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June 2013 Moms
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First appt. and pelvic exam question

BC&LMBC&LM member
in June 2013 Moms
After having my first official prenatal appointment cancelled by my doctor at the last minute yesterday, I was luckily able to get in for an appointment this morning with another OB in the practice. I was hoping the OB would try to use the Doppler to hear a heartbeat since I am 10 weeks and 2 days, but she said their practice doesn't typically do it until 14 weeks because they often can't hear it earlier. Boo! Other than my vitals, some paperwork, some questions from my doctor about how I have been feeling, and some questions from me about this weeklong headache I have had, she also did a very quick pelvic exam, which she said looked good. She did use the speculum for a minute but then switched to examining by touch.

So here's my possibly stupid question that I should have asked her but didn't think to until later: What can the doctor tell from a pelvic exam? Do they look for the size of the uterus, or what else do they look for? Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question, but I was just wondering if this type of exam actually tells the doctor anything about how the baby is doing.

She also brought up the possibility of having an NT scan, which my husband and I had already decided we wanted to do, so we should get to see the baby again in the next 1 to 3 weeks. I am not sure when our scan will be yet because my OB faxes the request to their MFM center, and they contact you with your appointment time. I am hoping everything looks good at the scan!
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Re: First appt. and pelvic exam question

  • jennkg3jennkg3 member
    the pelvic exam I believe is to see the size of the uterus...I told my midwife how concerned I was with hearing the hb and she said if you made it this far your risk for something to be wrong is low even the blighted ovium (which was a big fear of mine) you would have already seen signs of something....sorry it didn't go as you wanted I know that can be a downer

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  • heatherroneousheatherroneous

    They can feel the shape, size, and consistency of the uterus with a pelvic exam. (A pregnant uterus feels spongey and enlarged.) Of course, they are also checking for the usual stuff as well (position and size of the ovaries, presence of cysts, etc). Also position of the cervix and whether it is closed or not. 

     

    There is not much they can tell you about your pregnancy from a pelvic exam... mostly it is to make sure there are no other problems so that you can go on to have a safe, healthy pregnancy.  

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  • BC&LMBC&LM member
    imageJennMikeMcc:
    the pelvic exam I believe is to see the size of the uterus...I told my midwife how concerned I was with hearing the hb and she said if you made it this far your risk for something to be wrong is low even the blighted ovium which was a big fear of mine you would have already seen signs of something....sorry it didn't go as you wanted I know that can be a downer


    Thanks! I'm not super disappointed because I know sometimes they can't hear the heartbeat this early anyway, but I wish she would have at least tried. She wasn't the OB I normally see, and I have a feeling my regular OB would have at least tried to hear it. Oh well! I should hear it at my next appointment or see it at the NT scan.
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  • BC&LMBC&LM member
    imageheatherroneous:
    They can feel the shape, size, and consistency of the uterus with a pelvic exam. A pregnant uterus feels spongey and enlarged. Of course, they are also checking for the usual stuff as well position and size of the ovaries, presence of cysts, etc. Also position of the cervix and whether it is closed or not.nbsp;nbsp;There is not much they can tell you about your pregnancy from a pelvic exam... mostly it is to make sure there are no other problems so that you can go on to have a safe, healthy pregnancy. nbsp;


    Thank you! This is very helpful!
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  • steph_pegasussteph_pegasus member

    I had my first prenatal this a.m. I don't know if its just me, but my uterus and cervix were very tender - they did a pap to make sure there aren't any infections in there, since I've had a UTI for several weeks now. I started spotting a little after, which the OB said is normal since there are a lot of things going on hormonally in there. She also did a pelvic exam to feel for ovaries and uterus.

    DH and I got to hear the heartbeat today! It took the OB a little while to find the fetus, but I'm only 11 wks right now and it was loud and clear. :)

    good luck with your NT scan! 

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  • BC&LMBC&LM member
    imageStephPegasus:
    I had my first prenatal this a.m. I don't know if its just me, but my uterus and cervix were very tender they did a pap to make sure there aren't any infections in there, since I've had a UTI for several weeks now. I started spotting a little after, which the OB said is normal since there are a lot of things going on hormonally in there. She also did a pelvic exam to feel for ovaries and uterus. DH and I got to hear the heartbeat today! It took the OB a little while to find the fetus, but I'm only 11 wks right now and it was loud and clear. :good luck with your NT scan!nbsp;


    My abdomen felt slightly tender after today too. It pretty much went away already, though. I also got spotting after my Pap, but it went away within a day. That was at my annual appointment a few weeks ago; I was a couple of months overdue, so they made me do an annual appointment before my first actual prenatal appointment, which was today. Thanks for the well wishes for the NT!
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