1st MW appt not until July 8!!!

[Kari1432]

Hey all! I just found out I was pregnant on Tuesday - HOLY CRAP! YAY! And along with all of my excitement, I also have so many fears (like everyone else).

I scheduled my first midwife appointment around my 9 week mark -- is that late? It seems that a lot of you guys are getting in earlier. Also, from my understanding - do they not even do a scan or something for the heartbeat at the 1st appointment? That's what I'm most nervous about. It sounds like I won't be getting a scan until 12 weeks, and I think I will be dead with worry by then...

Another question -- do you guys see a MW and an Ob-Gyn? I'm really not sure how this process is supposed to work. Let me know your experiences! I'm obviously a newbie and need some HELP!

All that being said, I'm still so freaking excited!

 

[Eternal]

ok, im assuming your in the UK?

9 weeks is about normal, its your booking appt, you will answer loads of questions about your care, what tests you want, your family history etc, you will prob have bloods taken and your height weight.

Your scan will be around 12 weeks, again this is normal, she will probably arrange for your scan at the appt or soon after.

You will not see a consultant unless you have or are likely to have complications, most women just see their MW for their care.

So yes thats normal, some MWs see you a bit earlier but i doubt many would see you before 7 weeks.

Very few women get early scans, the main reason people get early scans is because they have possibly already miscarraied. so get them for other reasons, I got one as i have lost a baby in Jan.

Your MW wont check for a heart beat until you are around 16 weeks, which is usually when your second appt is, so expect that you wont see her after your booking appt until 16 weeks.

 

[Kari1432]

thanks for all of that info! I'm actually in the US, not UK. But I think it's very similar here.

 

[Eternal]

oh, well it could be really different. obviously our care is free here so its the minimum to save cost, if that makes sense. if your paying for your care you may find you get more appts/scans/tests.

If you choose to get an early scan then your best waiting until after 7 weeks, before that your are unlikely to see anything and the heart only starts beating between 6 - 7 weeks so its better waiting until your a little over 7 weeks and you get to see a proper baby with a heart beat.

 

[chobette]

Hi! Congrats, I am in the US as well and could help you. My first appointment was with a nurse practitioner at 6 weeks, then they do appointments every month until like 32 weeks she said, then goes to every 2 weeks. My first SCAN is when I will be 11wks 4 days, and I won't see the heartbeat until then (July 14th for me). It is nerve wracking, but one thing to keep in mind is that what is meant to be will be.

It is normal for your first scan to be at 12 wks, unless you are at high-risk or had past mc's. From now on, I will be seeing an OBGYN, and will rotate to get to know each one, because they rotate on-calls and I wouldn't know at the time of my delivery who is on call. So, my guess is unless you specifically ask for just a midwife, they will also have you see an OBGYN. Really, it's your choice. Good luck!

 

[Beautywithin]

9 week is very normal, and in my area they dont give you your first scan till your 15 weeks, id had a mc 3 month prior to falling pregnant with my son... so know way was i gunna wait that long for a scan..... so i booked myself in for a private scan at 9 weeks, just to give me some peace of mind, maybe its something you can look into x

 

[Kari1432]

Chobette -- are you going to a Birth Center too? I guess I should just call them and see what the deal is with midwife appointments vs ob-gyn.

I have an ob-gyn but I don't like her much, and have had several friends go to the Birth Center where I have my appointment and they loved it, so I wanted to try that route instead.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[cahgirl87]

First of all - Congrats! Welcome aboard!

I'm a bit of a newbie too but just wanted to let you know about my experience so far. I chose a midwife at a very small birth center (only 2 midwives - a mother and daughter team). They are AMAZING! When you go in for your first appointment make sure you are comfortable with your midwife since she will be giving you a lot of care (or same goes if you decided to go with a doctor). If you're not comfortable with the first, there is no shame in realizing it's just not a good 'fit' and looking for another.

From what I've heard, I think most women go in around 8 weeks for their first appointment but I actually waited until 11 weeks. My midwife said they normally wait until 10 weeks (at that particular birth center) for the first appointment to try and hear the heartbeat. I have a tilted uterus though and asked if we would still be able to hear it, since I didn't want to get my hopes up. She suggested we wait until 11 weeks because there would be a much better chance that the uterus would've already tilted back in to the correct possition. So I had my first appointment yesterday and she picked up the baby's heartbeat right away - 170 bpm. That's the moment it all became 'real' to me because up until that point I just felt like I had gained a few pounds and had been sick on and off. Hearing the hb was amazing (now, I know that not everyone can hear the hb when they check with the doppler - I was very lucky to get to hear it).

