I was at the maternal fetal medicine/ultrasound unit at Lenox Hill yesterday for a weekly deep scan. Since week 35, when I come here, I feel a little on edge because I never know what they will find (or nitpick at). The maternal fetal medicine doctor who has been evaluating the baby’s growth and heart rate is also one of the directors of obstetrics at Lenox Hill, so the practice tends to take his recommendations very seriously. He’s also apparently extremely conservative and cautious as evidenced by not only my recent hospitalization, but the original insistence I stay at least TWO nights, and so I was bracing myself for more fetal monitoring today.

Well, the sonographer told me that the ultrasound all looked good; baby looks healthy and the blood/oxygen flow through the umbilical cord looks perfect. When she walked me to the waiting area to discuss with the doctor, I was surprised to see a new maternal fetal medicine specialist come over to greet me who I’d never met before. They said that they didn’t need to do fetal monitoring today since the last several weeks, everything looked good.

“The baby looks perfect,” she said, “No concerns at all!”

I asked her about the previous specialist’s suggestion of potential induction given the baby’s size, and she looked at me quizzically and reviewed some previous notes on my chart.

“Well, you’re Asian, and Asian babies tend to be smaller on average than Caucasian babies,” she said. “I’m assuming your husband is also of Asian descent, as well? Based on what I can see, I see no concerns as the baby looks very healthy. I see zero reason for inducing.”

Wow, some common sense for once. It was such a relief to hear this and to hear another specialist’s perspective. I hate all the interventions that are unnecessary, and I just want Pookie Bear and me to get out of this alive, healthy, and without endless, non-medically necessary procedures.