First prenatal visit: HOW PATHETIC!

[naughtoj]

This is my first pregnancy, so therefore my first prenatal visit ever.

They threw a "goodie bag" at me (w/o explaining it BTW) and the doc came in, shook hubby's hand, gave me a hug, did the usual pelvic thing. He said pretty much nothing unless I asked a question r/t PG. He told me I was right where I think I am at in the PG and then was like, "Do you have any questions?"

It was so funny, to me. I mean, here I am, first PG, and he did not go over A THING!! Not, "ok, well this is what your prenatal should have in it", not "don't eat any feta", no "take no meds", I mean NOTHING! I asked a question here and there but because I am an RN and because I have the internet (THANK GOD) I didn't need to ask much. They didn't even explain the visit schedule. NOTHING. When it was clear I was going to ask more than the usual two questions, he ranted off...at the speed of light, most of it I couldn't even understand or interject anything....on the do's and don'ts of PG as he sees it. It was so funny!

When I got home and looked in my goodie bag it was filled with the usual Pregnancy magazine, ads, a little pamphlet on how your baby grows, a xerox sheet outlining what you get when in PG as far as prenatal visits, a handout about foods high in calcium and one for foods high in potassium (but did NOT state the mg requirement for pregnancy-guess I am just supposed to *know* that and BTW-are those the only important nutrients in pregnancy, lol), a bottle of Enfamil (a little early for that), and some supplement called DHEA or something for pregnant moms. I am thinking, why would an OB put a supplemental drug sample in your goodie bag and not even somewhat explain what it is....does he recommend it...could it harm your baby....etc. Seemed almost irresponsible to me.

And that was it! I just couldn't believe not a WORD was uttered personally to me about pregnancy. It's like, WOW, I guess they expect everyone to be pretty well educated from the get go!! It was a real eye opener for me that even with something as big as your first pregnancy, they really spend no time on you at all. Maybe they only bother if you become high risk, lol. I really figured that the first visit would be the long one, they would outline everything, and THEN forget about you. Nope, they forget about you from the start!!!}( x(

Anyone else have such an impersonal experience???

 

[pippa]

I hear ya...After my 2nd pregnancy I considered switching doctors for my 3rd. When I went to make the appointment they said, "the doctor won't see you until your 12 weeks." Now, this was my 3rd so I was okay with that but i thought that was pretty odd considering they didn't know it was my 3rd. I would think they would want to see you right away. I mean, what if I wasn't on prenatal vitamins--do docs just ASSUME all women are now? What if I had an ectopic pregnancy--would they just wait for me to spot, etc.? I realize now that lots of docs do that but i still think it is pretty irresponsible. Needless to say, i didn't switch doctors.

Either way, my regular OB never spent much time with me in the beginning either. Although I will say she did seem to spend more time than your's. You may want to consider switching. You have a long road ahead and you will probably want someone who seems more like they are there for you. I think a lot of doctors just have a wait and see attitude in the beginning. I think they want to wait until your pregnancy is really established(the 2nd trimester) before they really invest any time. I'm don't think it's right but it's certainly the impression I've gotten over the years.

 

[Marnie]

>and some supplement called DHEA or something for pregnant moms

weird that they didn't even explain this to you. i asked my ob about this and she said she doesn't recommend supplements if you eat a healthy diet (which i do).

yes it seems health care has gotten very routine and impersonal! i think pregnancy is so routine to ob/gyn's that they don't think to make it more personal to us first-time moms. health care ain't what it used to be that's for sure! especially at hmo's where you are literally just a patient #

stay well!

 

[melanalyus]

DHEA is an omega fatty acid supplement used to "supplement" brain/mental development in growing fetus. It's the "wonderful" component of fish. It's a great supplement.

As a fellow medical professional (pharmacist), I don't really expect much from my doctors, and what I DO expect I ask for. Did your ob know you were an RN? There's really nothing magical about a Prenatal visit, unless you have ?s or are high risk.

With that said, I'm sorry you had such a negative first visit. At our ob/gyn clinic our first every PN visit was with a PN nurse who spent 90-120 minutes outlining all this material (which I would have rather not listened to). You just can't please all of us!!!!

Congrats on your pg, feel free to ask your ob ANYTHING you want...that's their job.

~Melanie~

Jadon born 11/23/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94

 

[naughtoj]

I know Melanie. I would have died if he talked for 90 min. LOL.

I was just commenting more than complaining. Suprised, really, since we all aren't educated on health topics and because, NO, I don't think they knew I was an RN, but whatever. As long as I hear the heartbeat next week I will be a happy camper.

 

[FitNurseRN]

i have had a similiar expieriece when i went to the ob for the first time. I am also an RN and i think my Ob expected me to be a little more educated on the topic than i am. He really didnt go over too much info with me. I asked him about the fish thing but never a do's and dont's list. I like you have also been online reading differernt things like on baby.com. I have found a lot of good info there. if you have any questions i would write them down to bring them it to the next ob appt so that you will be able have them answered if you do have any.

melissa

 

[simmygirl11]

I just read your post and if you want a more personal experience I would suggest checking into a midwife. My first ob/gyn basically fired me becuase I was asking to many quesitons during my appointments and becuase I wanted to have a natural childbirth. I think from that moment on I was just viewed as a huge liablity. They wanted me out of there and I decided I didn't want to have my baby with them anyway. I immediately scheduled an appointment to see a group of midwives. The experiecne was so completely and totally differnt. My ob appts all lasted about 10 minutes and my midwife appts were always at least an hour. They would take the time to explain to me where I was in my pregnancy and took the time to answer all the questions I had. When I didn't ask quesitons they would look at me and say "this is what you should have asked me". I know a midwife isn't for everyone but I have nothing but positive things to say. They were caring, personal and really took the time to get to know me. I didn't end up getting the natural childbirth I wanted. After 24 hours of labor and only dilating to a 1, I had to have and epidural and drugs to get my labor going. My midwife was able to stay with me and we finally delivered a healthy baby bay who is now almost 2. I delivered at a hospital and if I would of ended up needing any additional help the midwives worked with an ob/gyn group who could step in if need be. I thought it was the best of both worlds. I was able to eat, drink, walk and not be hooked up to machines during my labor but if things weren't going right I had access to all the hospital had to offer. Hope this helps.

Tracy