Skip a Prenatal Visit?

I had this problem when pregnant with my first child. I tried everything I could (talking to the doctor about it, calling ahead to see if they were on time, etc), but to no avail. Then, I began setting my appointments up far enough ahead of time to be the first appointment of the day. With subsequent pregnancies, my husband would go in late should child care for my other children present a schedule conflict. By being the 1st of the day, it was difficult for the doctors to be way behind schedule. So, aside from emergency calls that took the doctors out of the office, I no longer had to deal with missed appointment times and long waits.

I agree with Missy. I had this problem with all the doctors my child has to see, but one by one I flat out sat with them and told them I work, and have many other things to do and need to be respectful of my time, or I would file a complaint, now I'm always either the first one or the last one, and am always seen within 15 mins. of showing up.

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This doesn't answer your question directly, but have you thought about complaining up the chain? Does the university health system manage the practice? If so, perhaps there is a practice manager you can speak with (not a receptionist) and make sure they are aware of this problem.
But - my opinion would be not to jeopardize your or your child's health. Go to the appointments, and as other posters noted, try to schedule early if possible.
Best of luck -

Remember, if you are high risk and something happens to that baby, the doctor can say, "she missed such-and-such appointment" making THEM less liable for complications. If possible, make YOUR appointment the first of the day. You are less likely to wait.

Especially since you're considered high-risk, I think skipping any prenatal visits is a particularly bad idea. If this is your only choice for OB, than I think you're going to just have to accept the fact that they're perpetually late.

Keep in mind that some visits take longer than others and appreciate that when one of your visits take longer, someone else is waiting too. That said, 2 hours is ridiculous. I would remind the person at the desk (remember it isn't their fault) and the doctor that your time is also valuable and you wouldn't be seen if you showed up that late for the appointment. I would suggest that you schedule in advance and take the earliest appointment (or the absolute latest) that you can get. I have found there is less of a chance of running late first thing in the am and when they want to get out of there for the day.

Please don't cancel or skip your visits. You just finish telling us that you are a high risk patient. It would be highly irresponsible to not go to an appointment. I would bring something I needed to do to pass the time (write thank you cards, read a self help book, bring your cell phone and make other appointments, etc...) Yes, its frusterating but I think its too important to miss. I agree with the previous post, try to be the first one in or the first one after lunch.

Your needing a High Risk OB for a medical issue and your pregnant noway will I miss even having to wait to be seen yes I have had my fair share of wait time it's no fun but the health of my baby and myself is at risk then that's it i'll wait it out.Take some snacks a water bottle something to read or if bills need to be written out something to do that can be done while waiting.There not always on time there is that call of duty next time it'll be your call of duty and another prego will be waiting for the OB...

Try scheduling first thing in the morning, or right after lunch.

Somehow, even though they may be way behind, those docs never seem to miss lunch.

Does the practice have a midwife or NP you could see? If even see your regular doctor?

I think you need to be seen regularly if you have a pre-existing condition but maybe not by your doctor?!?!

Good luck!

I've only had this happen once and it was when one OB was on maternity leave, one was out sick, and the other was covering both delivery and the office that day. I did go talk to the receptionist and explain to her that I had waited over 3 hrs already and had a child that needed to be picked up from school and it wasn't a major visit and I had no concerns so could a skip the appt. The said it was fine but I had a normal pregnancy no complications. With you being high risk I think you need to keep your appointments. Try and schedule them so you are one of the first appointments of the day or one of the first appointments following lunch. I have never had to wait for 8 AM or 1 PM appointments with the exception of the day I described above.

How is not seeing a doctor at all better than seeing a regular OB/GYN? I was totally with you skipping...until you said you were high risk. If you have a condition that requires special monitoring, then you should keep your appointments as scheduled. It is terrible that they can't keep any sort of time schedule, but it does happen that OBs have to attend to patients at inopportune times. Those with special skill sets have even more demands on their time. Not saying it is right, just the way it is.

Most of the prenatal appointments in a healthy pregnancy are for the mother's mental well-being...and tell you very little about how the baby is progressing. I realize that isn't the case in offices where an ultrasound is given at every appointment...but, strictly speaking, it all is not necessary. Again, in a normal pregnancy.

It was one of the greatest irritations of my pregnancy...being kept waiting hours past my appointment. I monitored my weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar myself and alerted my midwife when something needed attention between appointments...she had to miss appointments to help laboring women. If I can't reschedule, it is what it is. I always had the option of seeking other care.

Good luck.

