Hi Ladies,
My husband and I are the parents to an incredible little boy who is turning 2 next month. He was born 5 weeks early, and missing part of his right arm. Other than that, thank G-d, he is completely healthy. In every respect he is a normal, healthy and very active little boy and we love him to pieces.
My concern is not about him, but about the fact that we would like to try again for another child sometime soon. I am already very nervous. I know that the chances of something like this happening again are slim, but that doesn't really stop me from being nervous. So I have been on a mission to find a really excellent OB/GYN who is not only extremely qualified, but also able to give excellent emotional support.
I recently met with Dr. Hardwick-Smith. I had to wait a long time time to see her, but was very impressed with her when I did. I was dismayed, however, to find that she and her nurse practitioner switch off seeing patients at the prenatal visits. In other words, I would see her every other month. She is obviously a top notch Dr. b/c when I was there I heard the receptionist tell someone that she was not accepting any new patients.
The ob that I am seeing now is very nice, but I felt that she was more "on top of things". But my ob now can see me at every visit.
So, my question to all of you is how common is it for a Dr. not to see their patients at every visit? Should I go with Dr. Hardwick-Smith even though she won't see me every time or stick with my current ob? Also any advice about not being stressed while pregnant would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
I say pick neither and find one you really like all-around. Neither is worth the sacrifice to make you comfortable!! Especially when you are as nervous as you are.
You should go where you feel comfortable. I don't know where you live, but when I had my 3 the ob that delivered 2 of them was very busy and sometimes only spent 5 minutes with me, sometimes not at all, but I was comfortable with him so it was ok. To me what mattered the most was what he did during the delivery. I had complications with the first that he handled incredibly. I think if issues arise during the pregnancy the DR would make a point to be at your appointments, it's probably just the routine visits that they pass off, especially if they're really good. Ask them how they would handle any issues that may come up and base your deicison accordingly. The most important thing is that you are comfortable with what ever level of care you're receiving.
Hey Lindsay,
I hear you, that is a bit akward when they switch like that. My Dr. switched it up a bit too, but I just tried to roll with it because I liked her. I personally decided that as long as someone was there to "catch" in the delivery room I would be ok. I have a handicapped sister so I too had to fight off feelings of worry after growing up dealing with some of the inconveniences of dealing with a wheelchair, etc. Not to say that I don't adore my sis, I am crazy about her. But of course I wanted my baby boy to have zero problems. But girl, I just had to let it all go and do my best to relax! He is perfect and your little one is too!
Dr. Freda Bowman is an incredible and caring OB/GYN. Her office is located on Med Center Dr in Clear Lake next to the Clear Lake Regional Hospital. She practiced at Kelsey Seybold and then left to start her own practice. The number I have for her is ###-###-####. Please call information to get her office phone number.
Good Luck
I would say, stick to the Dr. that makes you a little at ease..... The doctor that takes time to listen to your concerns. If the assistant can do that...then fine.. with the first preg. being so rough I am sure that they will take precautions and check things closely. Do not let fear make or not make a desicion for you. That is the devil trying to crawl in. Do not let that enter you. Take hold and have faith and God will do the rest. A child is an amazing thing, and you sound like an amazing mom. If you want another child, you should go for it. Sounds like any child would be blessed to have you both as parents.
I completely understand about being nervous because of your son. My son is 26 months old and about to be a big brother next month. He was born with a hole in his diaphragm that caused his intestines to move up into his chest and completely collapse his left lung. We had no idea that he had this issue before he was born and did not discover it until he had to be put on a ventilator because he could not breathe when he was born. He spent 2 months in the NICU at Texas Children's Hospital before he was able to come home and has had 3 surgeries to correct issues related to the hernia he was born with. It took a while for us to feel ready to have another child even though the chances are extremely slim that this could happen again. I have a new OB/GYN this time around. His name is Dr. Phillip Pinell, and I think he is great. He really listens and understands my concerns. The only time I ever saw his assistant was when he was at the hospital with a couple women in labor. She did a scan to confirm everything looked O.K. and then I left, but if anything had concerned her at all I would have been asked to stay until he could return. His office is by Women's Hospital of Texas and he deilvers at both Women's and St. Luke's. I'm leaning toward delivering at St. Luke's because Texas Children's is the NICU for them, and I want to be somewhere I am comfortable in case anything happens again this time. Lots of prayer, support from friends and family, and a good doctor will go a long way to keeping you from getting too nervous. Good luck!
K.
