When you alarm your doctor’s arrangement to let them apperceive that you are abundant and you charge to agenda an appointment, you’re apparently abounding with action and anticipation. This is back your doctor will affirm your abundance and adviser you and your baby’s bloom all the way through your big bearing day. That’s appealing exciting!! Now that you’re pregnant, you will activate to see your OB or midwife a lot added frequently and body a altered accord with him or her. And afterwards anniversary appointment, you’ll activate to see why your doctor or midwife is a above allotment of your all-embracing abundance and bearing experience. Sometimes animosity of action can about-face into agitation and apprehension. Those are the extreme things I appetite you to feel on your baby’s bearing day.

First, it’s important to accept what blazon of acquaintance you are ultimately absent for your activity and baby’s birth. Do you appetite an epidural? A planned C-section? An unmediated birth? Already that is determined, you charge to acquisition out if your doctor or midwife is on the aforementioned folio as you and if he/she is the appropriate being to be your affliction provider. (Here are some questions for your OB to advice with that.) But what if you alpha seeing some red flags during your prenatal visits and you’re alpha to accede switching OBs? Do bodies change doctors? Is it too backward to about-face affliction providers? What do I do? I accept several birth doula audience who accept had these questions afterwards abrogating adventures with their antecedent affliction provider. That’s why I’m administration what what you charge to apperceive and what you charge to do if you acquisition yourself absent a new OBGYN.

Getting a New OB: What To Consider

1. What Are Your Doctor’s Action Rates?

Your doctor, doctor’s office, or hospital should be able to acquaint you their action rates. Back allurement about action rates, it should accommodate inductions (for archetype breaking someone’s baptize or application Pitocin–which is acclimated to induce labor), assisted births (episiotomies, vacuum, and forceps) and C-sections. If they are unable–or unwilling–to accommodate you their rates, that’s not a acceptable sign. They may be ambuscade something. And if so, it ability be time to attending for a affliction provider who can acknowledgment those questions and accept fair percentages.

Note: I absolutely animate that you get your doctor’s action ante as able-bodied as the hospital’s. The acumen for this is your doctor may not on-call back you go into labor. You appetite to apperceive that anyone abroad that could be carrying your babyish additionally has acceptable rates, as well.

2. Is Your OB Supportive of Your Activity & Bearing Preferences?

If you adjudge to create a bearing plan, accomplish abiding that you go over it point-by-point with your OB during one of your prenatal visits (or maybe go over it during several accessories if you charge added time). You should be able to actuate during your altercation if he/she is activity to be admiring of your activity and bearing preferences. If you get the activity that they are not 100% on board, you may appetite to amend things.

Another thing, pay absorption if he/she uses the words “let” or “allow” back answering your questions. These words are abundant indicators that they accept they are the accommodation maker for your baby’s birth. Yes, you accept assassin your doctor to affliction for you and your babyish medically, but they ultimately charge your accord with anniversary decision. YOU are the ultimate accommodation maker for your activity and birth. This is a acceptable affair because your activity and baby’s bearing will alive with you for the blow of your life. Educating yourself and surrounding yourself with admiring affliction providers is capital to authoritative it a absolute experience. If you accept approved to assignment this out with your OB after any absolute results, accept to your gut and alpha gluttonous a new affliction provider who will abutment you.

I do appetite to say that it’s accustomed to feel that we charge to accept to doctors and do as they say and leave the decisions in their hands. However, it is your acknowledged appropriate to ask for added information, to accept the allowances and risks to those options, and to debris annihilation they action if it is article that you do not appetite to do, abnormally if it is not a medical emergency. It’s the role of your OB to abutment you with evidence-based advice and care, and to account your role as the mother and key accommodation maker in the bearing process.

3. Ask Yourself These Questions

If you’re accepting additional thoughts, anticipate about why you acquire this being as your doctor. Was this the doctor that you’ve had back you were a teenager? Did a acquaintance or about recommended him/her? Did they acquire amazing reviews and acquire your insurance? Is their appointment area acceptable to you? These are important questions to ask yourself so that you can bethink why you initially chose him/her and if you chose them for the best reasons.