Unfortunately my insurance only covers one scan so that won't be done until ~20 weeks to determine the sex of the baby. Although I may cave in and just pay for an extra one. Generally you get atleast 2 I think - one at 12 weeks to make sure everything is developing correctly and one at 20 weeks for sex determination. I've seen a lot of posts on here of women who get a lot more than that though.

I'm also in the US. Again, congrats!

 

[Kari1432]

cahgirl -- thanks for all of that information!! you get a gold star for being so patient My appointment is at 9 weeks 1 day. I'm not sure if it's with just a midwife, or midwife and ob-gyn, or what! I should call and ask.

Are you only seeing a midwife, then? I feel like I heard somewhere that you should get looked at "down there" by a ob-gyn when you get pregnant - to check cervix, do a pap, etc. do you know anything about this?

 

[chobette]

Kari -- I go to 2 places, really. I go to the doctor's office for my checkups and then for my scans I go to the birth center.

A mid-wife can generally do just as much as an OBGYN, so really it depends on what your insurance covers. My insurance covers both, so I have been seeing an OBGYN and then the NP at that office. A midwife is trained to the same thing as an OB, so it's your preference. Personally, I feel more comfortable with my OB than I did with the first midwife I saw, so base it off how comfortable you feel.

 

[cahgirl87]

Trust me... I was itching for that first appointment! Couldn't wait! It's very exciting! Time seems to go by so slow but also extremely fast. During the time I was sick it seemed like it was dragging on but at my appointment yesterday I realized I was almost 3 months along! That was crazy to think about.

I am only seeing a midwife. She said they normally do a full physical exam at the first appointment but the receptionist had written down my appointment time wrong (had it on my card as 2:30 when it was supposed to be 2) so she said it was no biggie, that we would do that at the next appointment.
And like the last person said,they do a full exam including pap smear and all that good stuff so if you end up just seeing a midwife I wouldn't worry about it. when I talked to both the mother and daughter midwives they said the same thing that they could pretty much do anything the doctor could do for me, unless there was an emergency and I needed surgery. Are you planning on having your baby at a birth center or a hospital?

cahgirl -- thanks for all of that information!! you get a gold star for being so patient My appointment is at 9 weeks 1 day. I'm not sure if it's with just a midwife, or midwife and ob-gyn, or what! I should call and ask.

Are you only seeing a midwife, then? I feel like I heard somewhere that you should get looked at "down there" by a ob-gyn when you get pregnant - to check cervix, do a pap, etc. do you know anything about this?

 

[xx_Holli_xx]

Hello
first of congratss!!!
im gonna start off by saying i have a midwife i personally like it better then an ob because they take more time to discus concerns and specifics about whats to come.
i heard the babys heartbeat yesterday for the first time (12weeks 1 day) and it was 170.
generally they will do bloods, urine,weight,height,lots of paper work and schedule your 12 week ultrasound(at least that was how it was for me)

 

[tucker07]

Congrats! With my first pregnancy, my first appointment was at 8 weeks with a nurse and just went over family history and had blood test and urine. My next appointment was at 12 weeks to hear heartbeat but it ended in MC at 11 weeks. so this time i have first appointment earlier because of it. and will have a sooner ultrasound.

 

[Kari1432]

cahgirl -- I want to do a birth center. Is that what you're doing, too? I'm feeling a bit more confident about the midwife process now. I actually have an acquaintance who is a midwife (not currently practicing) and she basically walked me through the process yesterday and was very reassuring.

Holli-- Congrats on hearing the heartbeat!!! I'm not sure how I will survive until the 12-week mark without hearing an HB!! Hopefully they can find one at my 9 week appointment... I guess I just have to start believing that everything is going to be fine, and that will get me through the waiting game.

Also, thanks everyone for your comments. This is a great forum I'm excited to have found it!

 

[cahgirl87]

I am going to a (very small) birth center, although it is called the birth cottage since it is pretty much like a regular house. There are 2 midwives that practice there and they are a mother and daughter team. They are both fabulous and I can't imagine going anywhere else for my care. Where I live birth centers aren't a big thing and whenever I thought about having kids I knew I wanted to do it with a midwife, in a birth center, and that it would be a water birth. So far, so good on my checklist If you want to talk more about the birth center thing feel free to PM me. Have a great day!