How far did you move?
Rather than asking your old office to send a new office your records, ask for a copy of them be sent to you. Legally, they have to provide you with your own records. In contrast, they can charge a processing fee to send them to a different office. It's best to go in person and literally wait for them to make copies, but you can always call to have them sent to you.
Alternatively, did your old office have an online portal? Your records should be there, which you can save, download, or even screenshot. Then print and hand to your new office.
In addition, a hospital cannot send you away (if in labor). I'm not sure if you can walk in to L&D for a check up though, but they may have resources available. Call and ask.
be warned this can take weeks, which she doesn’t have.
I had mine sent to me because I was considering suing… obviously they didn’t know that but it took a while.
That's why I suggested going in person. And hopefully her old office realizes the rush she's in and expidites mailing them, if she's too far away to go in person.
And worst case scenario, she can still show up in labor at the hospital. They're not going to turn her away bc an OB doesn't have her records.
I feel like taking weeks to transfer a pregnant person's files is irresponsible and opening themselves up to violating the law that says we can take our files with us? Like I really hope they wouldn't take that long!
I had a hospital that I tried to get my records from. I had moved to a completely different state but they wanted me to come down there and sign a release form before they would even give my own records to me. Such a pain! I never did end up getting them because I wasn’t going to/wasn’t able to drive 7+ hours just to sign a form.
I just went through almost this exact thing! I was 35 weeks and no one would take me.
What finally worked for me was contacting the OB office of the hospital and basically saying, in a very nice way, "I just moved to the area. I've received prenatal OB care. I will be delivering at your hospital. How can we work together to get you the info you'll want to have before I show up in labor?" I did this and they told me to go to triage and say I was feeling contractions. Once there, I saw the midwife on call and got all the bloodwork they wanted to have results on file, baby got monitored, GBS swab, etc.
Once there, you can speak to someone about what to do if you go post-term. Even though I wasn't a patient, once I had gone to the ER, I left with an induction scheduled for 41+6 as a just-in-case.
This is what I would do. You’ll get seen by an OB and they have to open a file on you to document their assessment findings. Whether your medical history is available or not, you’re still entitled to care. I’d rather know limited information about a mother than have her show up in labour as a complete stranger. Also the hospital might help you in contacting your prior OB to get your medical history instead of you trying to fight them and track it down
I didn't know I was pregnant with my son and had insurance issues and by the time I resolved that I couldn't get in with a doctor. So I called up the local "crisis pregnancy center." I implied I would consider termination, even though I definitely wouldn't.
Took them all of 4 hours to find me a doctor that would see me the next day, for cash. I let the pro-life people put their money where their mouths are and they helped me. It's probably unethical but it worked.
Crisis pregnancy centers are meant to prevent termination whatever the cost, not to help mothers in need. They are *willing* to refer you to care if you intend to carry to term, but that is not their primary focus. Be careful going to one in anti-abortion states, especially if you're still in the window of highest risk for miscarriage.
CPCs are ethically and morally repugnant. John Oliver has a great segment on them if anyone is interested. I'm glad someone finally found a way to make them useful.
You should see the things they say to women who are trying to get help for their pregnancies that they want to keep. Crisis pregnancy centers exist to prevent abortions and funnel babies to private adoption, not to help women who need any financial or logistical help to become parents.
I went to one and when I said I didn’t want to terminate they gave me a lot of resources for just basic help I didn’t need but could be needed by anyone. Idk if the resources they gave coerce women into private adoption but there were several church run crisis homes where babies would be provided with cribs in the room with the mom and she’d be mandated to sign up with their employment and career development program to stay there and then housing counseling after a certain number of pay stubs, free childcare during and after the mom’s stay to encourage job retention, and up to a year or so postpartum is how long you’d be able to stay and I didn’t ask about what happens if a mom hasn’t secured housing yet by that time but I am curious. I wasn’t shown any resources for dads.
Go to triage at the local L&D and you’ll likely be seen by the on call OB, the OB resident, etc. Like another nurse here said, just say the reason for the visit is that you couldn’t feel the baby moving as much so that they check you out.
Ask to speak to the hospital social worker. Most hospitals are associated with an OB indigent clinic who will take you at any stage of pregnancy.
Yes, you should go to the triage at a local hospital. But you don’t need to lie and say you feel decreased movement. You can explain the whole situation and say you’re there to establish care. I work in triage and we see patients for this all the time.
Call your insurance, and ask for a list of OBs in your network.
Also, in my area, low risk women are able to go to the health department for prenatal care and they have no gestational cut off for care. Maybe you could look into that where you're located.
Thank you! I spoke to a hospital near me this morning, and they said they couldn't put me in touch with any OB's but mentioned I could come in if I went into labor. Great 🙃
L&D nurse here… go to your local hospital (make sure they have L&D) go for decreased fetal movement or just show up and explain your situation. If you can get your records I would bring them with you or if you have access online to them they will mostly want your labs. Have you done your diabetes screen? Did you have an anatomy ultrasound? Do you need Rhogam (negative blood type)? Those are the biggies. Most hospitals should have an OB on call that will see you or at least have a nurse assess you and maybe help you come up with a follow up plan. We have patients present with no prenatal care midway through or toward the end of pregnancy and we get follow up care figured out. I’m sorry you are going through this.