We absorb so abundant time authoritative decisions on added above activity choices. For example, back we buy a car, or planning a wedding, or alike planning baby’s nursery or what adventurer to get. But back it comes time to planning and advancing for baby’s birth, abounding bodies absorb a atom of that time preparing. Do yourself a favor and absorb added time acquirements what you absolutely appetite for your abundance and bearing care. The added you apperceive the added empowered you will be. You’ll be animated you did. 🙂

4. It’s Never Too Backward to Change to a Different OB

I’ve alone had birth doula audience change to a altered doctor all the way at 38 weeks abundant because they acquainted it wasn’t the appropriate fit. They didn’t feel absolutely accurate and they knew that they capital a altered aftereffect at their baby’s birth. I absolutely don’t acclaim cat-and-mouse this continued to about-face doctors. However, I do appetite anybody to apperceive that if you are that far forth and you’re absolutely not activity supported, you can get a new doctor. It may be added difficult to acquisition addition that still has availability, but it is possible. You’re never too far forth to get a new OB. So as anon as you alpha seeing those red flags alpha attractive at your added options. I don’t appetite you to feel like you accept bound options because you’re authoritative this change backward in your pregnancy.

5. Don’t Feel Bad for Your Doctor

Look, I absolutely accept that it can feel awkward “breaking up” with your doctor for your birth. But admonish yourself that this is a business transaction. This isn’t annihilation personal, it’s aloof not the best fit for you. Affluence of bodies abide seeing their OBGYN for gynecological visits, but see addition abroad as their obstetrician. Aloof accumulate reminding yourself that you are the one advantageous the medical and hospital bills. You are the chump and as the customer, you accept the appropriate to about-face affliction providers and should feel annoyed with your experience. Would you feel bad if you absitively to about-face to a altered dentist or chiropractor because you were unhappy? No!

Whether you are at a salon accepting your beard done or at the hospital accepting a baby, it is a account that is actuality rendered. This is all allotment of their job. You should never feel bad for addition abroad if it is alone activity to advice you accept a bigger experience.

Getting a New OB: What to Do

1. Agenda Consultations

Before you about-face doctors, you’ll charge to do your analysis on who you would like to be your new affliction provider. You shouldn’t acquire a botheration award added options anytime afore 32 or 34 weeks pregnant. I acclaim account reviews, allurement friends, allurement ancestors and bounded doulas. Doulas acquire apparent abounding doctors assignment immediate and apperceive who’s abundant and who’s not. See which doctors are the best accordant with your wants and wishes. Of course, accomplish abiding that those doctors acquire your insurance.

Once you acquire bent a few abeyant abundant doctors (who acquire your insurance), alarm their appointment to see if they acquire availability for your due date. (Some aerial appeal doctors book up quickly.) If they are still accepting patients with your due date, schedule consultations and ask them the questions that are best important to you. Aloof be abiding to accumulate the bad face of your antecedent doctor to a minimum. Accumulate it absolute and accomplish abiding you acknowledgment why you anticipate they would be a abundant fit for you.

2. Get Your Medical Records

Once you accept clearly absitively to switch, you will charge to ask for copies of all of your medical records. You can accept them beatific either to you or anon to your new doctor’s office. Accomplish abiding that they accommodate all tests, lab results, etc. You may accept to appeal your medical annal in autograph and accept to pay for copies. If your doctor has beatific you to a specialist, it’s a acceptable abstraction to ask for copies of the appointment addendum from these visits too.

3. Allege with Your Old Doctor’s Office Manager

Before you accomplish the switch, you should additionally accede speaking to the appointment administrator about your experience. Abounding practices appetite to apperceive if their providers aren’t doing a acceptable job, abnormally if it’s causing you to go about abroad for care.

4. Accede Telling Your Doctor

On your aftermost appointment with your antecedent doctor, accede discussing your affidavit for abrogation him/her. This is the time to do it, but I do acclaim bringing addition with you. Of course, be affable and admiring back accomplishing so because you absolutely don’t appetite to bake any bridges. If you don’t feel adequate accepting this altercation face-to-face, you can consistently address a letter or ample out a form. This is advice that they and their convenance should know.

Good luck to award the best affliction provider for you and best wishes for your accessible activity and bearing day!