Do I even have a choice?

[TeniBear]

I'm getting a bit sick of not being able to choose anything in my care. Not knowing what to do, trusting doctors who it then turns out have given me bad advice... Being told I have the choice of shared care or full hospital/midwife care but not being told how I'm supposed to go about this.

I had a bit of a rant in another thread a few weeks ago about getting bounced around from the Mercy Hospital to my GP then back again (if you want to read it, here it is) and it turns out to be for nothing! I haven't heard back from the Mercy, but for some unknown reason, the Northern Hospital has contacted me to "confirm my appointment" - that I never made.

So it seems that I don't have a choice in the hospital I give birth in. I have to go to an appointment on the 5th of November, at a hospital I've decided I do not want have my baby in. I don't know anything about how the Northern goes about birth - I want choices that they may not offer.

Has anyone been in this situation and managed to change hospitals? Or have anything to ease my mind about the Northern?

[Betcha]

You have every choice in the world. No-one can force you to go to a particular hospital.

Give the Mercy a call and tell them what has happened (if you still want to go there of course) or go back to your doctor and find out what the deal is.

I have had my first appointment at the Mercy but am still finding out information about whether it is going to be a good hospital for me (VBAC) and wont hesitate to change if I decide it is not.

Remember, this is your pregnancy, your baby and most importantly *your choice*

[Cookalooks]

Originally Posted by Betcha

Give the Mercy a call and tell them what has happened (if you still want to go there of course) or go back to your doctor and find out what the deal is.

When i found out i was pregnant with DD i was going to go public with shared care with my GP - i organised everything and had even confirmed my first appt with the midwives @ the public hospital. - i then changed my mind and decided to go private. i just rang them up and told them id changed my mind - they said that was fine and thanks for letting them know and my GP was happy for me as well! So YES, you do have a choice but you do also need to ask questions and not take things that the docs ( or other care providers) as gospel