Pregnancy question

My Dh came home with this story last night-- someone we know got pregnant-called Dr --drd said we wont see you till your 8th week(is this standard practice?)
and she started cramping, then hemorraging(sp?) and found out she had an extopic(sp?) pregnancy
She had to have surgery to remove one of her tubes--
Now my big question-- waiting to see her till her 8th week?? what is that about? This was her 2nd pregnancy (not sure if that has something to do with it or not)
any ideas?

I went to the doc when I was 4 weeks prego. My period was 2 days late. I didnt go back till I was 7 weeks when they did an internal sonogram to see the heartbeat. I dont know the reason I had to wait till I was 7 weeks to go for my first sono though.

I feel really bad for them though. And now she has to have one of her tubes removed... Hope she gets better soon. Hugs to them

so sorry about your friend

I believe it is standard practice for most OB's to not see a newly pregnany patient until after the first eight weeks of pregnancy - sometimes not until after the first trimester. It doesn't seem right, but I think it is b/c they want to be sure the pregnancy is going to survive, and since the doctor *cannot* predict what will happen, only nature and time can tell if an embryo will grow and thrive.

If you think about it, one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage - with about one third of those b/c something was wrong w/the way the baby was growing. The causes of miscarriage are hardly ever known for certain. It could be anything from genetic problems, hormones, immune system problems, infections or very high temperature, and anatomical problems with the woman's cervix.

Laura I am so sorry for your friend. I do not know why her doctor wasn't more proactive. Ectopic pregnancies are life threatening to the Mom if they are not treated immediately. I hope she is feeling better soon (although her emotional healing will take much longer, I know).

I'm so sorry for your friend laura
Yes it is common for the obgyn not to see you till your 8th week. Its only then that they can detect a fetal pole

Laura, I am so sorry to hear about your friend.

When I was pregnant the first time, I went to see my dr. when I was 8 weeks, but this time I went when I was 7 weeks. I think they wait until then because that's when they can pick up the heartbeat on the internal sonogram. But then again, my friend went when she was like 4-5 weeks pregnant, so I guess it depends on the dr.

Each dr. has a different way of doing things, which makes me laugh because isn't it the same thing? I mean, it's not like being ill, everyone is pg and will go through the same stuff, so why doesn't each dr. tell you the same thing? Just like what you can and can't eat -- one dr. says no, another says yes. Make up your mind, is it good or not?

the reason why some woman go sooner than others is only because they might not know excatly how far along they are.
If I called the doctor and said ' im pregnant and need to make an apt' and wasn't sure when I concieved they would probably take me right away.

If you knew you were only 2 weeks pregnant when you called they would probably all wait a lil while longer.

There is absolutly nothing at all they can see within the first few weeks, there would be nothing for them to check.

However, they do send you for blood work to make sure in those first few weeks that your beta hcg is doubling