With you being high risk I wouldn't skip them. (both my girls were high risk). Keep scheduling them first thing if you can and then after 30 minutes-an hour check in at the desk again. My dr office only had 2 drs and a few NP, but occasionally the dr did get called out for a delivery and i either had to wait or see a NP - and more than once by the time he got back, they found another worry that then had him see me! And more than once I was the one that had something pop up that took extra time. I work with someone who goes to the same office and she would get irrate if she wasn't taken back right on time. My answer to her was that innocent babies life is a little more important than your time. You say your going to the university hospital? I would imagine that would mean it's a teaching setting which would explain some of the delays. If it's an inconvenience maybe time to switch to a private practice doctor instead of the university? I just wouldn't put my baby in jeopardy by skipping or dragging appointments apart.

Be sure to tell them when making the appointment that you are a high-risk pregnancy. Schedule your appointments first thing in their morning or right after their lunch. I always try to remember that if they are taking extra long with another patient they would spend the extra time with me, too, if I needed it. I remember one time a woman delivered at her check-up appointment. I'll bet that backed up the schedule!! Don't skip on your baby's health!!

I've pushed appointments before (go every 5/6 weeks instead of every 4 and go every 3 instead of every 2), but I had healthy normal pregnancies. Being high risk, I don't htink pushing the appointments is a good idea. As others have mentioned, I had learned by the 2nd pregnancy to set up my appointments way in advance to ge the 1st appointment of the day or the 1st after lunch. If I waited until 11 pm or 3 pm appointment, I did see those excessive waits. At 20 weeks, I'd already have a 24w, 28w, 32w and 34w appointments scheduled.

Why would you consider missing appointments if you have to go to a high-risk MD for a pre-existing medical condition? An OB is the only Dr I'm ok with being late for appointments b/c they have emergency delivers throughout the day all of the time. Woman don't deliver only after hours. It happens at my Dr office all of the time. I try to schedule my appointments when they first open or right after lunch to prevent long delays. Please don't miss any appointments for your and your baby's sake.

DEPENDS ON WHY YOU SAY YOU ARE HIGH RISK!

That being said. I spread my appointments out with my 3rd pregnancy. I only started going at 12 weeks and then went 5 to 6 weeks between appointments. (I had NO issues, no concerns, no problems.) My doc wanted me to start coming in every 2 weeks from 30 weeks on but I pushed that one out 4 weeks. So, from 34 weeks, I DID follow her 2 week and went at 36 weeks and now she wants every week. I think it's overkill since they haven't done ANYTHING at most appointments but test my urine, weigh me, and check my blood pressure!

I did as one other mom did and schedule way out in advance to get an early morning appt. Other times I just took a good book with me and settled in and had the mindset that I had some time to take it easy. In the end, it's an inconvenience ( and a frustrating one!!!), but the hassle of waiting far outweighs not getting care. - Don't let the frustration cloud your good judgement for appropriate care. Good luck and hope all goes well with your pregnancy.

raise a stink if they're running so late. You're time is valuable too! I would try scheduling my appts first thing in the morning, it's what I generally do for myself and my daughter anyway, it really helps. Otherwise, start bugging them every 15 minutes. my OB was sometimes 30 minutes late and one time they felt really bad when I showed up b/c they had called while I was in the shower to tell me not to bother coming in that morning b/c the doc was in a delivery. 2 hours is unacceptable.

I would complain to the clinic manager and i would refuse to sit in an exam room untll the doctor was ready to see me, no more then 5 minutes. When i have had problems like this in the past I brought my kids with me and leave the exam room door open. they don't want to have to deal with listening to us for two hours so we get seen!

