High-risk specialist?

I am 8 weeks pregnant with twins and trying to decide whether to with the OB/GYN who delivered my singleton son, or switch to a high risk specialist. I feel a lot of loyalty to my prior OB/GYN, but don't want to make a mistake. Thoughts?

 

I don't think you can make a mistake with that kind of decision. There are various factors to consider including your OB/GYN's skill/comfort level with twin pregnancies & births, what kind of twins you're having (some have more risk factors than others), and any other factors that may be personally important to you. You could also stick with your OB/GYN for now but if complications develop down the road switch to or consult with a different doctor.

For myself, I think having a care provider that you trust and respect trumps just about anything else, so lacking a compelling reason otherwise, would stick with the care provider I knew. I had a very difficult relationship with my OB when I was pregnant with my twins and it made for a stressful pregnancy & birth.

 

I agree 100% with Rachel, its super important you trust and feel comfortable with whomever you see. Many twin pregnancies dont end up being high risk, I never needed to see a specialist. Congratulations!! and welcome to TS!

 

I absolutely agree with Rachel. If you have a strong relationship with your OB, I would stay put while you are early. As the pregnancy progresses, s/he may tell you that you need a high-risk doctor, but you might be just fine staying put.

I had mono-di twins and one was diagnosed with gastroschsis in utero. We were considered high-risk and had two consults with a peri. I loved my OB, though, and we had a wonderful rapport, so I chose to keep my appointments with her throughout my pregnancy and she just told me when she needed an extra opinion or wanted to conference with the peri. This relationship worked really well for us and I attribute much of the success in my pregnancy to sticking with my trusted doctor.

 

I continued to see my regular OB throughout - I didn't need to see a specialist, although he would have referred me to one if the need would have arose.

 

I saw both when I was pregnant with twins. I was only considered high risk due to having twins, nothing else. I saw my OB for my regular appts and the high risk OB would do growth u/s....the nice thing too is my insurance would cover an u/s at every visit with the high risk OB, but only the 20 week u/s with my regular OB.

Many Ladies see both...can you possibly see both? I liked the detailed u/s my high risk gave me, plus going more often to the OB made me feel better and was a relief when my twins were born early very unexpectedly. If I had not had that routine appt. with my high risk OB when I did...well I don't even want to think what might have happened because I wasn't due to see my OB for 3 more weeks. At that appt. it was determined I needed an emergency cerclage...I was 1 day shy of 24 weeks, so I was at the very last point of when they would do them.


Can you possibly see both?

 

I only saw my regular OB, who had lots of experience with twins. I wouldn't see a peri without some indication of risk beyond just twins. I had a normal, complication-free pregnancy and would have hated being treated as though I was higher risk that I was. That's me personally though. I'd do the same if I had another set of twins.

 

I LOVED my reg OB… and when I had to get my Cerclage… he sent me to a multiples specialist… but MAN that man was rough… I felt for his wife … so I only went to my multiples specialist if I wanted a second opinion… otherwise I stayed with who I was the most comfortable with… also saw a Peri on and off because both Drs were fearful of TTTS… all 3 of my Drs came to visit me in the hospital after they were born :air_kiss:

Elizabeth

 

I was referred to a specialist because I was so prone to miscarriages so I did see a specialist for high risk twin pregnancies. She did tell me that a lot of OBGYNs will say they can handle twin pregnancies, but may not fully understand the process of it. Those types of pregnancies have to be watched closely because there are two babies that need attention. So many things can go wrong with a twin pregnancy that if the pregnancy is not in the right hands, some of those things may not be either handled correctly or even noticed. However, if you do decide to continue to see your OBGYN, ask a lot of questions. The fact that you know your doctor well does not mean you are in the best hands under your current circumstances. Find out how many twin pregnancies your doctor has worked with. What would your doctor's course of action be if anything went wrong. What sort of things would your doctor do differently for a twin pregnancy from your singleton pregnancy, because a twin pregnancy is different and does need special attention. Don't be afraid to grill your doctor with many questions even though you have known your doctor for so long. This is your health and your twins' health that you need to focus on and not your doctor's feelings. Your doctor will understand if you want to be referred to a specialist or if you decide to find a specialist you feel would better care for your current pregnancy. You can always return to your long-term doctor after you have the babies.

 

I am seeing both my OB and also a perinatologist. My twins are mono-di and they are monitoring me every two weeks by ultrasound to check for twin to twin transfusion syndrome as they are sharing a placenta. My perinatologist is going on a short maternity leave in two weeks to have her baby so I will just see my OB for a while. My ultrasounds are done at the hospital in the fetal assessment unit where they monitor mainly high-risk pregnancies. I live 1/2 a block from the hospital so it's super convenient for me.

 

Everyone has given you great advice! My OB was a high risk OB/GYN.to begin with bit thats partially why I started going to him years ago. Even with that I was a high risk patient and while I maintained my appts and was mainly under his care I also saw a maternal fetal medicine doc too just for extra precaution. As the gals have said if your OB thinks this is necessary he/ she will send you there, but if you trust your OB and have a good rapport with him/her I'd stay put.

 

This is exactly what I had...my regular OB performed c-section.

 

I saw both. I had complications from day one but regardless my OB would have referred me to a specialist due to my health risks and the risk imposed by pregnancy twin or singlton. At one point I was seeing my OB weekly and the specialist weekly. There were very few weeks during my entire pregnancy from week 8 to finish that I didn't at least see one or the other. But I have a ton of sonogram pictures!!

My regular OB did the c-section.

 

Oh yeah my OB referred all twins to a high risk specialist for at least one visit. Typically the big anatomy sonogram. It didn't mean they would continue to go to the high risk doctor if they were considered a low risk twin pregnancy.

 

Thanks so much for all the responses! I went to my regular OB/GYN and she referred me to a high-risk specialist who I will see concurrently. It sounds like a lot of you ended up with a similar set-up and were happy with it. I'm very excited about this pregnancy.