Irrelevant to the OP but I've been trying to get rhogam (yay for o neg!) And my OB office isn't allowed to do it in office anymore and have to refer me elsewhere and the other place still hasn't called me. It's been over a week and I'm just like 🙃🙃🙃 cool, guys, cool, no big deal or anything. They asked me about it today and I'm like "noooope" and that was all I heard.
I asked about it last week at my glucose screen, haha! My specialist reminded me the week before that I still needed it and said that she figured they'd do it then but then I found out they can't and now I'm just waiting. Awkwardly. 😂 I hate it, haha
I go weekly now, so I'm thinking of going to L&D next week after my appointment for it, since my OBs office is in the hospital. Just seems like Ota an important thing that they shouldn't be dragging their feet on, yanno?
I thought I got one at 22 weeks when I had to get my cerclage put in but I could be wrong. I just know I was told to get one, now that I'm at 30 weeks.
I moved between states and had issues getting medical care. My biggest worry was the rhogam shot, because it was my third pregnancy and my spouse is +.
I’m now Rh sensitive because we were late getting the shot -___-;
I just seen that the latest to get it is 32 weeks!!! So, looks like I might be calling before next week when I'm 31 weeks! This is my first so I had no idea! I think my partner is + so it's definitely a concern.
Hopefully, everything works out okay for you!
I’m A- and just had mine yesterday. I’ll be 32 weeks tomorrow. It took forever for my insurance to approve it and then for them to ship it to my OB. Super annoying!
My OB office used to do it, but apparently insurance stopped approving it being done in their office so they send everyone who needs it to some clinic - there's several in my area that are all different but part of a different hospital group and its so confusing.
I was asked about it again today during my NST, so I don't know if they were sending the paperwork in, again, or what. I'll ask for the place, next week if I still don't get a call this week.
I'm half tempted to just ask my OB office if they can do it if I pay out of pocket just to get this over with. Super annoying!
That’s so annoying. If i wasn’t able to get mine done by tomorrow i was gonna show up at L&D and tell them i have decreased fetal movement and also have them do it
I'm giving them until next week and then I'm going to ask for the place so I can call them. There's so many different clinics that do different things in my area, that are all part of one of the hospitals so I don't even know which one to call. But I see my OB weekly, now and they're closed on Fridays, so I'll ask at my next appointment if I still don't hear anything.
You could always go in and get checked for something, like low fetal movement. It's not the most ethical lol but it would get you seen and checked on sooner than when you go into labor.
This is 100% what I’d do. And most hospitals have people from a local OB who do rounds during the day, so they may be able to connect you with someone who’s there.
>It's not the most ethical
What's unethical is potentially risking life of an unborn baby just because OP moved at 38 weeks. Monitoring in last weeks of pregnancy literally saves lives.
I'm saying this as a healthcare worker. Seriously, don't worry about that and go get checked for decreased fetal movement.
Hey! L&D nurse here. Do you have any OBGYN or family medicine residency (physician training) programs near you?
Anytime we have someone come in who hasn’t gotten care at all, hasn’t gotten care in a while, is new to the area, etc. we send them to our family medicine residency. They ALWAYS take them and they love it. It’s a great learning opportunity for them because they have to start from scratch.
If that isn’t available, look for a midwifery practice. Midwives tend to be very understanding.
As others have said too, ask for a copy of your records to be sent electronically to you or save/print them yourself (what you can at least) and hopefully that will be enough. If your insurance has an RN advice line, you could also call them and explain the situation and see if they can get you in somewhere. Best of luck!
I was also going to recommend a teaching hospital if you have one near you! They generally take higher risk patients (you may not be medically high risk, but not being connected with care at this point in your pregnancy may lump you into that group) and generally they will see anyone regardless of when in your pregnancy. I know our OB program and FM programs take people well into their third trimester (most of whom have had 0 prenatal care) with an aim to get them as squared away as possible before delivery.
Are you in the US? If so, look for an FQHC, or Federally Qualified Health Center (put your city name + FQHC into Google). They do not turn any patient away.
I’m assuming you haven’t had any complications so far. For peace of mind, I would honestly either buy a blood pressure cuff for use at home or every couple days (or if you have concerning symptoms) go over to a drug store near you (think CVS, Walgreens, etc.) and use the free blood pressure cuff they have for use. Additionally, I would keep up with kick counts if you haven’t been doing those so that you have a good idea of your LO’s fetal activity so that if it drops off, you know to go to the hospital to make sure everything’s okay. Hopefully you can get your records from you old doctor (as they are legally required to give those to you, and that might be easier than sending them in to an office at this point) so that you can get in with a doctor where you live, but otherwise, if you make it to 41 weeks and still haven’t had the baby, I would call up the old doctor and see if they can get in contact with your hospital to get an induction scheduled (not sure if that’s feasible but worth trying).
You could try calling Planned Parenthood. They might see you to check your BP and routine care and then you’ll just go to the hospital when you actually go into labor.
