Can you change doctors mid pregnancy

Make friends with your labor nurse. Labor and delivery nurses are integral to your birth experience. They will not overstep a doctor's orders, confront a doctor for you, or go against hospital protocol their license is at stake , but they may have tips and tricks to help you achieve the birth you want.

By Dana DiFilippo October 03, Save Pin FB More. Below are some reasons why you might consider choosing a new Ob-Gyn or midwife:. Questions are dismissed or unanswered during prenatal appointments You feel uncertain about a suggested treatment or course of action You want a water birth and your practice doesn't allow it You dislike being in a group practice Your provider will not deliver twins or breech baby vaginally Doulas are not encouraged or allowed at birth with the care provider You feel like a "number" Preferences on your birth plan are not allowed or encouraged You move to a new town — or to a new healthcare plan Your pregnancy suddenly grows more complicated.

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Close this dialog window Review for. Back to story Comment on this project. Tell us what you think Thanks for adding your feedback. It is possible, though, that the new pregnancy doctor will still require an official medical records request to ensure they receive all of the records. But some do. And the referral start date needs to be on or before your first appointment. Note that if you need an insurance referral, this is different than a referral form your doctor prints out that just says you are referred to a new physician.

An insurance referral usually needs to be processed through your insurance company. It often includes a start date, an end date, and a confirmation number, depending on your insurance. Try to make your first visit with the new doctor in the normal timeline you need to be seen. I think that I am going to need to find one in the new area I just moved to. I will have to start asking moms who live in the area if they have any good recommendations like you suggested.

All rights reserved. Believe me, they are for me too! Being on call is HARD! However, the convenience of care providers and other birth attendants should not be valued as high as the health and well-being of a mother and her unborn baby. You see, medically unnecessary inductions increase their risk for no good reason.

If your care provider repeatedly brings up induction, especially in the second and early to mid-third trimesters, they may be grooming you for an induction come 39 weeks. Birth plans are an excellent tool for expectant parents. Many care providers do not like or encourage parents to make birth plans. However, I think a better response is for care providers to see this as an opportunity for patient education and communication. If this is the case, pay attention.

If your care provider is unsupportive and inflexible in regards to your birth choices and plans, it may be time to fire your OB or midwife. You really like this person! However, after sharing your intentions of hiring a doula , they say a doula is unnecessary and not to hire one. What would you do? First off, I would want more information. In this situation it may be helpful to do a backwards B. Hop on over here to learn the B. Statistically, a doula that provides continuous labor support is a key player in creating excellent outcomes for mothers and their babies.

According to a Cochrane Review , women who received continuous labor support were:. After gathering information, do a little soul searching and gut checking to see where you stand. If you still want to hire a doula, but your OB disagrees, it may be time to find someone new. Parents need to trust their care providers with big things like their lives and well-being.

Trust should be earned. One way to develop trust between parents and their care providers is to answer questions honestly and with transparency. One of the reasons for this is because of their bait-and-switch tactics. Over and over again, women go to their practice in the first trimester and have conversations that go a little something like this. You can do whatever you want. No problem!

The thing is, once these women get to weeks everything changes. All of the sudden the belief that a woman is capable of birthing her child without medical intervention flies out the window.

Ultrasounds, inductions, and cesareans are scheduled, and new mothers are left feeling traumatized , among other things. A little reconnaissance, perhaps? Keep reading to find out more. After reading this article you likely came to one of two conclusions — your care provider needs to stay or go. A good way to find a new care provider is to ask a variety of women who they chose, but also why they liked them.

Pay attention, however, because what is important to one woman may not be important to you. TIP : A good way to find women to talk to, quickly, is in local Facebook groups. Ask them why they got picked, and what they ended up liking and disliking about their OB. I imagine a conversation like that would be very telling. What about you?

How did you know when it was time to fire your OB or midwife? Leave a comment and share your story. Lindsey VanAlstyne, the creator of Mother Rising, is a childbirth educator, birth doula, postpartum doula, breastfeeding advocate, and placenta encapsulator. This year Mother Rising was featured on Healthline as one of 's best pregnancy blogs. Lindsey lives with her three children in North Florida and is always dreaming of cooler weather. These are correct if the mother does her research.

Doing your research is so important and not just saying you want something done or not done no matter what. I know a mom who wanted her birth to happen exactly the way she wanted it, but she was pushing for 5 hours.

And her baby was stuck and in distress. Thankfully, I switched healthcare providers before getting pregnant with my second child, because I desperately wanted a VBAC. But honestly, I wish I would have switched sooner.

I do take partial blame for my treatment during my first pregnancy and labor. During my pregnancy, my appointments within my OB practice went fine, but they were far from intimate or bonding.

I felt like a number, and to the doctor, I likely was. She did admit, however, that it can be difficult to switch nearing the end of pregnancy, because as a midwife, she hopes to really connect with her patients by providing them with intimate care throughout the process.

Meehleis said that it is easier for women to switch in the middle of pregnancy if they have already had a vaginal delivery, but for first-time moms and those attempting a VBAC, it can get tricky. But because of the unknown with first-time moms and those hoping for a VBAC, it may be wise to switch earlier within your pregnancy.

Meehleis did stress that pregnant women always have options — regardless of where they are in their pregnancy. Meehleis also stressed the fact that women can demand a patient advocate during labor.