Pregnancy, Parenthood & Playtime

Doula, Birth Advocate, Aspiring Midwife, Mother, and Wife

Changing Providers Mid-Pregnancy

March 18, 2010 at 10:00 am by elwood

I often hear women talking about disliking the practice they are seeing for prenatal care, or even only going there because a friend recommended them, or not wanting to switch practices during their pregnancy. These same women I have noticed a trend with, at least in my circle of friends, all have had a negative birth experience when remaining under the care of a practice they did not care for.

Switching practices, whether it is an OB/GYN office with multiple Doctors, or a practice of a few midwives, or even a solo practice, it is amazingly simple to switch to someone you may be more comfortable with for the duration of your pregnancy.
My first suggestion in deciding to make the move to another practice is to research, and interview other providers before making the final choice to move. You do not want to go through the paperwork and move to a practice you do not like, or do not want to stay with either.

Once you have made the active choice to switch, it is a simple form to request your records be transfused. By law, your previous provider has 30 days to provide your records directly to the new practice.

Sounds simple? It really is!

It is not as scary as some women seem to think, so why stay trapped with a provider you can’t stand?

elwood

Danielle A. Elwood is a Connecticut native, born and raised on the Connecticut shoreline in the Lordship community of Stratford. The Wife of a Veteran Marine, and mother of two small boys, Camden and Benjamin, she works heavily in the pregnancy and birth community, as well as the local shoreline parenting community, all while active as the head of a local nonprofit organization called ICAN, which provides support for mothers who have had cesarean section births. She is a doula by trait and hopes to become a midwife some day. For now she wants to help reach as many mothers as she can through ICAN and education.

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2 Comments »

i almost switched at 32 wks with my 1st son. it was after the doctor told me i was so overweight that my fundal height didn’t matter, (was not that overweight) and that instead of my poached egg on whole wheat toast breakfast, i should have cereal with orange juice. (allergic to milk.)

i should have run in the other direction. instead i was scared to switch and ended up with a c-section.

don’t ever be scared to switch.

Comment by embee — March 18th, 2010 @ 1:47 pm
Given that the whole idea is that they look after you and care for you during your pregnancy I think that if you are unhappy with their care, and so long as you are being reasonable in your expectations of them, you should not be afraid to move to another provider. If they are making you unhappy then they are not doing their job. I would say “vote with your feet” but perhaps “vote with your tummy2 would be more fitting.

Comment by Girdle Gal — March 30th, 2010 @ 3:39 pm

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