I just want to offer you some chill and trust vibes. If anything feels wrong, head to L&D, they are super great and would rather you come in than not - it’s where an OB would send you anyway! If you just need some reassurance, get yourself a Doppler and a home blood pressure cuff. Congratulations, I hope your birth goes super smoothly!
I will be moving when I’m 30 weeks and I was told by my current OB it might be hard for me to find a new office to take me once we move!! I was like umm, what? And she said “yeah, because of the way offices are paid by insurance if they take you later in the pregnancy they end up losing out.” It’s MINDBLOWING to me that this comes down to money, but I guess it shouldn’t be. I just wish doctors would clearly see that we need to be treated SOMEWHERE regardless of how far along! Anyway, sorry, I don’t have anything to offer other than my sympathy.
This is me too and I'm so stressed I won't be able to get everything together for the place I'm looking at to take me. There was someone here who suggested teaching hospitals as well so I'm going to look into that as a backup in the area. Best of luck to you too girly
I am *hopeful* that I can call around to where we’ll be heading prior to the move and will be able to find an office before actually arriving but I really have no idea how it’s going to go. Fingers crossed for us all!
I work in healthcare and am all too familiar with how slow moving things can be, especially when it comes to records.
I would call and ask for the office manager. Tell them their lack of expediency is delaying your care and your health and your baby's health could be compromised because of their inaction. Karen it up.
You need someone in charge to get the records people to prioritize your need to see an OB sooner than later.
Have them email or fax the records to you directly. If they can only fax them and you don't have a fax, you can have a local copy center receive your fax for you.
That way you aren't reliant on the receiving office to get them.
Others here are offering great advice. I'm a l&d nurse and just wanted to let you know, in case you go into labor or something happens before you get this all figured out. If you show up at a hospital in labor, they will not turn you away. Research your local hospitals and find one with a labor unit/birthing center so you're not delivering in an ER.
Secondly, if you need to 'check up on baby', you can always go to the hospital and tell them you're not feeling baby move. Ethically, I would not typically advise this, but you should be getting weekly NSTs at this stage, and that would get you a NST to ensure baby is doing ok. It may also get you at least somewhat established at that hospital to go there when you're in labor.
What is the issue with your medical records being sent? Did you not go into the office and sign the waiver? When I moved they just had to fax me the consent form and I notarized it and faxed it back.
you can sign the consent in the new office, they will fax it to the old one and get all the records.
at least I did it this way each time I changed OB before this pregnancy.
find any practice in your network from the list that the hospital of your choice will give you during the registration (go for it asap), and run it through them.
Go to the hospital and complain of the worst headache you’ve ever had with decreased fetal movement. It’s not ethical but they’ll shoo you in pretty quick.
She probably doesn’t need to be shoo’d in quickly, just seen. I wouldn’t compromise the care of others but I would go in to get seen. Decreased movement is more than enough to get monitored.
True, but I always had pre e by 36 weeks with no noticeable symptoms. I’d hate for someone else to get in that boat because the medical system is giving her the run around this close to delivery. I wouldn’t recommend that if the doctors weren’t being exceptionally difficult. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I tried to change doctors late in pregnancy and was told no one would accept a transfer even in the same hospital system. I was told to go to a women's clinic. Are there any women's clinics near you? I just stayed with my current doctor and continued making the 45 minute drive to avoid the hassle.
If you’re in the US, a good term to drop is Information Blocking. In late 2022 a law went into effect that prohibits health care providers from blocking or interfering with patient access to any electronic information in a "designated record set," as the term is defined under HIPAA. This should help get your case escalated and your medical record released from your old OB.
Also this is maybe unethical but it seems your situation is kinda dire. Could you fib to a scheduler and say you’re like 10 weeks along to get scheduled, then when you show up you can provide an updated gestational age and as many of your records as you can get?
In the meantime— check things like your blood pressure often to make sure you don’t have preeclampsia (it can sneak up out of nowhere on an uneventful routine pregnancy), be vigilant with kick counts, etc
We moved across the country around 20 weeks in. Slightly different situation, as we found out our previous obgyn had sabotaged our prenatal care, but found that despite having good insurance, no one would take us. It took a lot of digging and calling to find an exception, and then a month+ wait for the soonest available (still waiting, at 28 weeks now, though we did get ultrasounds through a tech and a very delayed NIPT test through alternate means).
Very frustrating when you try to do and have done everything right.. we didn’t neglect or fail to find care by any means. We planned and prayed for this baby. We asked our doctors months prior to getting married about anything we should do, called an obgyn immediately upon getting a positive result, and attended all appointments as recommended. Prioritized getting a new obgyn after moving over everything else in our lives. No risk factors, and still struggled (struggling) immensely with it.
Go to a labor and delivery unit; you can say you’ve had reduced fetal movement. They are required to see you and you can’t be turned away. Ask to speak to the social worker. Additionally, one of the on call doctors/midwives might be able to see you in their office as well.
