutes or so in the room and the doctor comes in. She measure my belly, gives me an ultrasound, and asks if I have any questions or concerns. Then were done. I'm 30 weeks and I'm not high risk. Probably after this appointment, she'll start scheduling me every 2 weeks.

rolson8947

I don't mind all the appointments. I like to hear her little heartbeat and know that I'm measuring right on schedule. I guess I'd rather have "too many" appointments than not enough. But my office is just half a mile down the road so it's not much of a hassle to get to. They check my urine, BP, and weight every time I go along with the HR and how my belly is measuring so all in all I can't complain

babybean9

I get in with my midwife almost right away and we sit talking for 45 minutes to an hour. I don't mind the appointments and I know the urine test and blood pressure is important.

When I had to do a consult with an OB I waited for 2.5 hours and we spoke for ten minutes. I was pissed.

C6091

gaylew5 said:

Maybe it is just my OBGYN group, but i've found most of these 2 week follow up appointments to be pretty useless.  For 3 out of the last 4 appointments (and I know for my next 2 appointments), I just give a urine sample.  The OB asks me if i have any questions or concerns.  She measures my belly and listens to my FHR, and sends me on my merry way.  These appointments last all of 5 minutes... Meanwhile I have to take off the afternoon from work  My gestational diabetes screening at 27 weeks.. and then the sono for baby's head position and testing for group b strep @ 36 weeks is important.  but seriously, i'll have had 3 appointments in between.   When I tried to imply that I would prefer to go a little less frequently, they were like "noo, all of these appointments are very important."  

how do the rest of you ladies feel about these late 2nd/early 3rd tri appointments?

It's been the same for me. To be honest I'm not feeling any connection or satisfaction after my visits.

Cateash77

I get an ultrasound at every appointment to check growth and confirm position so I like that I get to see Bub every time. The thing I hate is that he weighs me and I inevitably have gained too much or too little each time. It makes me feel quite anxious. Don't get a urine sample and yeah it's frustrating if you have to wait like 30 mins to an hour for a five minute appointment, I am already on Maternity Leave, at 33.5 weeks so it's easier for me. I do remember being very irritated by it when I was working full time and had to reschedule or cancel client appointments to take the whole afternoon off. Not long to go now though.