did you see a maternal fetal specialist? I'm reading Dr. Luke's book and now I think I need one. However, I called a place that has two but you have to have a referral....like if something is wrong with your babies. Did you have to have a referral to your maternal fetal specialist? Or did you just see a regular OB? then if you had problems go see a maternal fetal specialist? Or should I ask the OB I have now to give me a referral to the maternal fetal specialist?
I'm switching because I live in a very small town and our hospital has no NICU at all. I really want to deliver at a hospital with a NICU b/c I know most twins are born at 35 weeks. I also want the best dr. I can get. Not really sure what to do. Any wisdom you could give would be great!
Re: ? about your OBs (even if you've already delivered)
i think you are wise to deliver where there is a NICU. I'm lucky- my regular hospital has one of the best in the area.
My OB had me start seeing the peri from 12w - with my NTS.... then I saw the peri again for a cervical length check at 16w and then go back at 20w for the big US.
i haven't actually seen the DOCTOR at the peri- just had US's done and saw the techs. Everything has been OK so I guess the doc has not been needed. The peris in this area do NOT deliver- so there's no need to see them for more than the extra ultrasounds unless something is wrong.
talk to your OB about it. You should be having more USs done b/c of being twins. My OB is right on board with everything Dr. Luke's book says... it's nice that we both agree on the care/treatment I need.
I think delivering at a hospital with a NICU is a very good idea. Otherwise, you run the risk of your babies needing immediate transfer to a NICU after birth and you'd be seperated from them (which I would think would be super hard). Plus, if there are serious complications, I wouldn't want any time to be lost in transfer (thereby increasing the risk of problems)
I am seeing an OB who is VERY experienced with multiple pregnancies and births. He has a fertility specialist in his practice, so obviously lots of multiples result from that. He will refer immediately if there is a reason to, but does not routinely refer twin pregnancies (he does refer triplets). Find out more about the peri/MFMs, many of them do not do deliveries. They manage your pregnancy in coordination with your OB (in most cases) and then your OB delivers. A lot of OBs aren't comfortable with multiples and/or don't want the added liability, so they like to have an MFM on record saying it's ok to deliver at 35w or whatever. That way if you sue it isn't all on them (sad but true - I work with a lot of MFMs and OBs and have heard this over and over again)
Primarily, I see my OB and he will deliver the boys. I see the peri every 4 weeks when I have an u/s, and he goes over it, talks to me about everything, etc. Someone from MFM will also be present at the delivery. I have risk factors that existed before we even knew there were twins, though, so I would have my OB and MFM even with a singleton.
I agree that delivering at a hospital with a NICU is a very smart idea. Even if you don't need it, it's reassuring to know that there are people there who could take excellent care of your little ones.
I completely agree with everything ChiBride said.
I was in the same situation. I just moved to a really small town, and the OB that I started seeing for this pregnancy didn't really give a hoot that I was having twins and said that I would be treated just like a single pregnancy. I wasn't happy with that because I've already had one set twins...I know I'm high risk and I know the complications that twins could have. So I switched to another OB. After a few visits with them, I was informed that the local hospital doesn't have a NICU, sooooo...I switched again. This time to an OB in Harrisburg (about 45 minutes away), located right IN the hospital, which DOES have a NICU. It is also right down the hall from the MFM specialist that the second OB had already started sending me to, so I try to schedule them both for the same day to minimize the driving.
The old OB had tried to say that they deliver twins all the time at the local hospital without ever needing the NICU and I might be fine. I told them that they can't guarantee that and even if my pregnancy is fine, there might be complications after their births that require immediate care that they cannot give. I also didn't want to be seperated from the babies if they DID have to go to a NICU.
As for the MFM specialist, I was sent to one for my first set of twins due to IUGR, which required more monitoring. This pregnancy, the twins share a placenta, which increases risks, and also I have Crohn's and was losing a great deal of weight in the beginning of the pregnancy (30 lbs. in the first few months of being pregnant), so they want to watch me closely this time around too.
It's up to your OB. If they handle a lot of multple births, and you seem to be doing fine, you might not need a specialist. But you could always ask and inform them that that it's something you would like.
Sorry this turned out to be so long. I hope there was SOMETHING useful in it!