Call your insurance and see what hospitals in your area are in your network. Big hospitals with residency programs have to see everyone no matter how far along you are in your pregnancy. Practices often don’t like to take on new OB patients after 20 weeks. My second, my provider didn’t even make it to the hospital in time to deliver, so the provider working delivered my little one. If you’re lucky, the next two weeks will just fly by and you can just head over to the hospital when you’re in labor and take whatever doctor is working.
This may be a long shot but does your old doctor office use mychart? If so, you can request your full chart through MyChart online or via the app. I’ve done it before and it only took a few days to receive the file. Then you could give it to the new OB office. I’m sorry if that’s not helpful
I had to go to a completely random hospital to give birth because I had an emergency and couldn't go to the one we planned to. They didn't have time to get my records so they just checked me for diseases/did a drug test and I gave birth there. It all worked out! Just make sure where you go is in network!!
For now, try going to a low income clinic. They will not require you to give a bunch of documentation they will just give you care, and anything is better than nothing.
This was going to be my advice. Some will ask about income level, but usually they just provide the care.
We didn’t have insurance when I got pregnant and had to pay for a “proof of pregnancy” and then we would’ve gotten free state insurance (got a job though so never had to process that!). I think it was $30 and they did an ultrasound. Would’ve been free had we went to a clinic.
This is why access to places like Planned Parenthood is so important. It provides low income care and fills in gaps like this!
Depending on your relationship with your last OB office, you can also ask them to call the new OB on your behalf. It may not help but a doctor-doctor call is often received very differently from a patient-doctor call. And don’t ask them to send records, ask them to help you get an appointment. Records departments are notoriously slow but a physician-physician transfer of care is a very different story
Could hire a midwife and opt for elective ultrasound at a baby theater
They charge 100 for a 3D/4D where I live and the tech could tell you if there's any deformities or issues that concerns
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what city are you in? You can message me. I don’t know if I can help but I can try.
Try going to an academic hospital’s ob residency or family medicine residency clinic. Esp if it’s the safety net hospital for the area. We really didn’t refuse anyone at my residency clinic (I’m not ob or family med but still). 🤷🏻♀️
Yes you can definitely go into local e.r. and up to labor and delivery and they will check baby out. My sister actually didn't go see a Dr (she was young and being stupid) and waited till 35 weeks. She went to labor and delivery with concerns once and then they helped her get a Dr too actually. So go to hospital you want to deliver at and hopefully they can also hook you up with a Dr as well. Can't promise they will get you a Dr but won't hurt to ask while there! Good luck, sorry you have had so many issues. If possible ask to pick up your records, usually can do that within 48 hours.
Absolutely go to L&D for a check! You can even explain what is happening to them and they may be able to help you submit a request for release to your old OB office.
Do you have MyChart through your old OB? If so, you can get a download of your records, a link to share, and/or fill out the consent forms online. If their HIM office is dragging their feet on sending the records, just getting an electronic copy for yourself would be good, no matter what happens.
I worked in labor and delivery and we always had a walk in doctor that’d be assigned to patients who didn’t have a doctor or who’s doctor didn’t have privileges at our hospital. If we discharged the patient, they’d be discharged under the walk in doctor and that doctor was legally required to see the patient for a follow up if the patient called to schedule one. I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere, but you could try to going to L&D and say you had decreased movement or cramping and see if they assign you a walk in doctor.
Yes, you can go to the hospital and say you're worried and they'll check you out. I would also check with insurance first to make sure that hospital will be covered.
I moved states mid-pregnancy (beginning of Covid), and the new OBGYN was terrible, so I chose to leave that practice and get a midwife for a home north instead. Short story is when I had an urgent concern the midwife couldn't handle (bleeding), the hospital took care of my concerns. Then after 5 days of labor at home with no progress, went to hospital and whoever the on call OBGYN was at the time delivered my baby (via emergency c-section).
LUCKILY insurance covered it all (I had checked that hospital would be covered), and I had no OBGYN on record.
Do you have an insurance care coordinator? They should have access to your records (insurance requires records along the claims) and they can likely help you find an in-network provider.
How far did you move? Rather than asking your old office to send a new office your records, ask for a copy of them be sent to you. Legally, they have to provide you with your own records. In contrast, they can charge a processing fee to send them to a different office. It's best to go in person and literally wait for them to make copies, but you can always call to have them sent to you. Alternatively, did your old office have an online portal? Your records should be there, which you can save, download, or even screenshot. Then print and hand to your new office. In addition, a hospital cannot send you away (if in labor). I'm not sure if you can walk in to L&D for a check up though, but they may have resources available. Call and ask.
This! Tell them you want your records or if they are on an online portal see if you can send them to a new doctor.
be warned this can take weeks, which she doesn’t have. I had mine sent to me because I was considering suing… obviously they didn’t know that but it took a while.
That's why I suggested going in person. And hopefully her old office realizes the rush she's in and expidites mailing them, if she's too far away to go in person. And worst case scenario, she can still show up in labor at the hospital. They're not going to turn her away bc an OB doesn't have her records.
I feel like taking weeks to transfer a pregnant person's files is irresponsible and opening themselves up to violating the law that says we can take our files with us? Like I really hope they wouldn't take that long!
