Switching OBs

momo214 · September 2017

Has anyone dealt with switching OBs? I had my initial appointment with my OB who I was already seeing for gynecological visits. We did bloodwork and my sono. After checking out reviews online I found another OB across the street with amazing reviews whereas my OB has sub-par ratings. I have not had any negative experiences with her other than standard wait time issues and she's split between two offices. Is it worth it to change providers or a major headache? And I just feel guilty leaving. TIA

Poppy0419 · September 2017

A friend of mine just switched at 32 weeks. You can switch whenever. Your body, your birth, your choice.

ivyvines6 · September 2017

Poppy0419 said:

A friend of mine just switched at 32 weeks. You can switch whenever. Your body, your birth, your choice.

Apparently I'm going to copy you tonight.

Poppy0419 · September 2017

nothing else to do when the board is dead and I'm an insomniac already.

nanifrog · September 2017

Switching is no big deal. Meet with the new one and then decide.

JNCPro3130 · September 2017

We switched insurance companies when I was pregnant with DS. It was January and he was born in March. My OB wasn't covered with our new insurance. No one side eyed me at that point.

I agree that you could meet with the new doctor and see what you think. It doesn't hurt to talk to them and see who you prefer.

Saratiff · September 2017

Coming from working in a hospital I don't find reviews quite accurate. My feeling is if your happy with the care you gotten so far, have a good report with them, maybe go to them with the questions you have and if your. If happy with the responses then continue on if not you can move on.

Fwiw patients usually only write bad reviews Or non at all and some practices have taken to have friends and family write positive reviews for them. So grain of salt there. I also switched when I got pregnant with my first due to insurance and I saw the aprn growing up who didn't deliver. It was fine. Good luck

mileswithmyles · September 2017

I switched with DS after my initial appointment. The first OB gave me a bad vibe. He was very much an alarmist. He told me not to run because I "might jolt the baby" and TW told me that the heartbeat was on the low end and that I was high risk. I had just come off of a loss and he totally freaked me out. End TW I got a second opinion from another OB at the same practice and was so happy. At my first appointment with him, he apologized for his black eye that he got from tripping while on a trail run. He let me run the whole pregnancy and I felt like he listened to me.

I also agree with @Saratiff. If you like your OB that's all that matters. I know someone who loves the first doctor I saw and didn't like my OB because he has a dry sense of humor. Different strokes for different folks.

bwow615 · September 2017

I switched with my first due to my first OB moving to a group practice out of a further away hospital. I was at least 6 months along, I really considered staying with her, but that drive was not feasible in the case of an emergency. It was a little bit of a hassle to get my medical records moved but other than that it was fine.

holli0801 · September 2017

I do agree with @Saratiff about reviews. But, it doesn't hurt to interview a new provider if you aren't 100% sure.
I don't think it's a big deal to switch. I switched at 10 weeks last time bc I wanted to deliver at a different hospital and have an OB closer to home (it's entirely different to drive out of your way once a year, than to drive a distance during pregnancy). This time I plan to switch after my first scan. I like the OB, but I want a birth center, so switching to midwife.
If you do decide to switch, and you feel uncomfortable calling and canceling further appts you can always tell them it's about the hospital where you want to deliver, or something. They won't know.

justsuzie · September 2017

I switched at 6 weeks. I meet my new one on Monday. Some women switch later on in PG once they figure out what hospital they want to deliver at.

desertdweller21 · September 2017

I actually set up two appointments with different practices, so I'll have to select just one soon. I'm almost ready to leave my RE and my preferred choice can't see me until week 14. That seems too late as I'm AMA and want all possible non-invasive screenings to ease my mind. I found another doctor I'm seeing next week (at 9 weeks). Now I'm torn lol. My preferred doctor (whom I'm never seen) is a younger woman my friend loved with great reviews. The other doctor is an older man who does ultrasounds every month in house (which is cool for my PGAL brain). He also has great overall reviews, but a few reviews negatively stood out (concerned about weight gain, high induction rate, not taking FTM concerns seriously (which in one case supposedly resulted in a mc)). I plan to meet with both and go from there. I do feel a little unsure about what I should do with my RE records...have them send them to both practices?

sandbar517 · September 2017

@desertdweller-2 You could either just get a copy for yourself and physically take them to both appointments, otherwise I would wait until you make a final decision before having them sent to that office.

desertdweller21 · September 2017

@sandbar517 Thanks, that makes sense!

zizzabell523 · September 2017

I don't have experience switching during pregnancy, but I am with a different OB for this pregnancy than I was with DD. I have to agree with @Saratiff on the reviews. My new OB didn't have many good reviews, but he's fairly new to the area, so those with chips on their shoulders are going to be the first to say something instead of those with good experiences. (Insert small town drama here.) My first impression of him is amazing and I wish he'd been around for DD!

Good luck and know that you should feel comfortable with your Dr. Afterall, (s)he's taking care of 2+ humans. You want the right fit!

momo214 · September 2017

Thanks for the advice! im never good at making decisions. The feedback is very helpful.

mommabmb · September 2017

I didn't change, I was lucky to have the same for the prior two and my current Pregnancy. But- I think it's super important to remember that your OB might not deliver your baby anyway. When my son came, my OB was off and another doc at the practice delivered. I did not like him, but at that point, I wasn't in a position to argue. So, just remember- you need to like your doc but it's possible they won't deliver after all.

Side note: for my daughter, he just happened to be at the hospital when I got there and he left another lady in slow labor to come deliver my baby that was practically falling out of me. I was so glad he was there, but that baby was coming and I didn't care if it was him or baby Jesus himself catching her.

pandakov · September 2017

Saratiff said:

Coming from working in a hospital I don't find reviews quite accurate.

This. 110%

Now, having said that, I'm actually considering switching providers as well. I've been going to the same OB for 8 years - he's great, and I love him but I think I want to use a midwife this time around. I have an appointment with a midwife group tomorrow, actually. So I definetly don't think there's anything wrong with interviewing other providers.

Just try not to get caught up in "reviews". My experience has been that sometimes the doctors with the best outcomes don't always have the best online review.

momo214 · September 2017

@pandakov and @Saratiff I totally agree regarding online reviews. I still like to consider it a good starting point. And my current OB is not the center of the bad reviews, but the clinic in general... just standard doctor gripes like wait times and billing.

@mommabmb Solid point on delivery. My current OB is split between two clinics and hospitals about 45 minutes apart. The potential doctor is local. While I know even if I switched I may still end up with the on duty OB I hope it might improve my chances of my regular OB delivering. But who knows. That's part of my hold up wondering if it's even worth it.

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