My Friends Dr. Dropped Her as a Patient and She Is 38 Weeks Pregnant!

Hi S., Who has your friend seen in the last 10 weeks for medical attention(monitoring the baby)?When I was pregnant I had a standing appointment once a week toward the end of my pregnancies!And while your pregnant you are supposed to go once a month until the last month!!!Has she seen her doctors associate???This does not sound good!Tell your friend to get answers on why she could NOT get an appointment for 10 weeks! The doctor office needs to get her in and she needs to get answers!!!Don't give up!

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Where does she live? She should definitely hire a doctor or midwife ASAP. Also, if she hasn't seen a doctor in over 10 weeks, she should really make sure that everything is ok with the pregnancy. It would be VERY risky to have a baby at home without having any medical care in your last trimester to make sure things are as they should be (i.e. baby is head down and not breech, no problems with blood pressure, there is a virus or something that I remember being tested for at 36-37 weeks etc)

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I am a medical personnel. You know you can SUE him for NEGLIGENCE...by law you can and he is a medical specialist. Did he provide or show you his policy? was there any written policy during her time seeing him? Regardless, by law, we are NOT allowed to reject any patient or whatsoever regarding any type of medical reason...you can also file and submit a formal complaint to the medical board regarding the matter...GO FOT IT!

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My ob dropped me as a patient at 32 weeks so I found a new dr and as I was waiting for them to accept me as a patient (they had to review my med records to see if they would take me on so late in the game) they told me its LAW that the old doctor HAS to provide emergency care for 30 days after they dropped me. But your friend should be able to find a new dr before delivery.

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this sounds fishy. OB/GYN's keep their schedule open-ish because they deal w/ pregnancies. Sounds like there may be another side to this story.

At the beginning of the pregnancy she may have been given information about what the appt schedules would be for the next 9 mos, and if you miss appts we will drop you as a patient. My dr's office books out all the appts on that 1st pregnancy visit. I have no idea if other dr's do the same.

the dr is covering his butt. he hasn't seen her, he doesn't know what is going on w/ her pregnancy, he doesn't want to be the one to deliver. OB/GYN's have the highest malpractice insurance rates out there. They are both in a tough spot.

she can't just walk into an ER when she goes into labor? I shared a room w/ a woman that "never knew she was pregnant" and went into the ER w/ a stomach ache.

good luck

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Hello, First of all, I don't know what is wrong with this doctor! Second, your friend should rethink her idea of having a baby at home with no medical assistance. What if there is a medical emergency? There will be no monitoring to know if the baby's heart beat is normal throughout the labor. What if she hemorrhages? What if the cord is around the baby's neck? There are so many possible problems. I would have her to call some other doctors and see if someone can take on her pregnancy. This is serious.
K. K.

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Ten weeks ago, when your friend had her last appointment, when she came out of the exam room and went to the front, she would have been sent to the appointment desk, to schedule her next appointment.

I feel like we aren't hearing the whole story...and there is an assumption made that the doctor and insurance company are in the wrong here. I'd like to hear the whole story.

Did she cancel her appointment or did they offer her one at a time she either didn't want or felt unable to make? (Such as during work hours.) Doctors do have appointments available. They may be at times you don't prefer or they may double book and you have to wait, but the thing is every OB doctor is aware of the unique needs of pregnant mothers, and the need to see them regularly. They are aware of the laws governing them.

If indeed they did tell her there was absolutely NO appointments available at any time for 10 weeks, then she has legal grounds.

This may sound harsh...Regardless, she should have sought out another doctor long before now if this was so. Her irresponsibility in waiting this long to see any doctor or health care professional could effect her health and may have endangered her baby's life. She needs to find medical care immediately.

If it were me, I would call her doctor this weekend. It not being office hours, she could tell the answering service it was an emergency and ask the doctor to call her. Then she could talk to him personally instead of his office staff. She could explain the situation and ask if he would accept her back and see her immediately on Monday.

Please wish her good luck and be insistant that she get an exam asap.

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How sad that in our litigious society doctors have to practice medicine like this. The OB is actually putting himself in a bind. Since he has dropped your friend as a patient in her 38th week, if anything goes wrong, she can sue the pants off of him. Not that I recommend suing any doctor. No should sue a doctor ever for any reason other than gross criminal negligence or battery! But, I am just saying.... So my thoughts are that your friend should call the doctors office and say, "I haven't been able to get an appointment with your office. Now Dr. X has dropped me as a patient in my 38th week for reasons that are beyond my control. So, if anything goes wrong, I'm holding you accountable."

