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Questions to ask an Obstetrician
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cassiea
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| Hi there, newly pregnant mom, going in for my first appointment. What are the questions that you asked or wish you asked your OB? What would you recommend asking? |
Anonymous
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I am on the same boat as you. I had my first u/s today and have another scheduled in 10 days to confirm it is only one baby and the embryo is progressing well. If everything is fine by then (please God! ) I will "graduate" from my RE to my OB and then I will have my first Ob visit at around 9 weeks pregnant. I don't really have ideas of what to ask, just some random stuff like:
"Do you think I will be able to breastfeed?" (I had breast reduction about 4.5 years ago) And if I should start nipple stimulation, etc. "When can we hear the heartbeat through a doppler?" (so I can rent one) "Can I pleased be tested for toxoplasmosi (sp?)" I have cats and although I have been very carefull during the past years, you never know right? "Can I keep taking medicine X?" (RE said I could until I gradute to OB, and then to ask his permition) "Can I travel (about 10 hrs in airplane) around my 16th week?" "When is the earliest I can have amniocentesis done? If it is around my international trip is it still safe? Or how long should I wait to travel after the test is perfomed?" "How many pounds am I allowed to gain until my next visit? If any at all" "Can I do light exercises?" (Was so excited about the heartbeat today that forgot to ask my RE) "Do you have any patient that delivered in the exact due date?" (Mine is Sept. 11 and I would prefer Sep. 10 or 12 or any other day...) I can only think about those questions for now...not sure what people usually ask. Maybe what you can and cannot eat, if you can color your hair, what medicine to take if you have a cold or headache (things that you don't go to the doctor for); and also which tests you need to have done (bloodwork). Can/should we take our husbands/partners to the first appointment? |
Anonymous
Hi second poster -- you want some answers to your questions from a non OB?  (Don't you just love unsolicited advice?)
Some of your Q's are personal and some are not. A few things jumped out: 1. Cats. If you've had yours for a while, you're probably A-OK. You wouldn't likely have an active toxiplasmosis infection so much as an immunity to it. (I think most of us cat-people do...) 2. Your trip -- 12 hours at 16 weeks. I traveled 20 hours in my first trimester with my OB's blessing (have to tell you it was hell on wheels). By 16 weeks you should be in the "honeymoon trimester" and should be fine to travel if there are no complications. Drink more fluids than you normally would, get up and walk around the plane at least once an hour, wiggle your toes, try not to cross your knees, blah blah blah 3. Tylenol and Benadryl are generally given the green light by many OB's. Most will ok them throughout pregnancy but mine asked me to try not to use them "unless you're dying" during the first trimester. Fortunately, I wasn't ever dying.
4. Light to even moderate exercises are generally considered okay (even encouraged) by most OB's. Worth a quick call to your RE to make sure you don't have any underlying worries like high blood pressure that would put you in the "take it easy" category. Most OB's however, encourage you to just live your life! 5. Food. My OB was awesome about this and said "if you avoided everything all the books and self-pronounced pregnancy experts tell you to avoid you would end up on a diet of white bread and water. (I told him I've heard white bread was bad -- ha ha). My doc only told me not to eat a ton of tuna and to avoid deli meats that come from supermarkets (though I personally think he's overreacting on this one, he's otherwise so easy on the restrictions that it's not a hard one for me to follow). I'm not doing any wine or alcohol, though I think a sip or two won't kill you (lots of different opinions on this). Now, OP -- What you want to ask your OB depends on your birth desires. I personally wanted as natural a birth as my body and baby can handle, so I asked doc: what is your position on routine: - inductions - episiotomies - dilation "schedules" (that can sometimes lead to pitocin if it's not fast enough) - What labor positions do you like? May I move around as I need to in order to get comfortable? - Do you think alternative birth positions are helpful in natural labor? - How much will you be able to actively support me in my quest for a natural labor? - Sometimes interventions are necessary, every mom is different, can you explain to me which interventions happen often, and why? - Who do you share a call schedule with? - if there are other docs in the practice, do they share your birth philosophies? - do you have any problems if I have a birth plan / preferences? (understanding that you can't dictate every little thing that happens) I'm sure there are many more Q's I haven't covered -- others will join in. Good luck and CONGRATULATIONS!
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Anonymous
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In addition to asking your Dr all these questions, you may also want to purchase a book or two that describes your pregnancy from week to week or month to month. These usually have a LOT of information on the dos and don'ts (i.e. exercise, food, hair coloring, mani-pedis, OTC medicine etc). One thing you will find, if you read more than one book, however, is that there aren't a lot of items that everyone agrees on. A lot of the guidelines are absolutely positively proven, others are backed up with some studies where other studies disprove those beliefs, and there are other things which were conventional wisdom for years but we now know were dead wrong. Take for instance, exercise: At one point pregnant women were told to not exercise at all. In this day and age, the general wisdom is that exercise is just as good for pregnant ladies as it is for non pregnant ladies and doctors generally suggest that if you did it before, keep doing it, unless it causes you discomfort (or if you didn't exercise before, get some moderate exercise to keep you and your baby healthy). You gotta wonder what "absolutes" about pregnancy dos/don'ts today will be disproven sometime down the road.
So, just like with anything else health-related, it's a good idea to educate yourself and not depend on your doctor for every shred of information. That will help you better know what questions to ask and which questions may not have a single answer. |
Anonymous
| Seriously--get a book. Something like What to Expect When You're Expecting or another pregnancy book, sign up for the updates on babycenter.com and watch the Discovery Health Channel. There is really no need to get all this info from your OB. It is all out there. I'm on my second pregnancy in 2 years. I read a lot on my own and basically have zero questions at the doctor. It saves everyone time. |