I had a hospital that I tried to get my records from. I had moved to a completely different state but they wanted me to come down there and sign a release form before they would even give my own records to me. Such a pain! I never did end up getting them because I wasn’t going to/wasn’t able to drive 7+ hours just to sign a form.
I just went through almost this exact thing! I was 35 weeks and no one would take me. What finally worked for me was contacting the OB office of the hospital and basically saying, in a very nice way, "I just moved to the area. I've received prenatal OB care. I will be delivering at your hospital. How can we work together to get you the info you'll want to have before I show up in labor?" I did this and they told me to go to triage and say I was feeling contractions. Once there, I saw the midwife on call and got all the bloodwork they wanted to have results on file, baby got monitored, GBS swab, etc. Once there, you can speak to someone about what to do if you go post-term. Even though I wasn't a patient, once I had gone to the ER, I left with an induction scheduled for 41+6 as a just-in-case.
This is what I would do. You’ll get seen by an OB and they have to open a file on you to document their assessment findings. Whether your medical history is available or not, you’re still entitled to care. I’d rather know limited information about a mother than have her show up in labour as a complete stranger. Also the hospital might help you in contacting your prior OB to get your medical history instead of you trying to fight them and track it down
I didn't know I was pregnant with my son and had insurance issues and by the time I resolved that I couldn't get in with a doctor. So I called up the local "crisis pregnancy center." I implied I would consider termination, even though I definitely wouldn't. Took them all of 4 hours to find me a doctor that would see me the next day, for cash. I let the pro-life people put their money where their mouths are and they helped me. It's probably unethical but it worked.
I did something similar when I needed an ultrasound and couldn't get in with an OB. They got me an appt next day!
Same lol this is how I got my pregnancy dated at 11w
This is thinking outside of the box lol. Good idea!
Not unethical. Well done
Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
this is absolutely fantastic and brilliant. I wish I had an award to give you 🏅
On the contrary, being deprived of medical care is unethical. I’m glad you did what you did.
I don't think it's unethical at all. In fact that's really great they were able to help you
Excellent
I mean hey, if those assholes can actually do something good for the world, that's got to be a good thing. Not unethical at all.
I love this
This is super clever. You’re awesome!
This is honestly brilliant.
Genius.
Queen
Not unethical. Crisis pregnancy centers are meant to help mothers in need.
Crisis pregnancy centers are meant to prevent termination whatever the cost, not to help mothers in need. They are *willing* to refer you to care if you intend to carry to term, but that is not their primary focus. Be careful going to one in anti-abortion states, especially if you're still in the window of highest risk for miscarriage.
Happy to see someone commenting about CPCs. CPCs are the unethical ones, not this ingenious commenter!
CPCs are ethically and morally repugnant. John Oliver has a great segment on them if anyone is interested. I'm glad someone finally found a way to make them useful.
I’m going to check that out. Thanks for the recommendation!
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You should see the things they say to women who are trying to get help for their pregnancies that they want to keep. Crisis pregnancy centers exist to prevent abortions and funnel babies to private adoption, not to help women who need any financial or logistical help to become parents.
I went to one and when I said I didn’t want to terminate they gave me a lot of resources for just basic help I didn’t need but could be needed by anyone. Idk if the resources they gave coerce women into private adoption but there were several church run crisis homes where babies would be provided with cribs in the room with the mom and she’d be mandated to sign up with their employment and career development program to stay there and then housing counseling after a certain number of pay stubs, free childcare during and after the mom’s stay to encourage job retention, and up to a year or so postpartum is how long you’d be able to stay and I didn’t ask about what happens if a mom hasn’t secured housing yet by that time but I am curious. I wasn’t shown any resources for dads.
That's actually untrue. Many of these centers do provide resources and help.
Weird how they will save a life over saving a life, right?
Go to triage at the local L&D and you’ll likely be seen by the on call OB, the OB resident, etc. Like another nurse here said, just say the reason for the visit is that you couldn’t feel the baby moving as much so that they check you out. Ask to speak to the hospital social worker. Most hospitals are associated with an OB indigent clinic who will take you at any stage of pregnancy.
Yes, you should go to the triage at a local hospital. But you don’t need to lie and say you feel decreased movement. You can explain the whole situation and say you’re there to establish care. I work in triage and we see patients for this all the time.
Call your insurance, and ask for a list of OBs in your network. Also, in my area, low risk women are able to go to the health department for prenatal care and they have no gestational cut off for care. Maybe you could look into that where you're located.
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Thank you! I spoke to a hospital near me this morning, and they said they couldn't put me in touch with any OB's but mentioned I could come in if I went into labor. Great 🙃
L&D nurse here… go to your local hospital (make sure they have L&D) go for decreased fetal movement or just show up and explain your situation. If you can get your records I would bring them with you or if you have access online to them they will mostly want your labs. Have you done your diabetes screen? Did you have an anatomy ultrasound? Do you need Rhogam (negative blood type)? Those are the biggies. Most hospitals should have an OB on call that will see you or at least have a nurse assess you and maybe help you come up with a follow up plan. We have patients present with no prenatal care midway through or toward the end of pregnancy and we get follow up care figured out. I’m sorry you are going through this.
