3D ultrasound question.

Akuvikate wrote:
[...]
However I suspect that quite a few women who turn up HIV positive
didn't think their partner cheated on them either.

And quite a few of those would be absolutely right. HIV infection – and
other sexually transmitted diseases – may not produce symptoms until a
long time after infection, and, in many cases, remains asymptomatic.
This means the majority of HIV-positive people at any given time are not
going to have any symptoms. Which, in turn, means it is totally
possible for your partner to remain faithful to you from the second the
two of you first meet and still infect you, because they may already be
a carrier at the time you meet them.

The problem is that STIs get so tied up with ideas of sexual morality
that most people just aren't very good at estimating their risk
realistically, because they can't get past the idea that it's in some
way about being 'good' or 'bad'. So you get all these muddled ideas
like “Now that we've been together for a while and I really know him, we
can stop using condoms.” (If your partner already had an infection at
the time the two of you met, it isn't going to have magically gone away
just because you've been together for a while – if your partner has had
any sexual partners before you, even if their history is on the level of
a quick teenage fumble, then you shouldn't stop using condoms until your
partner has been tested for STIs and found clear. And, of course, for
their safety the same goes for you.) Or “He seems like a really nice
guy who doesn't sleep around. I'm sure he's not the type to have an
STI.” (Guess what? Viruses and bacteria couldn't care less about how
nice you are or what type you are. If they have the chance to hop
aboard, they will. They won't stop to check your personality or sexual
history first. One encounter can be enough for you to get infected.
So, if your partner has never had sex with anyone or injected drugs or
had a blood transfusion, *then* you can be sure they're safe – but it's
not a decision that should be based on their personality or their
likeability.)

So, just asking people whether they want a test for HIV, or for other
STIs, isn't really enough. Of course, people should retain the ultimate
right to decline the test, just as they do for any other test. But if
an HIV test is considered absolutely part of the routine prenatal
testing, as standard as a full blood count, and is presented as such,
then you're going to have far higher testing rates and, hence, a higher
pick-up rate.


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell

So, just asking people whether they want a test for HIV, or for other
STIs, isn't really enough. Of course, people should retain the ultimate
right to decline the test, just as they do for any other test. But if
an HIV test is considered absolutely part of the routine prenatal
testing, as standard as a full blood count, and is presented as such,
then you're going to have far higher testing rates and, hence, a higher
pick-up rate.

Well said Sarah! As it happens, I didn't have the HIV test 2nd time, I
wasn't planning to refuse it, but as I was refusing others my midwife
didn't "offer" it and I saw no reason to ask for it.

Cheers
Anne

Sarah Vaughan schrieb:

So, just asking people whether they want a test for HIV, or for other
STIs, isn't really enough. Of course, people should retain the ultimate
right to decline the test, just as they do for any other test. But if
an HIV test is considered absolutely part of the routine prenatal
testing, as standard as a full blood count, and is presented as such,
then you're going to have far higher testing rates and, hence, a higher
pick-up rate.

Well, in my case I was simply not told what tests would be performed.
That's my complaint really. I don't know if it's different in the US,
but as far as I know in germany they are obligated to tell me what
they're planning to do with my blood, and they didn't. And for a doctor
to not even tell me my results until I asked for them, well, that's just
not even something I'd like to discuss. If I want a HIV test I'll get
one done anonymously and for free at the "Gesundheitsamt" (Health
Office? I don't know if that exists in the states).

There were a lot of other issues at that gynecologist, that's why I'm
not going to go there again. A lot of things he did didn't exactly make
me trust him, like the one time I went in for a monthly checkup and he
asked me "So, what are we going to do today?" and then went and did an
Ultrasound because I didn't have any questions or problems and he
couldn't come up with anything else.

I've got a great midwife, she takes my concerns and wishes seriously and
I feel a lot more comfortable discussing potential problems with her
than with a doctor who gets ****ed off when I tell him "No, I'm not
getting my next blood test done here, my midwife will do that. Besides,
this is the last time I'm coming here, my midwife will do the rest of
the pregnancy checkups." and then he proceeded to a) tell me total BS
about how midwives can't do blood tests (of course they can) and b)
tries to give me another appointment despite me telling him I won't need
one, and besides I'm planning a home birth and even if I won't have a
home birth I sure as hell won't give birth at the hospital he works at
because every single doctor I've seen there so far has been incompetent.
Seriously, I went in because of hemorrhoids and that sad excuse for a
doctor I saw did a 30 minute ultrasound and used about half a bottle of
that jelly and on top of that he accidentally deleted all the info just
as he was getting ready to print the results! And then he had to call
another doctor because he didn't know what to prescribe for the
hemorrhoids he'd barely looked at!

Sorry for that rant, but some people should not be allowed near pregnant
women.

cu
nicole

NL wrote:
Sarah Vaughan schrieb:

So, just asking people whether they want a test for HIV, or for other
STIs, isn't really enough. Of course, people should retain the
ultimate right to decline the test, just as they do for any other
test. But if an HIV test is considered absolutely part of the routine
prenatal testing, as standard as a full blood count, and is presented
as such, then you're going to have far higher testing rates and,
hence, a higher pick-up rate.

Well, in my case I was simply not told what tests would be performed.
That's my complaint really.

And that's a perfectly reasonable complaint. I think the best way to do
it would be along the lines of "OK, we have some routine tests that we
normally do on everyone, unless you have any objections... a blood count
to check you're not anaemic, a test for your blood group, HIV testing
because if we pick up HIV there is treatment that can reduce the risk of
it passing to the baby, urine testing to check for any infection..."
etc. Just a brief explanation of all the tests, with HIV testing
presented as a normal part of it all, and a chance to ask questions.


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell