Referred to a Perinatal doctor

I’m 36 years old and pregnant with my second. Did your OBGYN automatically just refer you to a Perinatal Physician? I received a call (voicemail) from the clinic asking me to set up my appointment but my OB never mentioned anything. Of course the office is now closed and I’m wondering why I was referred. I haven’t had any issues so far so is it just because I’m over 35? Of course I’ll call again tomorrow but curious how other women’s first appointment went. I’m now a little nervous.

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I think it's just because you're over 35. I think you'd be considered a geriatric pregnancy at this age. It sounds so silly to me honestly but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Im 34 and was considered high risk because of my second pregnancy but I've been fine this whole time. No health issues whatsoever. I'm up to high risk appointments every 2 weeks now and I'm 29 weeks pregnant.

I did because of my age. Was pregnant at 35 and now again at 37. Just a money grab says my husband 🤣 the doc will talk about all the risks of being an Advanced maternal age mother 😂

Disclaimer: I am healthy and so far have had "normal" healthy pregnancies.

I wad referred after my first visit with my regular ob because I was over 35 and I'm diabetic

It's just because of your age. I'm having my second now at 37, and my OB did mention to me that I would have to make an appointment with them in a few weeks. Nothing to be nervous about!

Did you have problems with your first. I had my first at 36 and had my second in June but wasn't referred for that either time

Yes, over 35 automatically refers to mfm. It's a good thing because you get a bit of extra monitoring! I was 37 with our first and was referred to mfm at the first appointment. Nothing to worry about!

you're not in the US, right? We pay a stupid amount of of pocket here but it also means a lot more referrals 😆

nope not in US so that's makes sense...It did cross my mind...they only refer in UK of you have a bunch of markers and its usually later on in the pregnancy unless you have something prior obviously

that makes sense! It's cynical but UK healthcare needs a justification to pay out more for your care. In the US, since we (or more often our insurance) will pay, they offer lots of extra testing. It's great for catching issues early, not so great if you didn't want to spend $$$$ on tests and doctors 🙃

I’m 36 and this didn’t happen to me, FYI

I’m 38 and was not referred out

First of all, thanks for all the comments! I did just get off the phone and they did confirm that it was because of my “advanced maternal age” 🙄. She said that at 19 weeks they suggest getting a level 2 ultrasound. That’s a month away so we’ll see how that goes.

the level 2 fetal anatomy study at 19 weeks is standard for all in the US so that's not even a difference!

in our community

Oh my God, oh my God I hope this is not true!!!! I’m kind of scared

I’ve been throwing up and taking a shit all night!!! I just hope that it’s not what I think it is

Small head reported following 20 week scan

Has anyone else had it flagged that their baby is in the bottom 5th percentile for head size?

They said everything was fine whilst we were in the scan and then I got a phone call the next day saying that it’s on the small side and we’re being referred to a paediatric specialist at St George’s. Has anyone else had this and how did things go??

Would you bring 9 week old to a family party of 35+ people?

These are also people who will want to pass the baby around and get a turn to hold him. He just got his 2 month shots two days ago

Exercise 6 weeks after c section

What movement did people start to introduce? I won’t do anything too vigorous until I’ve seen the pelvic physio as I don’t want to compromise anything that may have been extremely weakened through pregnancy! But just wondering what types of classes/movement people started off with?

Induction experience

I just wanted to share my experience with being induced as I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought it may help others.

I opted for the foley balloon which was inserted at 8am Saturday morning, I had to stay in hospital due to hypertension and protein urine however usually you can just go home once this has been done. The insertion of the balloon was not painful, was slightly uncomfortable as there was slight pressure. I actually found having the cervix checked prior to be worse (again not painful at this point just uncomfortable) The balloon had little effect and after having it removed I was still only 1cm. Removal also was pain free and hardly even noticeable.

I then had my first dose of the gel and definitely noticed a difference, I started experiencing period like cramps almost immediately however they were light and manageable. After 6 hours I had another cervix check and although my cervix was soft it was still only 1cm and was only open at the front. I had another dose of the gel and felt an increase in pressure and more intense cramping where I now required pain relief (codeine). After another 6 hours I had another cervix check and I had now dilated to 2-3cm however was still quite difficult to get all the way through so a third gel was recommended which I agreed to.

Almost immediately I noticed the difference and was in considerable pain, I had paracetamol and codeine however the contractions had now become intense and a lot closer together (around 3 minutes apart). After a couple of hours I had my last cervix check and was 4cm and taken down to the Labour ward to have my waters broken and an epidural.

I had been in my room for approx 20minutes when my waters broke by themselves and I was now 10cm and actively pushing…. There was no time for the epidural and my beautiful girl arrived into the world within 2 minutes of pushing.

All in all I would say the cramps/contractions were manageable up until the third gel where it became pretty unbearable however it was for a very short time a gas and air helped take the edge off. The worst part about any of it was actually the later cervix checks where after stimulating the cervix my contractions were at their most painful.

If I had to be induced again I would skip the balloon and opt for the gels immediately as thy had a quicker effect and I would have been out a lot sooner if I had done this to begin with.

One more thing, I’ve never believed when people say “you forget the pain once they’re here” but I can honestly say this is true. It’s been 4 days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Gave birth (vagina) 5 days ago and yesterday morning and this morning getting lot of pain in my right bottom side and lower back