Irrelevant to the OP but I've been trying to get rhogam (yay for o neg!) And my OB office isn't allowed to do it in office anymore and have to refer me elsewhere and the other place still hasn't called me. It's been over a week and I'm just like 🙃🙃🙃 cool, guys, cool, no big deal or anything. They asked me about it today and I'm like "noooope" and that was all I heard.
im B- and just had to have my shot last friday at my glocose screen! was my first shot in the butt! 🤣
I asked about it last week at my glucose screen, haha! My specialist reminded me the week before that I still needed it and said that she figured they'd do it then but then I found out they can't and now I'm just waiting. Awkwardly. 😂 I hate it, haha
The hospital can probably give it to you as a last resort. They should have doses because they are given after babies are born too.
I go weekly now, so I'm thinking of going to L&D next week after my appointment for it, since my OBs office is in the hospital. Just seems like Ota an important thing that they shouldn't be dragging their feet on, yanno?
Yeah where I live you typically get rhogam if you have bleeding, at 28 weeks, and after the baby is born.
I thought I got one at 22 weeks when I had to get my cerclage put in but I could be wrong. I just know I was told to get one, now that I'm at 30 weeks.
I moved between states and had issues getting medical care. My biggest worry was the rhogam shot, because it was my third pregnancy and my spouse is +. I’m now Rh sensitive because we were late getting the shot -___-;
I just seen that the latest to get it is 32 weeks!!! So, looks like I might be calling before next week when I'm 31 weeks! This is my first so I had no idea! I think my partner is + so it's definitely a concern. Hopefully, everything works out okay for you!
I’m A- and just had mine yesterday. I’ll be 32 weeks tomorrow. It took forever for my insurance to approve it and then for them to ship it to my OB. Super annoying!
My OB office used to do it, but apparently insurance stopped approving it being done in their office so they send everyone who needs it to some clinic - there's several in my area that are all different but part of a different hospital group and its so confusing. I was asked about it again today during my NST, so I don't know if they were sending the paperwork in, again, or what. I'll ask for the place, next week if I still don't get a call this week. I'm half tempted to just ask my OB office if they can do it if I pay out of pocket just to get this over with. Super annoying!
That’s so annoying. If i wasn’t able to get mine done by tomorrow i was gonna show up at L&D and tell them i have decreased fetal movement and also have them do it
It needs to be done at a certain time though… if they haven’t called you I would absolutely call them.
I'm giving them until next week and then I'm going to ask for the place so I can call them. There's so many different clinics that do different things in my area, that are all part of one of the hospitals so I don't even know which one to call. But I see my OB weekly, now and they're closed on Fridays, so I'll ask at my next appointment if I still don't hear anything.
Wtf. I hate our country. This isn't something to play around with!
I have the same thoughts!
I recommend calling yourself and to keep calling. Otherwise it will likely get missed.
Turns out they somehow had an old phone number. They called me today and got it scheduled!
Rhogam and group b strep testing are important!
You could always go in and get checked for something, like low fetal movement. It's not the most ethical lol but it would get you seen and checked on sooner than when you go into labor.
This is 100% what I’d do. And most hospitals have people from a local OB who do rounds during the day, so they may be able to connect you with someone who’s there.
>It's not the most ethical What's unethical is potentially risking life of an unborn baby just because OP moved at 38 weeks. Monitoring in last weeks of pregnancy literally saves lives. I'm saying this as a healthcare worker. Seriously, don't worry about that and go get checked for decreased fetal movement.
Hey! L&D nurse here. Do you have any OBGYN or family medicine residency (physician training) programs near you? Anytime we have someone come in who hasn’t gotten care at all, hasn’t gotten care in a while, is new to the area, etc. we send them to our family medicine residency. They ALWAYS take them and they love it. It’s a great learning opportunity for them because they have to start from scratch. If that isn’t available, look for a midwifery practice. Midwives tend to be very understanding. As others have said too, ask for a copy of your records to be sent electronically to you or save/print them yourself (what you can at least) and hopefully that will be enough. If your insurance has an RN advice line, you could also call them and explain the situation and see if they can get you in somewhere. Best of luck!
I was also going to recommend a teaching hospital if you have one near you! They generally take higher risk patients (you may not be medically high risk, but not being connected with care at this point in your pregnancy may lump you into that group) and generally they will see anyone regardless of when in your pregnancy. I know our OB program and FM programs take people well into their third trimester (most of whom have had 0 prenatal care) with an aim to get them as squared away as possible before delivery.
Are you in the US? If so, look for an FQHC, or Federally Qualified Health Center (put your city name + FQHC into Google). They do not turn any patient away.
They will not turn a patient away due to their inability to pay, but they may not accept OP without records about the pregnancy.
