Quick Tips 3: Switching Providers While Pregnant
A lot of us hold a strong loyalty to our medical providers, even though we may feel unheard or unsupported by them. In this week's quick tip, I'll let you in on a little secret that some people may not know. It could change the way you think about your current provider.
Welcome to Friday’s quick tip. Today’s quick tip goes along with something that Ariell said during her interview this week. In case you missed it, the episode came out Wednesday. And the lesson was about finding a provider that is aligned with your birth plan. During the interview Ariell said that if your current provider is not aligned with your birth plan, don’t be afraid to switch to a new one.
It’s a little secret that I’m not sure many people know, but this is it: Your provider works for you.
Did you catch that? I’ll say it again: Your provider works for you.
Many women seem to think it goes the other way around. I thought so too, for a while. But as it turns out, I was wrong. You don’t have to blindly follow everything your provider suggests. You can question their recommendations.
And if at any point, you feel unsupported, disrespected, or unheard, you can switch.
You can switch at 20 weeks, like Ariell did. You can switch at 28 weeks, like I did. I have heard of quite a few women who switched at 40 weeks, and even heard one story of a woman who left the hospital while in labor to go to a different one because she didn't like the way she was being treated.
I know you’re probably thinking, but I’ve been with my doctor or midwife for 5 years now, I feel bad leaving. I felt the same way, like I was letting my doctor down, she would be disappointed that I was leaving her for someone else. Did she cry when I left the practice? Nope. I don’t even think she knew or realized. Would she really miss seeing me for 5 minutes once a month while pregnant, and for 5 minutes once a year after that? Nope.
But the truth is, if she really cared, she would have supported me and treated me the way I deserved to be supported and treated.
I mentioned this in last week’s quick tip when I talked about a gentle c-section. It doesn’t just apply to that. If at any point you are unhappy or unsatisfied with the care that you are getting, you can always switch. You don’t work for your provider, your provider works for you.
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