@mommiesnuggles - I’m genuinely confused why you are ignoring our suggestions for how to find a doctor for prenatal care while you are searching for a suitable OB.
The fact that a doctor accepts medicaid doesn’t automatically make them a bad doctor. The fact that one or two people have complained on Google doesn’t make them a bad doctor. (Check Yelp! sometime for your favorite restaurant, and you will see what I mean.)
None of us want to be pressured into making health care decisions that we don’t want to make, but how can you know you are making the best decisions for your child if you aren’t even getting the tests done to know what decisions need to be made? There is a huge amount of information on Dr. Google for you to wade through if you feel like your doctor is giving you bad advice. (For example, my OB sent me for a 3hr Glucose test at 14wks- I didn’t understand why because my numbers were in the normal range; I was able to understand my doctor’s reasoning once I did a bit of reading.)
Your consent is required for every procedure that is done on your body. If you don’t want a c-section, then don’t consent to it. If you don’t want to be induced, then don’t consent to it. (If I hadn’t wanted to do the 3hr glucose test, I wouldn’t have, but I also know that I would have been accepting a risk I didn’t want.)
I am sorry that your insurance sucks, and that figuring this out is hard. But sometimes you have to just try a few things (see a couple of doctors) to figure out what works.
Finally, if you don’t like the OB that you are seeing for your prenatal care, then don’t have them deliver. If you walk into a hospital and don’t list a doctor on admission, you will see whoever the doctor on duty is. And your consent will still be required for whatever they do.
@knottieamusements thank you. I was just getting ready to say something similar.
Health care in the US can suck. I totally understand. And when you're limited in your options, it sucks even more. However, there's only so much advice we can give. Many have suggested options and even drs.
I understand pregnancy is a very emotional time, exhausting and frustrating. However, you have to fight for yourself. If you're not willing to even see a dr your insurance covers to see if they may work, then you're doing yourself AND your baby a disservice. You can literally go to a new dr every month until you find one you like if that's what you choose. However, it seems you're throwing yourself a bit of a pity party instead of taking action. /toughlove.
^ this is all true too. I've seen people who hate my dr and it genuinely confuses me because he's gone above and beyond for me. If you aren't even interviewing these Drs, idk how you would make a decision.
Unless New Jersey is weird or weirder than I thought or Medicaid has some ridiculous laws. Choosing to use a doctor that is not covered by your insurance and paying for it out-of-pocket is not insurance fraud. My psychiatrist does not take my insurance. Every time I see her I pay it upfront, out-of-pocket. After that, I submit a claim to my insurance company and they decide what they’re going to cover. Granted, if I went to one that was covered under my insurance I would only have to pick co-pay. However, since I want good care, which seems like something you were seeking I choose to use a psychiatrist that is not covered by my insurance. That’s not a crime and I don’t know why you think it is. Insurance fraud is submitting false claims or using some else’s insurance.
Also, I agree with previous posters who don’t understand why you’re ignoring our suggestions. It sounds to me like you want to stick your middle finger up to the system, you want our sympathy or you think we have some magic loop holes.
As a pregnant woman the most important thing is the health of your baby and these doctors can offer you that care. Maybe they won’t be open to whatever your birth plan is or whatever you think your birth plan should be. I can’t remember whether you’re a first-time mom or an experienced mom, but regardless of whether you’ve done this before or not you should know that labor and delivery are not something that you can plan and have go 100% the way you want every time. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. And honestly even if you got the OB that you wanted you could find yourself in a situation where some other doctor had to deliver your baby because your OB was sick, on vacation or not on call the night you delivered or you could end up with an emergency C section. In One of my FB Mom groups there was a story about a women who refused to be induced at 42 weeks. She was going for NSTs almost daily and her baby died between her NST and her doctors appointment.
My point, sometimes we have to make sacrifices, get medical care.
How do you know these OBs are C-section pushers if you haven't been to any of them? How do you know the care is shitty if you haven't seen any of the OBs on the list?
I get it, I'm on medicaid too and care options can be limited. The rockstar OB I had with DD's pregnancy no longer takes medicaid. It was a huge disappointment but I had to suck it up and find another OB. I just happened to not like that particular doctor, so now I'm trialing others in my area. Many of the OBs that I've heard great things about have 3 stars or less on Google and the OB I didn't like at all had 5 stars. Google or Yelp ratings don't mean much.
Also, one of the lessons I learned with DD is that you're very unlikely to find an OB who will be with you your entire pregnancy AND deliver your baby. I was my doctor's patient for years before I got pregnant and she was there from day 1. I delivered at the hospital that she was affiliated with and was assigned someone I didn't know. And to be completely honest, I spent a grand total of 10 minutes in that person's care. So it didn't end up being all that important of an issue. This time around, I'm finding an OB I like for my prenatal care and I'm touring hospitals until I find one I'm comfortable delivering in. Whether my doctor delivers there or not is no longer a priority when deciding which hospital I'll be going to.