I agree that my time is just as valuable as theirs and don't like to wait 2+ hours for an appointment made several week/months in advance. However with it being directly involved with high-risk pregnancy I can understand that things happen. How would you feel if you showed your butt only to find out that the doctor was in the Operating Room trying to save another person's life as well as their baby-or reverse that. Say your family found out the reason the doc rushed was because of his other obligations to patients and you died and your baby? Just remember we are all humans and life happens and sometimes it doesn't always happen in the most convenient times.
However, my OB office has always been good about letting me know up front that the doctor is running behind and that it could be 2 or more hours before he can get to me because he had an emergency. I have waited and other times I have opted to re-schedule the appointment. It depends on what I have going on. When I get mad due to the time constraints its because I wasn't informed. Also another suggestion is to be up front with them. As soon as you get there you tell them you have to be out of there by such and such time. As in my case I have to leave by a certain time in order to get home in time for my children to get off the school bus and I tell them this so they are well aware. I watch the clock and at a certain point I will ask how much longer and tell them I need to reschedule if I cannot be seen within the next 10 minutes. I know they are busy-but so am I but as long as I am being informed as to what is going on its my decision to wait.
With you being high-risk I wouldn't suggest missing anymore appointments especially the further along you get because more complications can occur and if you are going to your appointments better to catch sooner rather than later. Plus there is the liable part on the doctors part. If you are not going to the appointments and should something happen then they are not held liable for it-regardless. Can you not find another office to deal with the high-risk factor or are they the only ones in your area? Plus I agree with the other posters usually if you make the first appointment of the day its not as bad as a wait and if they close down for lunch that first appointment after lunch is usually good. Sometimes depending on the practice making the last appointment of the day too because they all want to get out of there and go home but you may feel slighted.....or last resort go up the food chain and complain to an office manager or someone. Good luck - I know how frustrating those appointments can be. I was pregnant with twins so not only did I have to go to my regular OB but also to the specialist as well. Two different locations but the specialist office oddly wasn't ever that busy-lol! Maybe it was just the time of day I went though.

As a soon to be doctor (I finish medical school in a few months!), I find it totally unacceptable to be seen 2 hours after your appointment. While things do get behind sometimes, and I can see an rare emergency causing this problem, if it is happening regularly, this is totally a problem! What I would suggest is that you go to your next visit, wait as long as needed, and when you are finally seen, make sure to tell them that you will no longer wait this long. Over 30 minutes is not acceptable unless it is the practice of the office, in which case they need to acknowledge it and have an accurate idea of how behind they are via phone. Ask them why you are waiting for such a long time. Explain that this won't work for you. Ask to be scheduled first in the day, and then ask that they commit to seeing you at this time. If they can't accommodate this, ask them to refer you to another OB for most of your care, and to them only a few times in the pregnancy, because you can't deal with the excessively long waits. If they are still unresponsive, find a higher up, either patient relations, or the attending physician if you are seeing residents. I have done my OB time in an extremely busy hospital, and most people are seen pretty much on time for their scheduled visits. Best of luck.

i had this happen for a physical one time..layed there with legs up in the stirrups for over an hour..i was furious-i got dressed-went to the front desk-demanded my co-pay back back-along with the corperate number-...my dr came out a female at that an apologized-to late-said she forgot about me..nice huh??she said we could continue on-i said no we cant-got my money back called their HR and put in a seriuos complaint-never went back-never put your health or babys health to the back burner-get a top number an call in compaints-really...good luck

I would keep your scheduled appointments. Just know that your doctor is busy and you will have to wait. I work in a doctors office and it is hard to know what kind of complications will happen that day. If you like your doctor that wait for him/her. If not switch to another high risk doctor. The primary care physician i use for myself always runs at least 1 and 1/2 hours behind but is well worth the wait. I just bring some work, knitting or a book and wait. Dont forget you have a high risk doctor, which means that his other patients are too. He never know what is going to happen.

I would NEVER wait that long ...... I would be at that front desk demanding to be seen. I am sorry but my time is just as valuable as the Dr.s time. How dare they make someone wait that long! Do not cancel your appointment but call and ask who your talking, tell them you want to be seen at the specific time of your appointment. I do realize that they do get behind but 2 hours is totally ridiculous!! I would also from now on get the first appointment of the day.

That sucks they take so long. But whatever you do, don't cancel. I had to wait at my 20 week appoint and was really ticked off. I thought about resheduling. Good thing I didn't I was 1 cm dialated and my daughter had dropped. The little bugger was trying to be born. Went in for an emergency cerclage and was put on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy. So with that said, super glad I didn't reschedule. If it was an appointment for a cold or something that's different. Hang in there and just wait it out. It's not about you at this time but keeping baby safe. An extra hour is annoying yes, but in the grand scheme of things it's very small.

Oh and my daughter was ok. Came out 1 week before her due date : ) Needless to say, she's very impatatient and doesn't like to wait for things. Always in a hurry.

My high-risk office was pretty good and occassionaly they would be running late and have emergencies that come in and bump everyone. Try making the appointment for first thing in the morning or right after lunch that way you are the first appointment. Since it's a university system they probably don't have enough doctors to cover both the offices and L&D so they are probably spread pretty thin. I agree with the other ladies 2 hours is way too long and you should complain to a hospital administrator.

isn't the 20 week when you do the "20 week ultrasound"?