newly pregnant in Adelaide

[dale]

Hello,

On Tuesday I went to Fulham medical centre, the doctor did a urine test and confirmed I am pregnant (fantastic news)

I asked him what I need to do and he told me I need to contact the Womens and childrens hospital, which I did. They then told me to contact the SA pregnancy helpline to get a reference number. Got my reference number, had to phone them back. They then scheduled an appointment for the 04/01/2011 and said I need to go to my local GP straight away to check how far I am etc. As I dont have a GP (did not want to go back to Fulham) they said I should go to a doctor on Military Road.

Went there today with hubby, I told her the whole story and alL she did was give me a pamphlet on being pregnant and said I must wait until my appointment on the 04/01. I told her that I was in a car accident on Wednesday (hit from behind) and she never checked me out (did not even get out from behind her desk)

So now we are confused, it is our first pregnancy and not sure if it is normal that my 1st proper check up is only going to be in January. Is this normal?

If anyone has any advice, it will be greatly appreciated!!! Also need to rey find a doctor, preferably near West Beach for checks later on.

Thanks

Dalene

[Annette]

Dalene, the first thorough checkup for a normal pregnancy with no complicating factors would be at 12 weeks. Pregnancy is not an illness and as long as there is nothing is your history to show any concern, no one is hopefully going to treat you as if you are ill. If you have extreme morning illness or bleeding, then obviously you go straight back to your doctor. Re. the accident, were you injured? Remember that bubs will be safely cushioned inside your womb and probably no bigger than a split pea at this stage, so even if you do get injured, he/she is much better off inside you than you are. There have been a myriad of stories of babies surviving the terrible injuries and even death of their mothers, so don't worry. In fact, worrying is probably the one thing that may harm the development of your baby, much more harmful than any external injuries to you. So, chillax and enjoy the ride. It's a wonderful miracle. Congratulations!

Re. finding a doctor, I'm sorry, but I don't know that side of town well. Doctors deal with sick people though and few are really experienced or trained in prenatal care. They also tend to treat you as if there's something wrong with you and believe me, the less medical intervention, the better, unless there is real concern for your health or a significant family history of stillbirth, pre-eclampsia etc. Your midwife on the other hand, should become your new best friend. They are much better qualified and equipped to help you through pregnancy and birth. You should meet the midwife on your first appointment at Womens' and Childrens'. That birthing unit has a great reputation. I'm sure you'll be well looked after.

[rozellem]

I am with Anette on everything she said. At my GP practice all the Dr's have "specialities" that they have extra certificates in. You might ask your practice who the person is who has the baby credentials. And you can shop around. Mind you my Dr does not have the baby cert at my practice and I love her. She famously told me when I went for the "confirmation" visit that I have to realise that there is now, for all practical purposes "a parasite living inside of me". Which is so true! Feed it or it will take what it needs from you! She also told me just after my son was born and I raced to her with something (new, inexperienced mum), that "it is very difficult to kill one of these". Which again is so true, kids are mega resilient. Good luck.

[dale]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for the advice. Have received great information and feel much more reassured! Just really had no idea whtat the normal process is!

Feel normal and excited and lookig forward to this journey!

Thanks again

Dalene

[Jordy]

The big difference between RSA and Aus is that in South africa you would have gone to a gynae and had multiple scans. In Aus you go to a midwife and maybe will have 2 scans. Dale I suggest you join a mommy forum: South Africa's one is www.mommy.co.za and Australia's is www.bubhub.com.au and http://theparentingsanctuary.com.au/

[rozellem]

The big difference between RSA and Aus is that in South africa you would have gone to a gynae and had multiple scans. In Aus you go to a midwife and maybe will have 2 scans. Dale I suggest you join a mommy forum: South Africa's one is www.mommy.co.za and Australia's is www.bubhub.com.au and http://theparentingsanctuary.com.au/

Dale, bubhub is a very good site to join, I would personally stay clear of the RSA sites as it would probably only confuse you with contradicting information. Remember one of the (9 ?) rules of immigration, "you can only live in one country at any one time". Medicine in RSA is arguably quite heavy handed and because of the medical aids paying people have loads of (unnecessary) scans and visits to medical personnel. Enjoy the ride.

[HansaPlease]

Congratulations Dalene!

Going from experiences of people I know in both South Africa and Australia, I do think the process is a bit more simple in Australia, in terms of less testing and less pampering.

That being said, going public (government hospital) is a real alternative in Australia - my wife just had our second baby (last week!) and both our kids were born in the same public hospital - which was absolutely fantastic - may as well have been private. In South Africa we would not go near a government hospital.

There was no doctor present at either birth - only midwives, who did a fantastic job. Of course there are doctors on hand should anything go wrong, but the midwives do the actual delivery. They also do home visits in the days/weeks after the birth to check up on mother and baby. All courtesy of the taxman.

We have private health and had the option of going public or private, but as it turned out, the only benefit we would have had going private was my wife would see the same obstetrician, and she would have stayed longer in hospital when she had the baby - which she didn't want anyway - she asked to be discharged on day 2. We would have had to pay about $2000 extra for private.

Public was absolutely free. We did not pay a cent for the birth!

I agree - when doing your research, don't look at South African resources, only Australian ones, because the processes are definitely different.

Good luck!