Sometimes you have to prioritize what you need vs. what you want. There are ways to get the care you need in a way that makes you comfortable. But you're not going to get it without doing any work.
Ladybug - April 2013 Dandelion - October 2018 Angel "Aurora" - July 2020 Angel "Sawyer" - May 2021 Angel "Maxine" - January 2022 Angel "Violet" - March 2022 Baby Dove due March 2023
@mommiesnuggles Maybe ask mommy groups local to you if anyone has medicaid and has delivered locally or used local doctors. Your local library/women's center/planned parenthood may have free prenatal/parenting classes where you may meet other women with similar situations as yours. Someone may have first hand experiences with these doctors that can really give you some good advice. I wouldn't go to Google for reviews. I always find myself only complaining about the providers that I don't like and never complimenting the one's that I do.
Re: Jersey Mommas
The fact that a doctor accepts medicaid doesn’t automatically make them a bad doctor. The fact that one or two people have complained on Google doesn’t make them a bad doctor. (Check Yelp! sometime for your favorite restaurant, and you will see what I mean.)
None of us want to be pressured into making health care decisions that we don’t want to make, but how can you know you are making the best decisions for your child if you aren’t even getting the tests done to know what decisions need to be made? There is a huge amount of information on Dr. Google for you to wade through if you feel like your doctor is giving you bad advice. (For example, my OB sent me for a 3hr Glucose test at 14wks- I didn’t understand why because my numbers were in the normal range; I was able to understand my doctor’s reasoning once I did a bit of reading.)
Your consent is required for every procedure that is done on your body. If you don’t want a c-section, then don’t consent to it. If you don’t want to be induced, then don’t consent to it. (If I hadn’t wanted to do the 3hr glucose test, I wouldn’t have, but I also know that I would have been accepting a risk I didn’t want.)
I am sorry that your insurance sucks, and that figuring this out is hard. But sometimes you have to just try a few things (see a couple of doctors) to figure out what works.
Finally, if you don’t like the OB that you are seeing for your prenatal care, then don’t have them deliver. If you walk into a hospital and don’t list a doctor on admission, you will see whoever the doctor on duty is. And your consent will still be required for whatever they do.
Health care in the US can suck. I totally understand. And when you're limited in your options, it sucks even more. However, there's only so much advice we can give. Many have suggested options and even drs.
I understand pregnancy is a very emotional time, exhausting and frustrating. However, you have to fight for yourself. If you're not willing to even see a dr your insurance covers to see if they may work, then you're doing yourself AND your baby a disservice. You can literally go to a new dr every month until you find one you like if that's what you choose. However, it seems you're throwing yourself a bit of a pity party instead of taking action. /toughlove.
Also, I agree with previous posters who don’t understand why you’re ignoring our suggestions. It sounds to me like you want to stick your middle finger up to the system, you want our sympathy or you think we have some magic loop holes.
As a pregnant woman the most important thing is the health of your baby and these doctors can offer you that care. Maybe they won’t be open to whatever your birth plan is or whatever you think your birth plan should be. I can’t remember whether you’re a first-time mom or an experienced mom, but regardless of whether you’ve done this before or not you should know that labor and delivery are not something that you can plan and have go 100% the way you want every time. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. And honestly even if you got the OB that you wanted you could find yourself in a situation where some other doctor had to deliver your baby because your OB was sick, on vacation or not on call the night you delivered or you could end up with an emergency C section. In One of my FB Mom groups there was a story about a women who refused to be induced at 42 weeks. She was going for NSTs almost daily and her baby died between her NST and her doctors appointment.
My point, sometimes we have to make sacrifices, get medical care.
I get it, I'm on medicaid too and care options can be limited. The rockstar OB I had with DD's pregnancy no longer takes medicaid. It was a huge disappointment but I had to suck it up and find another OB. I just happened to not like that particular doctor, so now I'm trialing others in my area. Many of the OBs that I've heard great things about have 3 stars or less on Google and the OB I didn't like at all had 5 stars. Google or Yelp ratings don't mean much.
Also, one of the lessons I learned with DD is that you're very unlikely to find an OB who will be with you your entire pregnancy AND deliver your baby. I was my doctor's patient for years before I got pregnant and she was there from day 1. I delivered at the hospital that she was affiliated with and was assigned someone I didn't know. And to be completely honest, I spent a grand total of 10 minutes in that person's care. So it didn't end up being all that important of an issue. This time around, I'm finding an OB I like for my prenatal care and I'm touring hospitals until I find one I'm comfortable delivering in. Whether my doctor delivers there or not is no longer a priority when deciding which hospital I'll be going to.
Sometimes you have to prioritize what you need vs. what you want. There are ways to get the care you need in a way that makes you comfortable. But you're not going to get it without doing any work.
Dandelion - October 2018
Angel "Aurora" - July 2020
Angel "Sawyer" - May 2021
Angel "Maxine" - January 2022
Angel "Violet" - March 2022
Baby Dove due March 2023