36 week OBS appointment

For those of you using shared care with your GP...

I have an appointment with the hospital OBS at 36 weeks, what is this for???? What happens and should I 'prepare'?

I'm doing shared care, and I have an OB appt at 34 weeks. I think its just routine - they'll just want to ensure you're travelling ok.
I am personally going to use this appointment to discuss my birth options - take in my birth plan and talk about my wanting a physiological 3rd stage.
That's a thought, probably at this appointment they will ask for your consent to the synto shot, and to the vit K and Hep B vacc for bubby. You might want to have a think about whether you want to consent to those before you go along. You could also use this appt to discuss any hospital 'policy' you're unsure about (like whether they have time-limits for each stage of labour, etc.)

I don't have shared care but I have a list of appts that I have at certain weeks and my 36 week appt is a appt with the doctor and to get a scan to estimate how big the baby is and also to get GBS swab(think that is what it is called). Maybe this could be what yours is for?

This is standard in public and shared care.

They like everyone to see an obstetrician at least once, even if you don't need to ;)

I don't know anything about getting a scan (I thought the 20 week one was the last one) or even a GBS. Hmm...

If I had my pregnancy pack with me I would look in it and get the sheet of information. Apparently this swab is what most women get, it is to see if you carry some sort of infection or something?

here you go - http://www.birth.com.au/Info.asp?class=6625&page=11

I was told by my Midwife that they will be collecting that swab from me at 36 weeks and also at that appt I will see a doctor and get my scan to estimate how big the baby is. But not all women get this of course as every doctor and midwife is different. I know my cousin never got a scan at 36 weeks, or at all to estimate the size of the baby.

at the royal brisbane, its just a standard check up. they dont offer anymore scans unless medically necissary and they dont do the GBS routinely either. if by 'prepare' you are thinking along the lines of an internal, they dont do that either :-) not until you are 41weeks.

Yep, I was wondering if they were going to do an internal. Thanks everyone, I'll think of it as another unneeded appointment. All I seem to do these days is see Doctors! Ugh. I tell them all the same thing... I am fine!

I don't remember them doing an internal at this appt.
I would use it to make sure you have no unanswered questions.
Take in your birth plan, if you don't have one do some research and make a thorough one including EVERYTHING you do and don't want, so you can discuss it with them.
JMO I am speaking from a place where I went in to my first labour totally unprepared ready to go with the flow, was induced them advised to have a C/S.I am now trying for a VBA2C and am coming up against a lot of hurdles and I feel that all this could have been different if I went into the first one more informed.
I hope I havn't scared you, I just want you to feel informed. :hug:

In my case it was exactly the same as all my other checkups - blood pressure, fundal height, heartbeat, I asked about how amenable they'd be to me not going overdue, she checked with the OB who said "no way is she going overdue with her risk factors", then it was all over. She told me to get my GP to order the strep B test. And they don't want to see me again at the hospital until 40 weeks.

From what i can tell it's routine. My Ob wants to see me weekly from 36 weeks onwards. I also believe you have the swab for Strep bacteria done at 36 weeks appt.

You probably won't have another scan unless there's some medical reason for it.
It depends on your hospital as to whether you'll have the GBS swab. At the hospital I went to last time I was given two swabs and told to do it myself at home then bring it to my next appt. I fear this time my GP will be doing it for me :rolleyes: cause she's fairly old school.
Babes, you don't have to accept a 'routine' internal at any stage, even at 40 weeks. IMO it's a good idea to agree to monitoring of your bubs if you go 'overdue', but internals don't tell you diddly squat IMO. Of course if you are agreeable there's no problem with having one, but if you're not comfortable with it, just refuse. (Or obtain a really good reason from them as to why you need one.)
And LOL @ telling everyone you're fine. Now you'll be on weekly appts - feels like you're in there every jolly day ;)

I havent read throught the entire thread :redface:
I did shared care with my GP/team midwifery for my first baby. My GP practised obstetrics so I dont know whether that makes any difference, but I never saw anyone other than him and midwives until I was overdue and he was on leave.

They could be using a 36 weeks appt it to offer you the GBS test and an ultrasound, but you are not obliged to have either of them - regardless of what they tell you all tests are voluntary.
Some OBs routinely offer GBS swabs while others do not, and a 36 week scan is certianly not 'routine' at least not in the public system here (Vic) its normally requested if there are other "complications".

FWIW, I am not having GBS swab at 36 weeks. I have agreed to ABs if I go into labour before 37 weeks, otherwise I may decide to have the GBS swab a lot closer to my EDD, maybe 39 or 40 weeks, given that DS was 11 days over and I was negative last time. (as an aside i find it odd that if you were postitive last time, you are assumed positive every time, but its not the same with a negative result...)

They may also just want to inform you as to what to take with you to the hospital, visiting times (partners and grandparents for example may have different visiting hours to whats advertised to the public) that sort of thing.

Oscar - I didn't have an internal until I was in labour (and only one). You don't need to have one if you don't want to.... it's not important or relevant if you ask me ;)
Good luck at your appointment. It's just routine checkup.
It's a bit like that though huh? By the end of the PG all you feel like you've done is been a human pin cushion :lol: and seen GP's all the time.... it gets tiring!

I do shared care too. My 36 appointment was just like my regular GP appt. The dr asked how i was, any concerns etc. Checked my belly...baby was breech so she did a quick scan to double check and also check the heartbeat. I wasn't offered a GBS test. If i was i wasn't going to do it anyway. I had another appointment a week later because i had to have another u/s to check bubs because he was breech. Thank goodness he had turned. My OB appt was the same as my previous one. Total waste of time though. And i waited for an HOUR for that appt. :wall:

Oh actually there was something new...before i saw the OB i saw a midwife and had to do a depressed test. It was just a short questionaire to check for signs of depression.

Oh and i had to have a bloodtest. Just FBC. Nothing very interesting. lol

I've never had an internal until i was at the hospital in labour.

I never made my 36wk but it was scheduled with my ob which is pretty standard from what other people seem to experience.

I had my gbs test at 34wks (i only remember because i didn't know my results when i went into labour). But other people have said they remember it being later.

I am in shared care and see my ob for 1st qppt 12wks (nt scan or 14wks and a quick scan if no nt scan), 20wks (big scan results), 30wks (growth scan), 36 wks (not sure). After that no clue.

I assume this is where we talk about birth plan etc. Usually when i see the ob it's no dif to the midwife except that it usually comes with a scan in his office tather than the doppler to check heartbeat. He takes bp, fundal height asks if i have any ques. He asked along the way about inverted nipples, bf, pulpatated my tummy.

I believe internals may start from 36wks. But i think this is discretionary.

I'll be asking my labour questions at 30wks this time not so much birth plan just ques about labour in general in case i do go into early labour again.

OK, so this turned out to be a waste of time! They didn't weigh me, check my urine, or do an internal. They didn't offer a GBS swab either. All they did was check babies position (head down not engagaed), babies heartbeat, and my pulse. They asked me if I had any questions (no) and that was it. It was over so fast and I waited an hour to see the midwife.

Oh well... don't need to go to the hossy again til 41 weeks, :pray: I don't make it to 41 weeks LOL.