Is This Normal for Third Trimester of 36 Weeks and 3 Days? ????.

I used to joke with one of my friends that any time we would call into the doctors office and ask then about a symptom, the answer was always,
"Yes, that can be normal".

I swear you tell them your arm fell off and they would say , "oh that's normal."

I had morning sickness every day of my pregnancy, even while I was in labor. The LDR nurse freaked out, My husband said "oh, it must be 7:00 in the morning". And yes it was!

I learned to take the prenatal vitamins after I finished my lunch. It was a tremendous help.

The leaking water with pink discharge, again, CAN be normal, but if you are worried, insist that they check you.

Call first thing in the morning and see if one of the doctors in that group will do a quick check.

If they will not, burst into tears. That always gets their attention, or call another doctor and tell them what is going on.

Hang in there. The baby is almost here.

Prenatal vitamins can really upset your stomach.
It's hard the last few months because the baby is pressing up against your stomach and I felt like I had an acid stomach all the time - I went through bottles of Tums.
(For some reason they think an acid stomach and/or lots of Tums results in a baby with a full head of hair - probably an old wives tale - but our son was born with beautiful hair that was over an inch long and he was never bald.)
It might help to switch to something you can take twice a day rather than take a horse sized pill once a day.
Nibble lot's of small snacks instead of large meals that your stomach just doesn't have room for right now.

The last month my Dr saw me once per week.
A small leak might self heal but what really worries them is a constant trickle.
Amniotic fluid can be confused with pee. Pee smells like pee and amniotic fluid doesn't.
Losing the mucus plug can be slightly bloody - it's like a big piece of snot (sorry for that image, but it is).

I'd be having a hormonal fit with your doctor right now.
"Look, I want to be seen and I want to be seen NOW and if YOU won't see me then I'll find someone who WILL.".
On the one hand I'd want to dress him down but on the other hand I don't want to be fighting with someone who's suppose to be in charge of delivering your child and taking care of you when you are in delivery and in a most vulnerable position.
You are paying this dude for a service and he is giving you the run around.
You might need to fire him and see another doctor who is going to actually pay attention to you and your concerns.
If you do that, don't tell him - just find another doctor and have his office request your files be transferred to your new doctor.

I have a friend who had all-day sickness for her entire pregnancy. There is no 'normal' when it comes to that. I wasn't sick by that point, but I felt like there was no room in my stomach, and so I grazed on food all day and didn't eat meals because there just wasn't space in my stomach for that. For example, instead of eating a sandwich and fruit for lunch at noon, I ate half a sandwich at 10AM, the other half at noon, and then slowly snacked on grapes all afternoon.

Another friend couldn't hold down prenatal vitamins because they upset her stomach, so her OB told her to take 2 children's gummy vitamins instead.

As for leaking fluid - if it's occasional, what could be happening is that the baby kicks or bounces on your bladder occasionally, and you are leaking a little bit of urine when that happens. If you wear a panty liner, you could see the color and smell and that would help figure out if it's amniotic fluid or urine.

All this said - can you find a new OB at this point? See someone else in the current practice? Your OB should be answering these questions, not blowing you off. I was very low risk, and still saw my OB weekly in my last month. And if I ever called the office with any concern, she would have me come in immediately to be checked. Certainly if I was worried I was leaking amniotic fluid, she would have had me in pronto.

See another doctor and get a second opinion.

You need to be your own advocate and ask questions and demand they get answered.

Go back and tell him your two concerns and ask him to elaborate on what is going on. Ask him to explain his answers slowly and in lay persons terms.

Don't be intimidated because he is the doctor. Ultimately, you are in charge.

Good luck!!

I was sick a lot during my 3rd trimester with my oldest and the entire pregnancy with my youngest. I could barely eat anything towards the end. That part is totally normal.

Also, what you're leaking could feel more like a period to you, but it also really could be urine. Baby is pressing on your bladder, and it is very, very common to leak. Still, that doesn't mean it's not amniotic fluid, so don't be afraid to push this point with your doctor.

