Switching obstetrician/hospital after prenatal care begins?

I am curious to know people's thoughts/experiences with switching
obstetricians and hospitals after your prenatal care begins. I am in
my 13th week and saw my OB at 7 weeks (I was experiencing severe
cramping) and again at 11 weeks for my initial OB visit. The doctor
is okay, although I feel like she takes my concerns a bit too lightly
and tends to just order every test under the sun without ever asking
me or even telling me about it. Additionally, after the lab ran a
duplicate set of bloodwork in error, they discovered from a "change"
in my blood type that at my 7-week visit they'd mixed up my results
with someone else's! After leaving a cryptic "You have to call us
immediately" message on my phone and creating a fair amount of panic,
I had to go in and get re-typed. They aren't charging me for the
error, but they haven't really apologized for it, either. Needless to
say, I don't have a lot of faith in the system.

Anyway, at this point, I just am so frustrated that I want to scream
and run. I live in a one-hospital town, so if I switch, I'd be
driving about 45 - 60 minutes for each appointment. Is it worth it,
or am I overreacting?

Carlye
EDD 9-26-04

Carlye wrote:


Anyway, at this point, I just am so frustrated that I want to scream
and run. I live in a one-hospital town, so if I switch, I'd be
driving about 45 - 60 minutes for each appointment. Is it worth it,
or am I overreacting?

I would not hesitate to change if you don't feel
comfortable where you are. What is mildly annoying now
can be *really* troublesome when you're in labor! I
sure wouldn't want to have people I didn't feel good
about attending my labor.
As far as the drive goes, this last pregnancy
I drove a solid hour for every prenatal in order to get
to the only midwives in the area that did homebirths.
It was a pain (particularly at the end of the pregnancy),
but I'd do it again in a heartbeat to have the care providers
I felt best with.

Best wishes,
Ericka

On 15 Mar 2004 15:05:09 -0800, (Carlye) wrote:

I live in a one-hospital town, so if I switch, I'd be
driving about 45 - 60 minutes for each appointment. Is it worth it,
or am I overreacting?

If you don't have faith in their abilities, do you want them attending
your birth if something seriously wrong happens (ie pre-eclampsia)?

I would change if I didn't feel comfortable with the OBs. 45-60 mins
isn't that big of a deal. I used to live in a very small town in
Texas. The closest hospital that delivered was 60 mins away. The
women in our town never had any problems getting to the hospital in
time.


--
Daye
Momma to Jayan and Leopold
See Jayan and Leo: http://www.aloofhosting.com/jayleo/
Updated 28 Feb 2004

In article ,
Carlye wrote:
I am curious to know people's thoughts/experiences with switching
obstetricians and hospitals after your prenatal care begins.

We switched when I was about 19 weeks. I'd always found my OB a little
intimidating. I dreaded going to appointments, and I found I was often not
bothering to ask questions because I didn't want to deal with him. It was
the (early) discussion of my birth plan that made me make the move - while
he seemed to have a fairly non-interventionist perspective on cesareans and
epidurals, the chat we had about episiotomies struck me as blatant fear-
mongering. After some research (primarily through this group - thanks,
everybody!), my DH said "You're not going back to that guy." And I didn't.

I was really nervous about switching. I chose a midwife practice, which
was a health model I'd never explored before. But every week that goes by
I am more convinced that leaving my original OB was the right decision - not
because I like the midwives so much (although I do), but because as I get
closer and closer to actually bringing this child into the world, the more
I am glad I'm not dealing with someone I'm afraid to ask questions of. I've
asked the midwives all kinds of stupid questions, and they never fail to
a) actually answer my question; and b) treat me with respect and kindness.
THAT'S what this first-time pregnant lady needs!

As far as a longer drive goes...the midwife practice is actually closer to
my workplace than my ex-OB's hospital; but it's about an hour from where we
will be living when the baby is born. Not quite the same kind of hassle
as driving an hour for an appointment; but there is no question in my mind
that it's worth it for us. I'd encourage you to make the switch.

Good luck,

Liz
EDD 5/22/04
--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963

SWITCH ASAP

I drive 45 mins. i kinda make a morning and afternoon out of the
day...;-)

Plus you should have nice weather all the was through.....;-)))

Change, be comfortable, dont be a chicken like me...;-))

Good luck....

"Carlye" wrote in message
om...
I am curious to know people's thoughts/experiences with switching
obstetricians and hospitals after your prenatal care begins. I am in
my 13th week

snipped

Carlye,
I switched O/B's at about 17 weeks. I felt that the first one wasn't
competent and took my concerns too lightly. They too didn't handle my
bloodwork properly. Unfortunately, since the switch, I have learned that
this is pretty much the norm where I live, as we have a population that is
growing too quickly for the obstetrical community to handle.
If you don't trust your doctor's competence, by all means, switch.
Remember, they work for you.
Good luck
Alexis

Well, I made the change today. As it turns out, I was able to switch
to a stand-alone family practice clinic (associated with our local
University) just as close to me as my original OB, but without dealing
with the clinic, hospital, and obstetrician I was formerly with. As
soon as I made the change, I felt SO RELIEVED! I know, for me, this
is the right choice. I don't care at all about not being with an
"official" obstetrician -- I am just glad I found someone who is
understanding, sympathetic, and will actually advise me and listen to
my concerns (and hopefully not mix up my bloodwork like my old
place!).

Thanks for all the advice. I know this was the right move.

-Carlye