First Doctor's Visit

I decide on going to Mamta Maternity home.

I've been here once before, when my mother-in-law met the doctor for some breast related problem. I'd accompanied her, and I remember a long wait in an outdoor shaded area with mosquitoes biting me.

I decided to go in the morning to avoid the mosquitoes, and took along something to read.

Raka, my husband came along.

We had called in with an appointment, but it didn't mean much, as we still ended up waiting for an hour and a half after arriving on time.

Patience is not a virtue I have.

The doctors visit was nothing like I imagined. I had fantasies of an attentive, informative doctor, who would be a reassuring presence in my life for the coming months. No such thing happened.

When we went in, the doctor was on the phone, and talking with someone (assistant?) on the side. She nodded at us to sit, and we explained about why we were there, once she finished the call.

I put my test reports in front of her, and she scanned them briefly, giving me the impression that she hadn't expected such an early scan and thought it unnecessary. I felt reprimanded about this initiative, though she didn't really say anything. I had been anxious to 'see', after my earlier miscarriage. I had constant anxiety that something would go wrong.

When I shared this, she nodded absently, while scribbling something on a pad and telling me to go behind the screen for being examined as she reached out to her phone which had started ringing again. My husband was just sitting there, not understanding a thing.

The assistant came around and told me to strip waist down, and I lay on the table covered with a sheet, listening to the doctor on the phone again. From what I could hear, she was probably speaking with a friend/family about something casual. She walked in with the phone still tucked behind her ear, and put on gloves and did a vaginal exam, nodded and walked out. The assistant told me I could put on my clothes again.

Feeling a little lost, as the doctor from my earlier pregnancy had recommended avoiding anything vaginal unless necessary, I did as asked, all the time wondering if it had registered that I had miscarried before.

We came out, and the assistant checked my blood pressure and got in an empty file and put in the sheet the doctor had been writing on.

The doctor then told me to take a folic acid supplement. I replied I was taking Folvite, and she recommended another instead of it, as better. Whatever. She said that she had prescribed another tablet for vaginal use every night. Oooookay....

She turned back to her phone and we were supposedly dismissed. No asking if I had any symptoms, nothing. Mention of my smoking history earned a frown and she said to stop smoking. Duh! Like I hadn't figured out that one myself?

The assistant explained that I should have got some more informative printouts in my file, but someone from their staff had not come in that day, and I should collect them the next time I come.

On my way out, some nurse checked my weight.

That's it. Doctor's visit.

Raka was furious. He had expected more attention, particularly after knowing of the earlier miscarriage. We hadn't really found the doctor wanting to know anything at all about my condition, concerns, or even questions that I may have.

I was lost. I knew exactly as much about my pregnancy as I had while walking in. In fact, my memories of my doctors visit from 2 years ago were more informative than what we had just experienced, and we were utterly disappointed with our experience.

My mother-in-law ws shocked at how negative we were about that doctor, who is considered to be the best in our area. To be honest, there never seemed to be any doubt of her competence. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing. The problem was that we didn't know what she was up to vis a vis us.

Perhaps she was just having a bad day, but that didn't reassure us any about putting the fate of our precious one in her hands. Who knew if she was even paying attention to something that might signal a risk?

We had been asked to return after a month with a bunch of results from tests she had recommended, so we decided to look around to see what options we had.