I'm pretty sure at 36 weeks I saw the doctor once a week.

I like the suggestion to bring someone with you. My husband was really good about asking questions. He could be more insistent than me, but I was also really lucky that my OB/GYN is a great listener. She really does pay attention and takes me seriously.

Keep asking your doctor questions!

If you are worried, go to L&D at the hospital. At this stage they will test for amniotic fluid (to make sure it is not urine or discharge). With my last, I went in twice thinking I was leaking amniotic fluid....but I wasn't. But it calmed my fears. If your dr is not taking you seriously, just go straight to the hospital. That is what they are there for.

You are getting all kinds of red flags. It is up to you to decide what to do about them. This doctor is blowing you off and not responding to your concerns. He will do whatever he wants during your labor and birth!!!! He will not respond to your concerns at the hospital if he does not respond in his office.

Get another doctor if you possibly can. If not, at least seek out a second opinion. Contact your local ICAN chapter - they work to help prevent unnecessary C-sections as well as with moms who have had C-sections. There is a local chapter - they will be able to help you find a second opinion doctor or switch doctors. It is NEVER too late to switch doctors. I had a friend leave her OB while in labor and transfer to another OB at another hospital! Resulted in a great birth versus an imminent C-section. Here is the local ICAN chapter info:
ICAN of Treasure Valley
Serving Idaho Boise, Meridian, Eagle & Nampa
____@____.com

Cheers,
C.

While I don't think you should panic, I think you should be concerned about a doctor who is not answering your questions or taking you seriously. So I'd look into someone else in the same practice or even considering switching - I know that's a hard decision. But I'd certainly say to the doctor that you don't feel heard or validated at all. Is this a high risk specialist? Is he too well known or too important to give you the time you need?

A lot of women leak fluid and it's not a huge problem. It happened to me and everything was fine. My doctor said as long as you're not really gushing a lot, it's okay. He didn't check me either, just told me to call back if the quantity increased. I think he didn't want to be feeling around too much with those delicate membranes, hoping it would heal up. It did.

It's common for women to have a lot of problems with those prenatal vitamins (or any vitamin) upsetting the stomach. Aside from all the raging hormones, as the baby grows, the stomach can get really squished and just not be able to handle too much food at one time. So if you haven't already, cut back to 5-7 small meals a day, just little snacks almost, but with healthy food. You don't say if certain foods are a problem, but if so obviously avoid them. If it's most food, then the quantity can be a problem so really cut back in amounts and then eat every 2 hours. A friend of mine swore by lightly salted almonds - they have protein and healthy fats and they helped her not throw up all the time. If you're taking in fluids, that helps. I don't think it means anything necessarily for labor. If you get too low in blood sugar, you can get nauseated too, so be sure you actually take in some salt and sugar with your fluids.

You're pretty far along now so try not to freak out too much (I know, easier said than done).

Morning sickness seems "normal," your fluid leak is probably normal (discharge and urine) but just ask him to check next time you are there. I was worried about it, and I had to be pretty persistent (the doctor didn't even think about amniotic fluid but I had read about it) and I asked her, and she just used a pH tape to check really fast while I was at a visit. They have it right there on the counter, and then your mind will be at ease! They hear stuff all the time that's no cause for concern but to you this pregnancy is all you can think about, so just be insistent that he check you out.

at 36 weeks it is normal to be at weekly appointments. So it seems like he is not that concerned. How bad is the edema? What is your bp? Are you having headaches or any other visual disturbances?
As far as emesis in pregnancy goes there is no true normal. Keep hydrated.

If your doctor is not taking you seriously, find a new one. I'm not kidding, even this late in the game.

Some women have severe morning sickness throughout their entire pregnancy. It is unusual but not unheard of.

Find a new doctor. There is no excuse for him not to check you if you are worried you're leaking amniotic fluid. Better safe than sorry! If you don't want to find a doctor right now, go to labor and delivery at your hospital. I had to when I was pregnant due to what I thought was a kidney infection and turned out to be shingles. Believe me, it is better to go and find out it's nothing than not go and not know.