Another thought, did the doctor drop your friend IN WRITING? If he didn't put it in writing, she may be able to present at the hospital when she goes into labor as a current patient. This may or may not fly with the insurance company. Generally, I would expect a doctor who is making that kind of bold move to put it in writing.

She needs to call her insurance company and explain her situation. She should find her policy and read it. Maybe there is a loophole in it. For instance, if she presents at an emergency room in active labor. She needs to read her policy. It makes no sense that her policy would not cover her unless she is admitted by a physician who is in her network. Certainly the insurance carrier would be obliged to cover her hospital charges if she delivered at a contracted hospital. Anyone could be on call when she delivers. Who knows, maybe the doctors on call will be contracted with her carrier.

As for unassisted childbirths, they can be dangerous. That's a scary proposition. Your friend is 38 weeks along, and she has to overcome her frustration with this situation enough to not consider free birthing as an alternative. I suspect she has not been preparing for it anyway.

It could be safer to find a home birth midwife. In fact, having a birth with a midwife is generally far safer and more humane than having a hospital birth with an OB who is all to ready to section her or cut an episiotomy. But she still needs to be tested for Beta Strep ASAP regardless.

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She should have a doctor or a midwife. I switched at 32 weeks pregnant with my first to a new doctor. If she can't find a doc them she should try calling midwives. Good luck.

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Yes, a Doula is much cheaper than having to pay. However, I would suggest calling the hospital to find out what their procedure is.. maybe whoever is on staff is the one who actually is the one who does the admitting.

Whoa!! What?! Unbelievable!

First of all, she should absolutely not have that baby on her own all by herself. I won't even comment on the doctor because at this point, she should just focus on finding some help instead of pursuing punishment. That can be dealt with later.

She should try :South Coast Midwifrey & Womens
southcoastmidwifery.com
###-###-#### - 4650 Barranca Pky, Irvine, CA

I think they have a couple locations in Orange County, so look into it.

Best of luck to your friend; I hope she finds someone right away to take this unneeded stress away!!

BTW, Kathie K is right! I hemorraged in the hospital right after birth and lost TWO pints of blood! I am soooo happy that I was in a medical setting, let me tell you. And I'm one of those natural types who had no epidural and a doula to assist. All I can say is thank God I wasn't at home.

Call Dr Edwards in Santa Monica. He delivered both my kids and is the best! She will have the baby at St Johns, it is a great place to have your baby. Good Luck. His # is ###-###-####.

Wow. I had a similar thing happen to me. I had been seeing my OB regularly, then at 33 weeks I decided to have a homebirth with a midwife, but I continued seeing my OB regularly just in case I did need to have a hospital birth. I did not tell my OB about my homebirth goal because I knew she was not supportive and I wanted to continue seeing her so I would have established care with a doctor if I needed to go to the hospital. A few days before my due date, I cancelled my scheduled appointment with the doctor (with plenty of notice) because I had seen my midwife and knew everything was fine, and I didn't want to deal with the doctor pushing me to induce labor (she had already been talking about that and my midwife said there was no reason to induce - and I don't like confrontation!). Anyway, after I had cancelled the appointment, the OB personally called me and asked me if I was planning to have a homebirth (she must have figured me out) and I told her I was; though I did not intend to tell her my plans, I wasn't going to lie to her. She said, for that reason, she could no longer see me and she would inform the other doctors in her practice not to see me either if I showed up at the hospital! Though shocked, I knew she was legally required to give me 2 weeks notice if she was going to drop me, and when I replied with that, she said that I had effectively dropped her by cancelling my appointment! I'm pretty sure she had no legal grounds to do that. I know I am perfectly entitled to seek health care, and multiple opinions, from whomever I choose (at least for now) and to cancel and reschedule appointments if I so choose, and everyone was being paid - though the doctor wasn't going to get the big bucks for the hospital birth.

Anyway, I was quite distraught (nice thing to do to a pregnant mommy 3 days before she is due, huh?) but my baby was born about a week later. A wonderful home birth, and we decided not to follow up on the doctor's actions. I had my healthy baby, everything went just as I had wanted, and if anyone ever asks me about that doctor, I tell them I would never see her.

I'm glad your friend found a doctor she likes. I hope all goes well with the birth!

