I'm 37w3d today and had my weekly checkup as well as my cultures done. I've been having contractions lately which I made my doctor aware of. After my cultures she told me I could get dressed and asked if I had any questions. I was pretty confused. It's been 7 years since I had my last child, I also was seeing a different doctor at the time, but around the time I got my cultures done was about the time my doctor started checking to see if I was dilated/effaced at all. Every appointment after that he'd check and see if I've progressed at all. So I asked my new doctor if it'll be my next appointment that she checks, and she kind of just stared at me like I wasn't making sense. She asked what I meant and I told her about my previous child and how my doctor started checking me around this time. She said that "things have changed" since then and they only check if necessary and things "feel like" they're progressing. Is this the new norm? Was my old doctor doing something he shouldn't have/no other doctors really does? Or is my new doctor the one not doing things the way other doctors do? I'm so confused.