In our work at Poplin, we speak with a lot of individuals who are preparing themselves for pregnancy. Inevitably, a core part of this preparation involves working with a healthcare provider (or several) to manage chronic health conditions, medications, etc.
What I've learned from these conversations (as well as my own experience) is this: Not all providers are created equal.
In fact, I recently heard from one of our clinicians that a client shared that one of her biggest lessons throughout this process was that “you can fire your doctor”.
This is spot on, though I imagine it’s not something we often consider. We may think that we are “stuck” with the care that we are receiving or that we just have to “deal with it”. That’s absolutely not true.
If you are not receiving the care that you desire, whether that’s not being listened to when you express concerns or not being able to get the testing that you request or not being able to get access to the interventions that you prefer, then you can choose to seek out another provider that will offer you more aligned care. I’m not saying this process is easy. It may require a decent amount of trial and error (both in terms of time and cost), but it is often worth it when you find a provider that is willing to truly collaborate with you on your care.
In any case, I just wanted to remind you that this option is there and available for you to take at any time. You definitely don’t need permission, but if you feel like you do, consider this your permission slip to be completely unapologetic (polite, of course, but firm) in getting the care that you desire.