FTM, how to find a good OB-GYN

[Anonymous]

OP, most places won’t see you until 12 weeks unless you are considers high risk. Are you 35 or older, do you have any medical conditions, etc.? If not, you will probably be told 12 weeks by most of these practices. If you are interested in NIPT genetics testing, you could mention that and ask to be seen at 10 weeks. Or you could try asking the person on the phone if you could be seen at 8 weeks and mention you have anxiety about waiting to 12 weeks. I think 8 weeks is the earliest you would be able to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay I have a different perspective on this I think than many people and I’m not saying everyone should think this way.

I don’t care at all about my individual relationship with the OB. I trust them to read the chart and assess me. I want a big team with a convenient location and easy access/coordination with an MFM, a lab, and fetal monitoring. WHC fit the bill for me.

As far as personal connection and labor I think the labor nurses are arguably more important than the OB and people don’t interview them.

The midwives seem like a popular option and they are reputed to be better at connection etc so that might be a good option.

Re scheduling I would call back and say yoy need an earlier appointment for a NIPT and maybe they will send you straight to the MFM anyway. Or see if you can do another MedStar location maybe and then transfer later.

Anyway I never met the OB who delivered my kid and haven’t since and she was great and I didn’t care, and that’s okay if that’s not you but it’s also okay if it is you.

It sounds like you had a very straightforward and easy pregnancy. Your advice is terrible for those who don’t share your exact experience, which it atleast sounds like you recognize.

I had an extraordinarily complicated pregnancy (three actually) and totally agree with the PP. I went to Georgetown for similar calculus. And good thing as I did in fact end up needing an MFM and had an emergency c section and my baby went to the NICU. I had a lot of doctors. A couple stand out sure but the idea that I could have interviewed people in the beginning to made the right choice for the end? Ha. The MFMs don't see you until s hits the fan.

Honestly OP pick the place most convenient to your home because you will have a lot of appointments and if you do end up in a complicated pregnancy you will have A LOT of appointments. Pick a convenient safe hospital with access to a NICU and prepare yourself for pregnancy, a process that is at points magical, dehumanizing, demoralizing, disgusting, beautiful, terrifying and yet somehow also makes you feel like a literal superhuman. There will be ups and downs and you want to know that you're in good hands but there isn't really a situation where you will pick one OB and be sure they will be there on D day. So pick a practice you feel comfortable with and just enjoy the ride.

Lol. No you didn’t, or you’d understand the very necessary and non-controversial first principle of finding a doctor you trust.

My first pregnancy ended in hospitalization at 33 weeks for pre eclampsia. I was hospitalized for a week and then sent home for two weeks. I had an emergency c section at 36 weeks and change wheny fluid dropped, my bp spiked again and I got HELLP syndrome. My baby was born 4 pounds and spent two weeks in the Georgetown NICU.

I then had two subsequent pregnancies where I was watched like a hawk and developed post partum pre e each time. Medicated once. I’ve been on mag like 5 times.

I also had hyperemesis which lasted anywhere from 8-30 weeks depending on the pregnancy and was actually significantly more traumatizing than all that could have died stuff. Up to you to decide whether that counts as extraordinarily complicated.

[Anonymous]

DP but also had a really complicated second pregnancy and ended up being seen only by MFM for my entire third trimester, so my original OB (actually a CNM) was irrelevant to my care. I did appreciate that I was already plugged in to a big University clinic, because the process of getting scheduled with an MFM on extremely short notice and getting a fetal MRI was totally seemless.

[Anonymous]

Georgetown is busy seeing all of Foxhall's pregnant women due after January...

It will be easier to schedule after those appointments are complete.

Wait it out for sure and ask to be on a waitlist or call weekly for cancellations.
Good luck, momma!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay I have a different perspective on this I think than many people and I’m not saying everyone should think this way.

I don’t care at all about my individual relationship with the OB. I trust them to read the chart and assess me. I want a big team with a convenient location and easy access/coordination with an MFM, a lab, and fetal monitoring. WHC fit the bill for me.

As far as personal connection and labor I think the labor nurses are arguably more important than the OB and people don’t interview them.

The midwives seem like a popular option and they are reputed to be better at connection etc so that might be a good option.

Re scheduling I would call back and say yoy need an earlier appointment for a NIPT and maybe they will send you straight to the MFM anyway. Or see if you can do another MedStar location maybe and then transfer later.

Anyway I never met the OB who delivered my kid and haven’t since and she was great and I didn’t care, and that’s okay if that’s not you but it’s also okay if it is you.

I'm a different poster and I totally agree with this. (Had a relatively uncomplicated twin pregnancy with a very complicated ending, included delivering at a hospital I'd never set foot in with the OB who was on call.)