Legally the doctor has to see your friend until she has had time to find a new MD (I think it's like 4-6 weeks). It could be that this MD is a total jerk, but USUALLY they don't drop patients unless there is a really, really, really good reason. Your friend might not have told you the whole truth about why she got dropped. 10 weeks is a long time to go w/out seing an OB. Did she constantly miss or no show her appts? If they really were too booked to get her in then that's a serious problem on their part.

Sounds like you only got part of the story. Something is definately missing. No doctor would just drop a patient without some reason. Maybe she was already thinking of homebirth as an option? Most OBGYN's don't have much to do with homebirth.

I've had two births at home and would never dream of having a hospital birth. Both were assisted. I would have been better off unassisted with the 1st birth, and had a phenominal midwife for the 2nd.

Finding a midwife so late in the game will be tricky. Not sure if your friend wants referrals or not. My midwife was Davi Khalsa for my 2nd birth. I highly reccomend her. Your friend can google her and get referrals for OBGYN's that will take her so late in the game.

This doesn't sound right. NO ob would not give your friend a prenatle followup because he was too booked... unless he's a total psycho. Sorry... but I think like others have mentioned there's more to the story.

first off, a doula is not a medical professional. She will only be a support during the pregnancy with possible medical knowledge, but is not certified to attend deliveries on her own. I highly recommend having one, but a doula should not be (and isn't allowed to be) the only person attending a delivery (unless the baby arrives before the midwife or something like that).

Many areas have a birthing center, and even if you have to cover the cost, it's usually very minimal compared with that of a hospital. AND it's so much nicer than a hospital! You'll be sure to get a natural birth at a birth center or at home, whereas a hospital's staff will try to push you into things you don't want, don't need and will increase the chances of a section.

I simply would feel uncomfortable about going back to a doctor who would do what your doc did. I ditched my doctor early in my pregnancy because he called in sick two appointments in a row! And because I wasn't thrilled about him and I wanted to birth at the birth center in town, but the calling in sick thing was enough for me.

At the very least I would have a friend who is a nurse/midwife with things like oxygen and lidocaine and medical training to be there. They are trained to see problems in the baby and the mom which a non-trained eye would not see.

Home births are perfectly safe - have her contact a midwife and get advice.

I agree with all the people saying you don't have the whole story. The whole thing sounds fishy! OBGYNs do not drop patients for no reason. Obviously your friend is noncompliant and hasn't been going to her appointments. OB's always have appointments available for follow-ups. Your friend just hasn't tried. If she hasn't seen a doctor since her 28th week SHE has put her baby in serious danger. She needs to find a new doctor. Your friend may be saying that she wants to have her baby at home for other reasons. Maybe she really doesn't have insurance. You should try to get the story from her if you really want to help her.

I had a similar experience, but my mid wife left the country on a mental vacation. I called local midwives and found one ! Sacred Entrance worked with us and we had a beautiful birth at home. Please tell your friend not to give up, miracles happen all the time.

Sacred Entrace-www.sacredentrance.com ###-###-####

or you might try Homebirth of LA-###-###-#### (Leslie Stewart)

Did she sign any papers, upon being his patient, that stipulated this "rule?"

Call an attorney... or maybe even the ACLU.

all the best,
Susan

Ok, it is a little unclear. Did the Dr. drop her or did the Dr. drop her insurance carrier which makes a big difference in what she can do. One thing is for sure is that she needs to contact her insurance carrier and notify them to what is going on and they will stear her in the correct direction where everything will be covered and she will be with a Dr that wants to deliver her baby.

wow!! This is a total crock of BS!! I don't see how the OB could do that to her, so late in the game at that. Is it possible for her to make an (immediate) appointment with another OB affiliated with her plan? At this point in the game, I would think that she would have been seeing him every two weeks (before the 10 week marker you referred to) if not every week. Sounds ludicrous to me. Anyway, I had an awesome doula, but I also was able to meet with her during my pregnancy to go over my birth plan, etc... which was over a time period of a few months. I'm not sure if she, or any other doula would take on someone with virtually no notice, but it never hurts to ask. The doula I had is named Tiffany and her number is ###-###-####. Also, I'm not sure which city your friend is in, and that also plays a role in finding a doula. Best of luck to your friend :)

home deliveries are much better option. it is scary to go to the hospital. she is making the right decision.
V.

she needs to call her insurace company and get a referral to a dr that is excepting new patients and if they dont help, get an attorney.

I would call other doctors to see if they would take her. I also would call a attorney and ask them if this is legal. Can she call wic. Where does she live? She needs a doctor. I ended up having a c-sec not planned at all.
Sue