Has anyone gone to the hospital without prenatal care?

Question

Just curious if anyone just went to the hospital when they were in labor without having had much or any prenatal care? If so what did you tell them at the hospital?

Answer 1

I haven't, I have always go to the doctors throughout my pregnancies. But if you have not had any prenatal care, I would hope that when you got to the hospital, you would tell them the truth. That way they can run tests and things like that, that should have been done by a doctor!

Answer 2

I am a labor nurse who has seen many women who did not get regular prenatal care.

You need to be honest about your lack of prenatal care and tell them why you didn't bother with it. From a doctor/nurse's perspective, no prenatal care is a reason to be suspicious of the mother. They will drug test you, ask you a lot of questions about your relationship with the father (because of the potential for an abusive relationship), etc.

You cannot get in trouble for not having prenatal care or have your child taken away from you simply for not getting care. That's your choice, but just be aware that this is how hospital policies view your choice. We always suspect there must be something dysfunctional going on that made you want to avoid getting care.

Good luck!

Answer 3

My cousin had her first child without having any prenatal care. She actually went to the hospital because she was having some serious stomach pain. She had just began to suspect she may be pregnant and thought maybe she was having a miscarriage. Instead, she went to the hospital to be checked out and came home with a baby boy. There wasn't even enough time to call her boyfriend (now her husband) to let him know what was going on. I can only imagine how that phone call must have gone. "Honey, I am at the hospital, we just had a baby boy." He didn't even know she was going to the ER since he was at work and she decided to take herself in. My 4th pregnancy was unknown to me until I was 17 weeks along. Before it happened to me, I was skeptical about women who didn't know they were pregnant. However, I was 38 years old and had been pregnant 3 other times when I found out, so I am much more sympathetic to women who have a baby without knowing they are pregnant. My little "surprise" is now 10 and my cousin's little "surprise" is now 6. Her little boy started life pretty tiny (5 pounds) and was the sleepiest, stillest baby I have ever seen, but he is doing just fine now. My 20 year old niece had a baby last November after finding out in Oct. she was pregnant. She only had 2 prenatal visits before the baby came. Her mom, my sister-in-law, was her labor coach and they just told the nurses at the hospital that they just found out the month before that the baby was coming so they weren't really prepared.

Answer 4

All fifty states will give free prenatal care to pregnant women- even if they have no insurance or can't afford to see a doctor.

If you are pregnant, you need to get in touch with your local Human Services office to set this up. Even if you are already far into your pregnancy, some prenatal care is better than none.

I have a friend that didn't know she was pregnant until she was about six months along. She and her baby were fine, but her doctors were very concerned that she hadn't had the prenatal care she needed.