first off, congrats on your pregnancy. i hope it is an easy and rewarding one.

what about calling your old OB and asking him/her to make the referral for you, considering you are new to your present location. i'm sure they will oblige and i'm sure it will get you in sooner.

otherwise, why not call the local hospital and get a referral to an ob connected with the hospital and get a quicker appointment.

best of luck to you,
maryanne

Is this because you're in a rural area or because of the healthcare system in Canada? That's really scary that you can't find an md. Is there a nearby city that you can go to? It wouldn't be the best situation having to travel to see a doctor but better to have someone you're seeing than none. I used to live in a little town in NV and the doctors were slim pickings, a lot of people used to travel an hour to Reno for most things.

Thanks Maryanne!

The old OB said that they can't refer me without seeing me first - it would be easier for me to just go to walk-in here, because I don't drive. And the doctors said after being reffered, I'd get an appointment for July at the earliest.

And these 2 doctors ARE asosciated with the hospital here.

I'm thinking there must be more than 2 obstetricians in this city (of about 170 000), though??

I'm starting to think more seriously about a midwife.

That would be because of the healthcare system here I believe.

When I got pg with DD they were all booked up, except for "clinic" appointments with one of them. Basically picture a hundred pregnant immigrant women from Third World countries each hauling three other kids and several female family members to each appointment. You get there first thing in the morning to take a number and wait your turn, but they have to serve the leftover numbers from the day before first.

Women throwing up and peeing on the floor because they are afraid to leave and lose their turn, kids crying and screaming, women fighting, and more.

It was not pretty at all. And it turned out he wasn't even in the country when DD was born. I would have been better off sticking with my regular family doctor.

I am sorry you are having a hard time Nicole! Do they know you are high risk?

When I was pregnant with Jeff...I was quite overdue...and my doctor died on New Years day...I had to find a doctor that day because of being overdue. I called a doctor at home...that had been my neighbors doctor...he didn't know me at all but came to the phone on a holiday and talked to me...told me if I went into labor that night he'd meet me at the hospital otherwise for me to come to his office the next day..

I can't imagine a doctor putting anyone off for 6 months...they are always preaching about having good prenatal care.

There has got to be more doctors around there. Or the next town. Keep looking.

Midwifery (is that a word?) scares me. I know someone who went that route and it died.

Nicole, can't you make the trip to TO to see your old ObGyn until your appointment in July? The Go Train service used to be pretty good between Oakville and Toronto if I remember correctly.

Some walk in clinics aren't too bad. My family Doctor has a walk in clinic along with a couple of other Doctors but still takes appointments from his regular patients. Ask around, somebody might know of a good walk in clinic for now or a Doctor who practices in one and who still delivers babies.

Any Doctor visit at this time is better than no checkup.

Anne

Do you have Planned ParentHood places go there or are there any Womens only health places??? How can they even say you can not see the dr til July how silly is that! They should be refering you to someone else! What's wrong with these people??

Wow, didn't know you were expecting again. Congratulations!
What about going to a GP and have them refer you to an OB/Gyn? Can y'all do that? Just a thought.

Best wishes for you and Claude.

Charlee

Definitely don't wait! Call your GP and ask if they can get you an earlier appointment.

Nicole, that sounds just ridiculous. I haven't been good about stopping by The Table, so I didn't even know you and Claude have a baby on the way.

CONGRATULATIONS, and I sure hope you get the doctor issue worked out. (If not, come to Wisconsin and stay with us!)

Hugs,
SadieSadie

Urgent-care and walk-in clinics are often wonderful. I've found ours very helpful with referrals. If you are new in your town, these are often one of the best ways to find your new permanent doctor.

I'm sorry you're going through this frustration, Nicole.

Perhaps, you could use a midwife until July? She could keep tabs on your blood pressure and overall health. You could even keep seeing her and have her present at the delivery, but not perform it. It might be helpful to have her there, because I think the care is more personal. And from what I know of you, you might like the more private, intimate relationship.

It's good that you recognize you are high risk. The patient knowing and understanding is half the battle at times, I think.

Could you travel to see your old OB until July?

I was just thinking about my pregnancies. I'm high risk also, and they saw me at 8 weeks, 13 weeks, and then monthly until 6 months. So, you'd be missing something like 5 appointments. And at those appointments, they answer questions and do the blood pressure thing. I think a family doc and/or midwife could do these things as long as the results were normal. If something went awry, hopefully you could get in somewhere, or maybe the ER could refer you to an in-house OB.

DH will be doing an OB rotation here in Indianapolis during April and May, so if you travel a bit south, he could work you in :)

Sorry to ramble, just some thoughts off the top of my head.

geesh...I'd say your town needs more ob's...I hope you find someone soon...waiting till your 6 months along just isn't the right thing to do for either you or your baby!! Good Luck and keep us posted Nicole!!

Nicole...just remember that the dr's in walk in clinics are good doctors also,and if you explain that you are high risk I'm sure they will be able to find a way to get you an appt soon with an OB.
Good luck...hope you are able to get an appt sooner than July...Geeesh!

Those two docs might be from the local hospital, but there are more at the hospital. I think the suggestion to call them for a referral was a good one. Are there any nurse practitioners there? Good luck in finding someone.

My sis-in-law loved her midwife, who worked with a dr. The dr. was there to see her for a few visits and, as she ended up high risk at the end, he was there for the dilivery (emergency at that).

Good luck.

Tami

I have noticed that we are getting more Canadians here in ND for delivery==don't know how that works but someone could check into it.

I've only seen an OB for my pregnancies in Calgary. The other two have been family doctors. I don't think there are any OBs here..of course this is a town of only 15 000. That is ridiculous that they won't see you until July! I hope that you can figure something out!

Danielle

Hi, lurker here. First off, CONGRATS!!!

Secondly, my SIL lives in the Ontario area. She didn't see an OB the whole time she was PG with my niece, just a family dr. She didn't have a family doctor either, but she got priority b/c she was pregnant and she was able to get one and see him regularly. Try the walk-in - you may get priority b/c of being PG and not have to be put on a waiting list for a family doctor. Good luck!

Nicole I sent you an email....did you get it?

Best wishes Nicole! I hope you get your Dr. visit worked out soon!

We are very lucky - our town has about 2,500 residents and has 4 OB's! They are OB/family practice. The hospital/clinic serves a larger area than just the town, but we are fortunate to have such a staff. Many more GP's and a couple surgeons to boot!

Hi Nicole,
Sent you an email with a suggestion.
Linda