It's a Girl!!!

Dec 30, 2010 took forever to arrive!!! I tried to schedule my doctor’s appointment on my birthday, Dec10, but of course all plans don’t always work in your favor. This was the first time my boyfriend was coming with me to a doctor’s visit…unfortunately I did not give him the heads up about the poor customer service or the extended wait time.

My appointment was at 10am, and yes we were on time. I registered and we found a seat and sat for a good 2 ½ hours before being called. He was restless; I was hungry and close to becoming very pissed. I went to ask the lady sitting at the desk what the holdup was and she tells me there are only two sonogram doctors so they are a bit backed up but she will go see where I am on the list. She must have been gone for maybe 10-15min only to come back to tell me “I May Be Next”…Ummm what the heck does that mean?

Finally the doctor called my name and my boyfriend and I were happy again, only for a second. I don’t know how everyone else operated but I like for my doctors to introduce themselves and build a friendly rapport with me. This doctor in particular did none of the above! After calling my name she said follow me and walked us to the room. We get to the room and she instructs me to use the restroom. As soon as I walked out she directs me to the table and to pull my pants down a bit (sheesh still no introduction) and she slapped my belly with the grease. She didn’t even wait for my boyfriend to come out the bathroom she just went to work. Then when he tried to stand in front of me to look at the screen she says, “Step back and sit down this is going to be a while!”

He’s the father so umm why can he not look. We already been here for over two hours, we know this is going to be long. She did not crack a smile, nothing. I finally asked, “Doc, what’s going on down there?”

She replied, “I’m taking pictured of every body part, but everything looks good. Would you like to know the sex of the baby?”

“Ummm Yes, please,” I replied.

“It looks like a girl,” she says (this means that there is a 5% chance this could be a boy).

My boyfriend was floored. I really wanted a girl and he really wanted a boy, but none the less he was and is super happy for the healthy results for our baby girl, Alissa Rai. This is one of the best moments of my life, what a blessing! I couldn’t ask for more.

My thoughts on doctor visits...

• If it matters to you make sure your doctor is friendly, welcoming, and nice if possible.

Wrap up question

How was your experience when you found out the sex of you baby (s)?

~BK Mommy2Be

Do I qualify for anything?

I was so excited to finally have found a new gig that I didn’t think about the important details such as INSURANCE.  Yes, I knew I was pregnant, and Yes I knew that insurance was important but I also thought, for a split second, that benefits kick in immediately at all companies…WRONG!

My Aunt asked if I inquired about their benefits policy and I said yes because I did in fact ask and my soon-to-be boss said “30 days”.  I was ok with the company’s 30 day policy because I was only 4 weeks prego at the time and could hold off on my second doctor’s appointment.  But when I made the call to Oxford to confirm I found out two very important things…

1.) Benefits are not active until Dec1 (90 days from my start date)

2.) The plan is Oxford Liberty which meant that I can no longer use my current OB/GYN because they do not accept my Oxford Libery.

If I could replay every emotion that was running thru my body at the time it would be unbelievable! I was sooooooo PISSED, the worst part was I had no one to be mad at. Not that I would have turned down the job but sheeeesh, 90 day and I had to find a new doctor…Something has got to give!!!

I finally calmed down and gathered my thoughts and figured there has to be something out there temporarily. My Aunt suggesting looking into COBRA, a company that supplies temporary insurance after employment but that cost like $500 a months. I was looking for something closer to ummm FREE!

I must have searched the internet until my eyes were ready to fall out. I finally came across a few different programs: Health Plus, Medicaid, and PCAP (prenatal care assistance program). As I was looking deeper into each program I realized that I don't qualify for ANYTHING! Why you ask... income requirements. What I gathered from Medicaid and Health Plus is if you’re not POOR we can't help you because if you’re rich you can afford healthcare. But what about the Middle Class with a temporary situation? Who helps us? I even thought that I could possible qualify for PCAP. I definitely misread the qualifications and the PCAP phone operator lied to me (or mislead)! I was under the impression that ALL pregnant women receive FREE prenatal care NO MATTER WHAT-- not the case.

My prenatal service at the participating hospital I thought was free until I received a $678 bill. It ended up being voided but I still had to pay a $30 co-pay.  I can’t wait to talk about my first hospital visit!

For more info on COBRA: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.HTML

For more info on Health Plus: http://www.healthplus-ny.org/en/8198_ENG_HTML.html

For more info on Medicaid: http://www.cms.gov/MedicaidEligibility/02_AreYouEligible_.asp#TopOfPage

For more info on PCAP: http://www.emedny.org/ProviderManuals/Prenatal/PDFS/Prenatal-Policy_Section.pdf

My advice on gaps between jobs and benefits

• Ask a thousand and one questions until you are sure
• Try and have a back-up plan for insurance gaps

Wrap up question

Is there FREE prenatal services for middle class women?

~BK Mommy2Be