if you miss some prenatal appointments

Tulips21

I was just wondering what happens is you miss some of the third trimester appts.  This every other week thing (followed by every week)- is a little bit much for me and my work schedule.  ( I have to travel for work).

I am at 31 weeks now and he said I am suppose to to every 2 weeks (so 32, 34, 36 and then every week after that).  it should be noted that everything has been A -Okay and I had a 3rd U/s a few weeks ago and everything was okay then too!

I am just wondering if the Dr. will get upset with me if I don't quiet make this schedule. 

ToBeFrank

You'll get a spanking and a time out for being such a bad, bad little girl!

miaomi

Um, I'd think you should go.  Didn't you know you'd have doc appts when you decided to get pregnant?  There is reason they have them...so they can catch any problems that might develop.

BelhurstBride

Talk to your doctor.

rmaxim

It seems to me that keeping your appointments gets more important the closer you get to your due date. I don't know about you, but my Dr told me not to travel 2 months before my due date. But the best thing to do is ask...maybe your Dr would be ok with every 1.5 weeks?

StrawberryAlarmClock

They are so often b/c a lot of things can pop up so close to your due date. Some are not such a big deal, but others (pre-e, for example) can come on suddenly with few symptoms and have tragic consequences if left undetected!

amynicoletta

You say some...how many do you want to miss?

It is a recommended schedule. At 28 weeks I was told I didn't need to come back until 4 weeks since I was doing so well, but now that you are getting closer, you probably need to follow the schedule. Your doctor will tell you at your appointment when they want to see you next. If you tell them you want to wait more weeks, the doc might not recommend that since you're in the home stretch. Unfortunetly doc appts go aliong with the pregnancy territory.

Swainb

I feel like they're a waste of time if your pregnancy is normal anyway. Every week I heard, "sounds like everything is going fine, baby's heartbeat is fine, you're measuring perfect" 5 minutes of actually seeing the doctor (after an hour wait every week) and I was on my way. If you are high risk or have any complications it might be another story. I'm sure if everything is normal the doctor won't freak out if you can't make a few of the appointments. 

APRILMW

My personal opinion is that the appt's are IMPORTANT!  This is the well being of your baby....while things have been good, anything could change.  I'd want the peace of mind, plus its set that the appts are 2 weeks apart for reasons....

Tulips21

I was hoping to maybe wait till 36 weks to go back and then go once a week after that.  He said 36th week is really important...  that's when we discuss labour, delivery and he does the internal...

the rest of them are just, weight, urine, and measurement.

Palan

Well, you probably will be on travel restriction after 36 weeks. As for between now and then, can you schedule the appointments on Monday or Friday and travel in between. We have to travel a lot in my company,  I was put on travel restriction at 32 weeks since I am a higher risk. The company looks for other tasks to be complete without traveling, if that can not be accomodated then STD is the option.

kwinters87

If I refuse an appointment that my dr deems necessary (like tell him that I don't care that he needs to see me and I'm just not gonna try) he will drop me as a patient.  He made that clear before we chose him.  He believes that the weekly appointments are incredibly important and I don't disagree.

synchrosally

BelhurstBride:

Talk to your doctor.

This.

Dec31stBride

Are you traveling 5 days p/week? I traveled until 36 wks with DS but still managed to make all of my appts - they're usually pretty quick. I guess it depends on how flexible your drs office is with scheduling - mine is open Mon - Fri with appts day and night.

Your status can change at any time, so biweekly appts are in your best interest, esp with a demanding work schedule. 

ali_bl-nov05

I wouldn't skip them, they do them for a reason.

Jennicap

I say discuss this with your doctor, but just the basic weight, urine and measurement are all important things to have checked.

waiting4theocean

i have have two apointments a week  starting next week 32. nst on one then nst/sono the other plus they are the reg apointments as well. at least you don't have to do that.

lolagrinnin

Tulips21:

I was hoping to maybe wait till 36 weks to go back and then go once a week after that.  He said 36th week is really important...  that's when we discuss labour, delivery and he does the internal...

the rest of them are just, weight, urine, and measurement.

I'd ask if the doc was ok with you coming in once at 33/34 weeks and then starting the weekly appts at 36.

KristinKD

Even with healthy pregnancies, things can change in a short period of time. There's a reason that they schedule appointments the way they do.

If it really is too much for you to make the appointments every other week, then by all means, ask your doctor if you can work something out, but don't just try to set your own schedule.

MCC1010

Talk to your doctor about your concern over appointments but you need to understand that just because things have been going well so far does not mean that it can't change. My monthly appointments were great until I hit 31 weeks - babys heart rate was not high enough. so we started weekly sonograms and monitoring. I had no problems until then

My bp was fine the whole pregnancy and then bam it spiked in one week from ok to in the 130's/ 90's. It has continued to increase each week since. There are a number of things that can happen and if I hadn't of been on weekly appointments I would not know to watch out for certain symptoms.  The weekly urine test may seem like nothing but that is how the check for pre-e. I know it is not a risk I would take. However, you do what you think is best for you.

MWoodside

Tulips21:

I was hoping to maybe wait till 36 weks to go back and then go once a week after that.  He said 36th week is really important...  that's when we discuss labour, delivery and he does the internal...

the rest of them are just, weight, urine, and measurement.

Right, but if one of those things is "off" it can be a sign of a problem that is an emergency.  I wouldn't miss an appt.  I knew what the schedule was before I got pregnant.

cajungirl0717

miaomi:

Um, I'd think you should go.  Didn't you know you'd have doc appts when you decided to get pregnant?  There is reason they have them...so they can catch any problems that might develop.

This. You should work your work schedule around your OB appointments so you can get there. I travel for work too, but as soon as I know when my next appt is, I work my other stuff around that.

blissfully_caffeinated

I've certainly gone a little over what he recommended in terms of timing. Example: if I was supposed to have an appointment every 14 days I would actually have it every 18 days or so. He's never said anything about it. It's just a general guideline. That said, my doctor does think it's important to see him every calendar week after 36 weeks. That's not necessarily every 7 days but just every week.