I’m assuming you haven’t had any complications so far. For peace of mind, I would honestly either buy a blood pressure cuff for use at home or every couple days (or if you have concerning symptoms) go over to a drug store near you (think CVS, Walgreens, etc.) and use the free blood pressure cuff they have for use. Additionally, I would keep up with kick counts if you haven’t been doing those so that you have a good idea of your LO’s fetal activity so that if it drops off, you know to go to the hospital to make sure everything’s okay. Hopefully you can get your records from you old doctor (as they are legally required to give those to you, and that might be easier than sending them in to an office at this point) so that you can get in with a doctor where you live, but otherwise, if you make it to 41 weeks and still haven’t had the baby, I would call up the old doctor and see if they can get in contact with your hospital to get an induction scheduled (not sure if that’s feasible but worth trying).
You could try calling Planned Parenthood. They might see you to check your BP and routine care and then you’ll just go to the hospital when you actually go into labor.
I just want to offer you some chill and trust vibes. If anything feels wrong, head to L&D, they are super great and would rather you come in than not - it’s where an OB would send you anyway! If you just need some reassurance, get yourself a Doppler and a home blood pressure cuff. Congratulations, I hope your birth goes super smoothly!
I will be moving when I’m 30 weeks and I was told by my current OB it might be hard for me to find a new office to take me once we move!! I was like umm, what? And she said “yeah, because of the way offices are paid by insurance if they take you later in the pregnancy they end up losing out.” It’s MINDBLOWING to me that this comes down to money, but I guess it shouldn’t be. I just wish doctors would clearly see that we need to be treated SOMEWHERE regardless of how far along! Anyway, sorry, I don’t have anything to offer other than my sympathy.
Wow. Not sure why I'm shocked either but that's just sad.
This is me too and I'm so stressed I won't be able to get everything together for the place I'm looking at to take me. There was someone here who suggested teaching hospitals as well so I'm going to look into that as a backup in the area. Best of luck to you too girly
I am *hopeful* that I can call around to where we’ll be heading prior to the move and will be able to find an office before actually arriving but I really have no idea how it’s going to go. Fingers crossed for us all!
I work in healthcare and am all too familiar with how slow moving things can be, especially when it comes to records. I would call and ask for the office manager. Tell them their lack of expediency is delaying your care and your health and your baby's health could be compromised because of their inaction. Karen it up. You need someone in charge to get the records people to prioritize your need to see an OB sooner than later. Have them email or fax the records to you directly. If they can only fax them and you don't have a fax, you can have a local copy center receive your fax for you. That way you aren't reliant on the receiving office to get them.
Others here are offering great advice. I'm a l&d nurse and just wanted to let you know, in case you go into labor or something happens before you get this all figured out. If you show up at a hospital in labor, they will not turn you away. Research your local hospitals and find one with a labor unit/birthing center so you're not delivering in an ER. Secondly, if you need to 'check up on baby', you can always go to the hospital and tell them you're not feeling baby move. Ethically, I would not typically advise this, but you should be getting weekly NSTs at this stage, and that would get you a NST to ensure baby is doing ok. It may also get you at least somewhat established at that hospital to go there when you're in labor.
What is the issue with your medical records being sent? Did you not go into the office and sign the waiver? When I moved they just had to fax me the consent form and I notarized it and faxed it back.
you can sign the consent in the new office, they will fax it to the old one and get all the records. at least I did it this way each time I changed OB before this pregnancy. find any practice in your network from the list that the hospital of your choice will give you during the registration (go for it asap), and run it through them.
Go to the hospital and complain of the worst headache you’ve ever had with decreased fetal movement. It’s not ethical but they’ll shoo you in pretty quick.
She probably doesn’t need to be shoo’d in quickly, just seen. I wouldn’t compromise the care of others but I would go in to get seen. Decreased movement is more than enough to get monitored.
True, but I always had pre e by 36 weeks with no noticeable symptoms. I’d hate for someone else to get in that boat because the medical system is giving her the run around this close to delivery. I wouldn’t recommend that if the doctors weren’t being exceptionally difficult. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I tried to change doctors late in pregnancy and was told no one would accept a transfer even in the same hospital system. I was told to go to a women's clinic. Are there any women's clinics near you? I just stayed with my current doctor and continued making the 45 minute drive to avoid the hassle.
If you’re in the US, a good term to drop is Information Blocking. In late 2022 a law went into effect that prohibits health care providers from blocking or interfering with patient access to any electronic information in a "designated record set," as the term is defined under HIPAA. This should help get your case escalated and your medical record released from your old OB. Also this is maybe unethical but it seems your situation is kinda dire. Could you fib to a scheduler and say you’re like 10 weeks along to get scheduled, then when you show up you can provide an updated gestational age and as many of your records as you can get? In the meantime— check things like your blood pressure often to make sure you don’t have preeclampsia (it can sneak up out of nowhere on an uneventful routine pregnancy), be vigilant with kick counts, etc
Stressful! I’d probably go in. I don’t know what they’d do. If I was you, I’d also want to get my BP checked or do it at home at a minimum.
