Search Results for: blog communicating with your doctor

Do You Feel Well Informed by Your Health Care Provider?

Do you feel well informed by your health care provider? Doctors and midwives vary from each other and among other professionals in their field in terms of patient communication and patient education. Some doctors are naturally good at educating and informing patients about options for birth as well as many other health related topics. Others aren’t as good at communicating or are hurrying to the next patient and don’t take the time. Rushing or not bothering to offer information to patients seems to be all too common in the experiences of many women. The reasons vary. Sometimes the doctor is … Continue reading →

Another Good Reason to Tell Your Doctor About Drug or Alcohol Use

In my last blog, I talked about the reasons women aren’t always completely honest about certain habits during pregnancy. One of the more common things to hide is drug or alcohol use. Recent research has shown the importance of finding help and getting treatment for addiction when you are pregnant. A study conducted by Kaiser Permanente in California looked at the outcome of pregnancy when the mother receives treatment for addiction. The researchers studied 50,000 pregnant women receiving prenatal care at the facility. There were 2100 women who chose to receive treatment for substance abuse and 160 who declined the … Continue reading →

Are You Honest with Your Health Care Provider?

During pregnancy, women often aren’t totally honest with their doctors. Some withhold information or avoid questions out of fear. This ranges from small fibs about diet and exercise to more serious deception about smoking cigarettes, drinking and drug use during pregnancy. Women have many reasons for being less than honest with doctors and midwives. Sometimes the reason is a desire to project an image of the perfect patient and perfect mother to be. They want the midwife or doctor to view them in that image and fear disclosing anything that would tarnish that image. This often occurs in women who … Continue reading →

Getting Your Child to Describe His Pain

Any parent who has had to deal with a sick child or a child who has hurt himself knows how tough it can be to figure out exactly where it is hurting or what has gone wrong. Often children just cry and whimper, or if they have a very high fever, it is impossible to get them to tell us what is wrong. Communicating with our child when he or she is ill or hurt can be a huge challenge! “Tell me where it hurts” or “Show me where it hurts” are common tactics for parents. It just seems to … Continue reading →

What to Expect at Your First Prenatal Visit

If you are newly pregnant for the first time, you may be wondering about your first prenatal visit. Whether you are seeing an obstetrician or a midwife, your first visit will be longer and more involved than subsequent prenatal appointments. Regular prenatal care is important during pregnancy to assess your health and prevent or treat possible complications. You will be given a pregnancy test to confirm the pregnancy. This is usually a urine test. Your urine will also be tested for protein, sugar and bacteria. This will be done at every prenatal visit. You will be asked the date of … Continue reading →

Preparing for Your Home Study

Don’t panic! Though there are many things to do, there is no reason to become overly stressed about your home study. First, emotionally prepare yourself that home studies can take quite some time to complete. Keep in mind, if there are other adults living in your home, they too will likely have to complete parts of the home study process in order for your family to be approved. There are typically many steps to a home study, some of which may in include (in no particular order): Completed applications for adoption: In addition to being asked for basic information about … Continue reading →

Helpful Insight for Parents of Children with Autism

Being a parent can be a wondrous, joyful, miraculous experience. This does not mean that every day will be perfect. I think all parents benefit from having resources on hand that they can consult in times of stress. This is especially true for parents of children who have special needs. Everyone needs a little advice from time to time, and what better source than from adults who have the same differences that your child does? If your child has Asperger’s Syndrome, or has been diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum, you may want to read the Wrong Planet parenting … Continue reading →

Toddler Hearing Test

Jessie has been working with Early Childhood Intervention for more than a year. As much as I wanted her to get speech therapy, no one would agree to it until well after she turned two. Previously it was agreed that she was communicating just fine, although not the way I wanted. I wanted to make sure that there weren’t any problems with her hearing. If she’s not hearing the sounds right, it’s no wonder she’s not repeating them. I found an ENT and scheduled her appointment. The hearing test was a lot different than when I had my hearing tested … Continue reading →

Exam Etiquette

Unless you have faced a major illness earlier in life, it’s more than likely that you will visit the doctor as many times during your pregnancy, if not more, than you have in your entire life. Pregnancy checkups occur monthly at first, and by the end of your pregnancy, they happen weekly and sometimes twice a week depending on your level of risk. With such frequent visits, you should probably be aware of the rules, some unspoken, of what you should do and not do when you are in for a checkup. Be clean. Someone once told me that it … Continue reading →

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Caregiver

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Whether you plan on giving birth with the assistance of an obstetrician, midwife or family practitioner, choosing your caregiver is an important decision. There are many different styles and methods of practice and stereotypes don’t always hold true. Not all obstetricians are eager to intervene no matter what and not all midwifes are sensitive, flexible and noninterventive. Ask friends for recommendations and then interview several caregivers before making your decision. Ask open ended questions to get unbiased answers. Follow up with vague answers and evaluate how comfortable you feel asking the caregiver questions when something is unclear. Pregnancy is full … Continue reading →