MFM vs. OB

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Thanks to everyone who offered me advice in one of my previous posts regarding my choice of staying a the hospital and sticking with the maternal fetal medicine practice or going back to my regular OB.  I was worried that I might make the wrong choice, but after my conversations with both offices yesterday, I am pretty confident that I have made the right decision for me right now.

I called the MFM practice last Friday at lunch and left them a message with all of my information.  Their answering message said that someone would call you back within 24 hours.  I assumed those were business hours, so I waited until Monday at lunch to give them another call back and leave another message.  By the time that I was ready to leave for my acupuncture appointment yesterday, I had not heard back from MFM.  I did, however, receive a reminder phone all from my OB about my annual exam that I forgot was scheduled for Wednesday.

On my walk to acupuncture, I called the OB and told them about my situation.  Since I was so frustrated with not being able to get in touch with MFM, I asked if I could convert my annual appointment to an OB intake appointment.  Unfortunately, they would not let me do that.  The scheduler let me speak to a nurse to figure out what I should do next.  The nurse was nice, but not very helpful.  I told her about my three losses and about how I was being seen by a RE.  She asked if I had been through IUI/IVF and I told her about the Femara.  She asked about any drugs I was on currently and I mentioned the Levo.  She told me that I would be fine to start going back there for regular prenatal appointments.  I told her that my only caveat to going there was that I needed regular ultrasounds, at least until I was out of the first trimester.  She put the breaks on right there and told me that it would not be possible to get an ultrasound there until 18 weeks!  I started to get worked up and told her that my RE recommended one at 11 weeks.  She said that insurance would not cover another ultrasound until 18 weeks unless I was bleeding or over 35.  She said they did not treat infertility/early loss patients as high risk. 

I was about ready to cry with frustration at this point.  There was no way I could wait until 18 weeks for my next ultrasound.  I was also totally out of breath from walking over a mile to acupuncture and struggling to hold back tears.  She told me I might best be taken care of at the hospital.  I told her I was trying to get an appointment with no luck.  She commiserated and suggested I call back in a day if I had not heard from them.  I agreed and tearfully hung up the phone.  I was so shocked that even after 3 losses in a row, they would not try to work with me to get another early ultrasound covered by insurance.

My luck would have it that the MFM practice decided to call me back right as I was walking into my acupuncture appointment!  I stepped out so that I could take the call.  The woman apologized for the late returned phone call.  She was well informed of my situation (probably due to my 2 very detailed messages...haha).  She happily placed me with the high risk doctor (who is also a full service OB) that my RE recommended.  I have an intake appointment for next Tuesday and then that will follow with an ultrasound after that.

Such relief!  I think that for me, I need to stay with the hospital.  I think they already get my situation and are willing to work with me to ensure that things are covered by insurance.  They have a state of the art NICU that can handle babies born at 23 weeks or beyond.  Hopefully I won't need that, but it is nice to know.  I am also closer to the Children's Hospital, if necessary. Yeah it might be a pain to have to come into work to go to an appointment, but I am already used to making the trip there from work anyways.  Now I just hope and pray that this baby continues to thrive! 

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10 Comments »

10 Responses to “MFM vs. OB”

  1. Good choice. We need to know that you are being very well taken care of. This is not just some baby, this is OUR baby. Haha.

    But seriously. After the two conversations you had it sounds like you made the right decision. You will feel better knowing that you are getting special care. I would want any extra ultrasounds they would give me.

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    1. Awwww so nice, thanks! :) I hate feeling like I might have made the wrong decision, but right now I actually feel pretty confident that I picked the right choice. I rarely feel like that!

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  2. What an ordeal! I agree with you, good decision-you need the best care! I can't believe your OB wouldn't do ultrasound until 18 weeks! Holy smokes..I'd have a heart attack waiting that long! I can't stop exclamating in this comment!!! :)

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    1. I know right? After 3 miscarriages in a row??? She was like, we can use the doppler in the meantime. No way!! Not a good substitute! Such bad memories of the doppler. :(

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  3. Sounds like it was the right decision for you. I'm praying for you. This is the one! I just know it.

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  4. Good decision but I hate when I have to paths to choose from and initially one path isn't cooperating :-(

    Congrats on being pg.

    .... And nice to meet you!

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    1. Thanks! Congrats on your pregnancy, too!!

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  5. Oh, good. So glad to hear they finally called and scheduled you. Waiting on call backs can be so stressful. You don't want to go to the bathroom for fear you'll miss their call. At least, that's my world. Very good that there's an excellent NICU, too.

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  6. I'm glad things resolved themselves and you feel confident with the path forward!

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