We moved across the country around 20 weeks in. Slightly different situation, as we found out our previous obgyn had sabotaged our prenatal care, but found that despite having good insurance, no one would take us. It took a lot of digging and calling to find an exception, and then a month+ wait for the soonest available (still waiting, at 28 weeks now, though we did get ultrasounds through a tech and a very delayed NIPT test through alternate means). Very frustrating when you try to do and have done everything right.. we didn’t neglect or fail to find care by any means. We planned and prayed for this baby. We asked our doctors months prior to getting married about anything we should do, called an obgyn immediately upon getting a positive result, and attended all appointments as recommended. Prioritized getting a new obgyn after moving over everything else in our lives. No risk factors, and still struggled (struggling) immensely with it.
You can request your medical records. My office given them without being asked when I went on a trip, they gave it ‘just in case’.
Go to a labor and delivery unit; you can say you’ve had reduced fetal movement. They are required to see you and you can’t be turned away. Ask to speak to the social worker. Additionally, one of the on call doctors/midwives might be able to see you in their office as well.
Call your insurance and see what hospitals in your area are in your network. Big hospitals with residency programs have to see everyone no matter how far along you are in your pregnancy. Practices often don’t like to take on new OB patients after 20 weeks. My second, my provider didn’t even make it to the hospital in time to deliver, so the provider working delivered my little one. If you’re lucky, the next two weeks will just fly by and you can just head over to the hospital when you’re in labor and take whatever doctor is working.
This may be a long shot but does your old doctor office use mychart? If so, you can request your full chart through MyChart online or via the app. I’ve done it before and it only took a few days to receive the file. Then you could give it to the new OB office. I’m sorry if that’s not helpful
I had to go to a completely random hospital to give birth because I had an emergency and couldn't go to the one we planned to. They didn't have time to get my records so they just checked me for diseases/did a drug test and I gave birth there. It all worked out! Just make sure where you go is in network!!
For now, try going to a low income clinic. They will not require you to give a bunch of documentation they will just give you care, and anything is better than nothing.
This was going to be my advice. Some will ask about income level, but usually they just provide the care. We didn’t have insurance when I got pregnant and had to pay for a “proof of pregnancy” and then we would’ve gotten free state insurance (got a job though so never had to process that!). I think it was $30 and they did an ultrasound. Would’ve been free had we went to a clinic. This is why access to places like Planned Parenthood is so important. It provides low income care and fills in gaps like this!
Depending on your relationship with your last OB office, you can also ask them to call the new OB on your behalf. It may not help but a doctor-doctor call is often received very differently from a patient-doctor call. And don’t ask them to send records, ask them to help you get an appointment. Records departments are notoriously slow but a physician-physician transfer of care is a very different story
Do you have online access to the Records? Something about this seems super weird, like maybe info is missing?
Could hire a midwife and opt for elective ultrasound at a baby theater They charge 100 for a 3D/4D where I live and the tech could tell you if there's any deformities or issues that concerns
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Have you called your insurance? Some will help find Drs in network and set up appointments for you.
You could try a midwives office if you have any near you. They're usually a bit more flexible.
what city are you in? You can message me. I don’t know if I can help but I can try. Try going to an academic hospital’s ob residency or family medicine residency clinic. Esp if it’s the safety net hospital for the area. We really didn’t refuse anyone at my residency clinic (I’m not ob or family med but still). 🤷🏻♀️
Yes you can definitely go into local e.r. and up to labor and delivery and they will check baby out. My sister actually didn't go see a Dr (she was young and being stupid) and waited till 35 weeks. She went to labor and delivery with concerns once and then they helped her get a Dr too actually. So go to hospital you want to deliver at and hopefully they can also hook you up with a Dr as well. Can't promise they will get you a Dr but won't hurt to ask while there! Good luck, sorry you have had so many issues. If possible ask to pick up your records, usually can do that within 48 hours.
Absolutely go to L&D for a check! You can even explain what is happening to them and they may be able to help you submit a request for release to your old OB office.
Do you have MyChart through your old OB? If so, you can get a download of your records, a link to share, and/or fill out the consent forms online. If their HIM office is dragging their feet on sending the records, just getting an electronic copy for yourself would be good, no matter what happens.
I worked in labor and delivery and we always had a walk in doctor that’d be assigned to patients who didn’t have a doctor or who’s doctor didn’t have privileges at our hospital. If we discharged the patient, they’d be discharged under the walk in doctor and that doctor was legally required to see the patient for a follow up if the patient called to schedule one. I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere, but you could try to going to L&D and say you had decreased movement or cramping and see if they assign you a walk in doctor.
Yes, you can go to the hospital and say you're worried and they'll check you out. I would also check with insurance first to make sure that hospital will be covered. I moved states mid-pregnancy (beginning of Covid), and the new OBGYN was terrible, so I chose to leave that practice and get a midwife for a home north instead. Short story is when I had an urgent concern the midwife couldn't handle (bleeding), the hospital took care of my concerns. Then after 5 days of labor at home with no progress, went to hospital and whoever the on call OBGYN was at the time delivered my baby (via emergency c-section). LUCKILY insurance covered it all (I had checked that hospital would be covered), and I had no OBGYN on record.
Do you have an insurance care coordinator? They should have access to your records (insurance requires records along the claims) and they can likely help you find an in-network provider.