[Anonymous]

Call GW Medical Faculty Associates. You won’t get to choose your OB, but someone will have an appointment. It’s a big practice and you won’t know who is delivering you anyway.

As a side note, unless you have reason to believe that your are high risk, 12 weeks is probably okay for a first appointment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, most places won’t see you until 12 weeks unless you are considers high risk. Are you 35 or older, do you have any medical conditions, etc.? If not, you will probably be told 12 weeks by most of these practices. If you are interested in NIPT genetics testing, you could mention that and ask to be seen at 10 weeks. Or you could try asking the person on the phone if you could be seen at 8 weeks and mention you have anxiety about waiting to 12 weeks. I think 8 weeks is the earliest you would be able to get in.

This isn’t true — very normal to be seen between 7-10 weeks for a dating scan and also an appointment before for HCG blood draw.

I would check out CWC downtown or Bloom

[Anonymous]

Congrats! I’m also a FTM and 33 weeks pregnant. It’s definitely overwhelming with all the decisions to make to start!

First - 12 weeks is ABSOLUTELY NOT fine for a first appointment. And whoever thinks it is fine is chancing their life. You should be seen at 6-8 weeks for a dating scan (ultrasound) and that’s very important because you need to be sure the pregnancy isn’t ectopic, blighted ovum etc. There will also be quite a few blood draws and it’s important to do those earlier rather than later to establish your baseline which the doctors can compare to later.

By 10-13 weeks you are already in the middle of things with the NIPT, NT ultrasound (checks for gender, genetic abnormalities and physical abnormalities, Down syndrome etc). As well as a blood draw to see if you’re a carrier for any serious genetic conditions.

Second, I agree with PPs who say 1) try to pick a location close to your house if possible. By third trimester I am coming in every week, often multiple times a week for appts.

2) I agree with PP that you want to pick a system, not a specific OB. You don’t know if your preferred OB will be around when you give birth (also you don’t want to be waiting around for them to get there while in labor - I know I don’t!). Pick a good hospital or midwife system with maternal fetal care centers, NICU etc. not sure why people are saying that’s only good for low risk births, as I’m high risk and I think it’s more important that the hospital and system I go to has the resources to handle my condition if things go sideways - rather than just one OB who may or may not be around.

For me personally I first decided on what hospital I wanted to deliver at and then picked an OB (or rather an OB office) based on that. And at my first appointment I pushed to be sure that the OBs would take any and all concerns seriously, not withhold any tests or monitoring I requested, etc. Basically, at your first appointment (which should be between 6-9 weeks) you can gauge your OB office and see if they’re a good fit for you.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Hmm I delivered at Georgetown within the last year and had a wonderful experience with my main OB and all of the other doctors there. I'd still recommend sticking w/them!

I was a low risk FTM and was seen for a dating scan at 8 weeks on the dot and once again for a scan and NIPT at 12 weeks. Are you sure they won't see you until then? Maybe try to book with another doctor in the practice?

[Anonymous]

I am 27 weeks pregnant high risk ama at MedStar Georgetown and very happy with them. If you can only get 12 weeks with your OB, take any of them. I have only seen the same OB twice. My MFM is consistent but I have an autoimmune that can cause heart block and type one diabetes plus IVF and am 39

[Anonymous]

Easy medicated birth = Bloom?

[Anonymous]

If you’re north enough in NWDC the Chevy Chase MD office of Reiter Hill Johnson is very convenient. They offered me appt even before 8 week for dating scan. They’ve been easy to schedule and if you’re over 35, they happily offer you referrals to sibley MFM and more ultrasounds if you’re the anxious type.

[Anonymous]

All this advice of not being seen until 12 weeks is a cost-cutting measure. It is BAD care. If you have an ectopic pregnancy, before 8 weeks it can be treated non-surgically with methotrexate. After 8 weeks, you are at risk of tube rupture and death or needing surgery to remove it, which can scar the tube or require it to be removed. I hate that we are pretending this is no big deal. I would never accept waiting to be seen until 12 weeks no matter how small the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, most places won’t see you until 12 weeks unless you are considers high risk. Are you 35 or older, do you have any medical conditions, etc.? If not, you will probably be told 12 weeks by most of these practices. If you are interested in NIPT genetics testing, you could mention that and ask to be seen at 10 weeks. Or you could try asking the person on the phone if you could be seen at 8 weeks and mention you have anxiety about waiting to 12 weeks. I think 8 weeks is the earliest you would be able to get in.

This isn’t true — very normal to be seen between 7-10 weeks for a dating scan and also an appointment before for HCG blood draw.

I would check out CWC downtown or Bloom

It depends on the practice. Some don’t do HGC blood draws at all, for example.