Unassisted prenatal care?

Question

Hoping you ladies can offer some advice, (sorry so long) a lot of moms see even stretching out the 4 week prenatal appointments as neglect to their baby but I just don't agree with all the stress of so many unnecessary appointments. Ok so I have an OB and went to my first dating ultrasound and got the basic check my stats bloodwork and generally have nothing against medical care when pregnant. My situation is i'll be traveling a lot while pregnant and feel that this being my third I know my body enough to take care of me and this baby through much of my pregnancy. I've been doing some research and there's whole support groups and books for moms that do it totally on their own conception through birth, I'm not that brave I do plan on going to a hospital for delivery and possibly getting checked out again by ob toward end of 3rd trimester. So I guess I'm asking if anyone here has done this or at least limited their checkups or how often do you go? Thanks in advance!

Answer

It's not illegal there are several support groups who help moms through this and there are a LOT of resources out there for advice. It's not no prenatal care its unassisted, you chart and do many of the same tests the doctors do. Blood pressure/vitals, fetal heart rate, weight, urinalysis for sugar protein and ketones, fundal height etc. I don't have much of a choice as with this new insurance crap I recently moved but still work back and forth from my original home state. You must have insurance in the state you reside and insurance does not cross state lines. Already called insurance company and can get any care I feel I need at an emergency center, just go in and get checked out. As well as delivery being fully covered no matter what state I'm in. You just take your charts with you to the hospital. Babycenter.com has a whole group dedicated to this and was hoping to get some similar support here but guess I'll be switching apps.

Answer

More than likely your pregnancy will be uneventful like previous ones, but the reason for once a month check ups are to make sure it's not the exception. Something like gestational diabetes is symptomless. Checking those vital every month to make sure you are still doing well and your baby is doing okay can prevent complications that could be life threatening. Like what if you had placenta previa and didn't know it because you hadn't had an ultrasound. You could hemmerage. Please reconsider. I know your time is precious, but so is your life and your baby's life.

Answer

You can also look at different care providers. I LOVE my midwives. They don't do any internal exams unless you are in labor and you can refuse those. You can refuse us, tests, etc. it's really just a relaxing conversation with an old friend and them they check your bp, listen to baby and measure you. I wouldn't be comfortable with bunches of ultrasounds and internal exams either.  So this route works really well for me. 
Best of luck whatever you decide!

Answer

It's really all up to you.  I've already turned down ultra sounds that I thought were unnecessary.  I am high risk for diabetes so I'll be going to my appointments but so far I've been stretching them out to every four weeks and had my first one at nine weeks instead of 8.  I feel whatever is you think is best for you and your baby is what you should do.

Answer

I'm UP, don't have time to go to the Dr for them to tell me my bp and weight.. for me it's super unnecessary. I will birth Unassisted as well.

Answer

I had one scan at 36wks and didn't see anyone for antenatal care until I was about 14wks with both kids. Know that you're healthy going into the pregnancy and you're happy with your own knowledge and know when to seek help. If you know the date of your last period and/or the date you conceived, all the better.

Answer

When my mum was pregnant with her 2nd she called the doctor to say she was pregnant and they said “you’ll have to come in a do a test” she said “no, I know I’m pregnant”, they said “you can never be sure, we’ll need a test”. She said “I’m 6 months”. She hated her doctor the first time round, hated that they thought she was young and treated her like a child even though she was married and these were planned, and hated that they kept trying to interfere so she just kept it to herself as long as possible! I’m not quite as extreme as her and I think your choices are better respected these days but I still have my mother’s independent nature and she’s backing me in a natural pregnancy and birth all the way. I’ll only be accepting non-invasive check-ups unless I feel something is wrong.

Answer

I personally just follow the schedule the doctors gave me. This is my first so it reassuring to me to hear the heart beat and be able to ask questions. But the way I look at it is that women have been having babies successfully for millennia -long before doctors or frequent monitoring visits. You do what you feel is best for you and your baby!

Answer

Even though the hospital can't refuse to deliver you they can refuse any pain management. My best friend decided she could do it without a doctor her son was born 2 months early, was super small, and born at home in the bathtub. A lot of complications can be avoided just by going in once a month. You need to do some serious thinking before you go this route. I would hate for something you could have prevented to go wrong

Answer

I didn't go with my 2nd until I was almost 5 months along. No biggie. I'm also not doing prenatals. If you're on top of things and have access in case of emergencies then the choice is yours.

Unassisted prenatal care?

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