I am 32 weeks pregnant and haven't seen an OBGYN yet, is it too late to make an appointment?

You ca try.. but good luck getting an appointment before you are due in the next 2 weeks.

I would most definitely make an appointment if I were you. You still have 8 weeks, give or take. Is there a reason why you haven't seen been to the Dr. yet?

Oh goodness. Why haven't you seen a doctor? Please call one in your area immediately!

Just when I think I've heard it all - rare restraint, folks, rare restraint.

I've heard it many times. It's not very unusual, but VERY dangerous to both mother and baby.

You should definitely see an OBGYN. Please tell me you've at least been taking prenatal vitamins, stopped smoking and drinking, and you're eating healthy.

It's late for a lot of things, but the baby would still greatly benefit from prenatal care even at this late stage in the game.

Why haven't you gone to a doctor? That's part of the responsibility of being a parent!

but the baby would still greatly benefit from prenatal care even at this late stage in the game.

I'm sorry to say that is not always the case. I have lost a few babies due to women who do not get prenatal care. There are some serious pregnancy induced illnesses that can compromise the health and safety of baby in utero as well as during delivery.

I'm not sure about the OP, but I've had many patients who think that because they had uncomplicated pregnancies in the past, think that every pregnancy is uncomplicated. That is not the case.

I'm currently involved in a lawsuit that is very familiar to this particular situation.

I'm sorry to say that is not always the case. I have lost a few babies due to women who do not get prenatal care. There are some serious pregnancy induced illnesses that can compromise the health and safety of baby in utero as well as during delivery.

I'm not sure about the OP, but I've had many patients who think that because they had uncomplicated pregnancies in the past, think that each and every pregnancy is uncomplicated. That is not the case.

I'm currently involved in a lawsuit that is very familiar to this particular situation.

I agree J, and I know that in many instances it may be too late if there is something wrong with the fetus. What I was trying to say is that it's still better to get prenatal care, even at 32 weeks, than to continue the pregnancy without any prenatal care at all.

She does still have 8 weeks to go. She has put herself, and the baby at a great risk, but I still think it's better to see a doctor now, than to continue without care and hope for the best. She would still benefit from a doctors care, even if it's too late to fix the things she was unaware of for the last 32 weeks.

Oh, absolutely! She NEEDS to get prenatal care yesterday. That's a given.

However, there are certain conditions such as gestational diabetes that put both mother and baby at risk during delivery. It's really too late for an accurate test for that. Luckily she's still early enough to be tested for GBS (Group Beta Strep), and even PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension), however if she were to have PIH, there may already be damage to bot maternal and fetal kidneys.

All I'm doing here is pointing out the dangers of getting little to no prenatal care, even as far along as the OP is.

Actually, at 32 weeks, it's really no different than having no prenatal care at all.

2 cases in point. There was a patient in my facility (I was not the nurse or there at the time), who had what was called a velamentous insertion. That is when the umbilical cord is not attached to the placenta in the normal fashion. Pt had 2 weeks of prenatal care and the velamentous insertion was missed due to late care. Well, the cord separated from the placenta and the baby bled to death before we could do an emergency C-Section. Case 2 is a friend of mine (not a patient, different doctors different hospital) had the SAME condition. Velamentous insertion. She was delivered by emergency C/S on Saturday, at 33 weeks, after spending 6 weeks in the hospital on bed rest.

You see, same condition, 2 completely different outcomes.

I completely agree J, and I'm really upset that this poster came here at 32 weeks gestation asking if she should see a doctor. It ticks me off. She should have seen a doctor from the beginning.

My point is, and I'm not sure I'm making my point very well, that she shouldn't decide not to see a doctor now, just because it's too late for many of the tests she should have had throughout her pregnancy. I know you agree. But that was the basis for my post. I do think she'd still benefit from seeing a doctor, even at this late stage of the game, and I know you agree with that. :)

If the baby isn't born healthy, that's on her conscious, because she didn't do the right thing, she didn't get the care she and the baby needed from the beginning. It astounds me that there are people out there conceiving, when they have no intention of taking care of the child they're bringing into this world. Motherhood doesn't begin when the baby is born, it begins as soon as that pregnancy test comes back positive, and for many (myself included) it begins as soon as you start trying to conceive. I was on folic acid pills, started a healthy lifestyle, the moment my husband and I decided to try to conceive. It astounds me that a mother wouldn't take the necessary steps to ensure her child's health.

I totally agree with you!

Women of child bearing years should be on folic acid daily on the occasion that they find out they are pregnant later in the gestation. I didn't find out I was pregnant with one of mine until I was about 23 weeks (long story), luckily was taking a multi-vitamin that contained the recommended daily allowance of folic acid and my girl was born at 36 weeks with no complications.

The sad thing is that some doctors will not take on a patient this far into gestation due to the risks involved and the high incidence of legal implications. Thus, the lawsuit I am involved in.

I have to say, when I was pregnant with J, it was the worst timing, doctor wise. My GYN, a man I'd known since we moved to Canada (I was 3 then) who saved my mothers life, retired. I didn't think to find another right away, because I wasn't pregnant yet, and I didn't think it would be a problem. So R and I decided to try and conceive, I conceived, started looking for a new OBGYN, and found out I was screwed.

At that time there was a strike. All OBGYN's in my province weren't accepting new patients. I had no way to find an OBGYN that would take me on. I found a new family doctor (he went into family practice after 30 plus years as an OBGYN) only because a friend (this doctor delivered my friend) called and asked him to do me a favor. So I started seeing a family doctor, with a background as an OBGYN. But, he wasn't affiliated with any hospital, which meant he couldn't deliver my son. At 6 months gestation (all tests done by my family doctor, all screening etc) he called in a favor to a former student of his, and I got not only a new OBGYN, but one that delivered in my hospital of choice.

It's not always easy to find an OBGYN. I got really lucky.

The OBGYN I found during my first pregnancy, was also the doctor I used for my second, and third (which I lost). Funny thing is, he didn't deliver either of my children. He was on vacation both times, and the doctor that was on call delivered both of my kids. I've only met that doctor twice, during J's birth, and then S's birth, almost 4 years apart. He remembered me. What can I say, I'm not easily forgotten. ;)

The fortunate thing for the OP is that it is a violation (http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EMTALA/index.html?redirect=/emtala/) for any hospital to turn down a woman in labor whether she has an OB. The problem comes when she tries to sue me or the doctor on call should there be a problem. The case I am involved in.

The fortunate thing for the OP is that it is a violation (http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EMTALA/index.html?redirect=/emtala/) for any hospital to turn down a woman in labor whether or not she has an OB. The problem comes when she tries to sue me or the doctor on call should there be a problem. The case I am involved in.

A case that isn't fair. I'm so tired of other people being held responsible for others mistakes. It's up to the mother to care for a child, from the moment of conception, before that even. If the mother didn't do that, it's her responsibility, not that of the doctors and nurses that simply delivered the child.

That's why I carry expensive medical malpractice insurance.

That's why I carry expensive medical malpractice insurance.

Which also isn't fair, imo.