Strange orders from Obstetrician???

[nledec]

I'm eight weeks pregnant with my second baby. I had my first appointment today with my obstetrician (a very well respected Argentine OB).
Now, there was something strange about this appt., and I just want to know if you've had similar experiences...?

While in the waiting room I was struck by how thin all the pregnant women were. Stick figures with small volleyballs under their shirts. I didn't think too much about it though since in general, al porteñas are tiny. Until...the OB gave me a 1500 calorie diet that he expected me to follow all through pregnancy. He spent more time talking about the diet than any of the other complications I've had so far with this pregnancy (several!). Now, I am 5'9" and 160lbs so not overweight at all. And this is the diet he says he gives to all his patients. He says that under no circumstances am I to gain more than 20lbs, and that in my second and third trimester he'll be expecting to see a great deal of physical activity/exercise from me (despite multiple miscarriages). I've always been taught that my non-pregnant daily calorie intake should me 2000 calories (adding 300-500 calories per day while pregnant). I've been googling for an hour and I'm not coming up with any 1500 calorie diets that are recommended for pregnant women. Am I crazy or is this wrong?

Also, he made no mention of prenatal vitamins...?

I'd like to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks!

 

[mini]

Go to another OB. Seriously. You need to find someone that you are in sync with & that understands you personally, not give you his prepared speech. Of course you don't want to put on too much weight. But he's not taking into consideration your height & natural weight.

 

[ghost]

This guy is a flake. Run away and run fast.

 

[nikad]

Change doctors now! Chances are that this respected OB is famous because his patients recover their figure very fast after having their babies Putting a pregnant woman on a low calorie diet is not common practice at all. Most doctors say that one shouldn´t put on more than 20 lbs. while pregnant, they usually tell you to watch your weight, etc ( because they know that most women put on more than 10 kg!!! ) but they never give you a low calorie diet...Are there any chances he was being sarcastic about the 1500 calories and exercising, etc? Can you name the Dr?

 

[laureltp]

Yeah, this guy sounds flippin crazy. What type of medical insurance do you have? If you have swiss medical I can recommend you the OB that I had. His name was Gustavo Rodríguez Albanese. He didn't speak English (don't know if that makes any difference to you) but he did recommend gaining wait and taking vitamins. He listened to all of my concerns and seemed to be a good doctor to me.

 

[nikad]

I can recommend you Dr. Castells if you have Medicus or Dr. Leveque if you have Hospital Aleman ( not sure whether they speak English or not )

 

[rihornos]

Hello
Ask for a second or third opinion and say why you don`t agree with your doctor`s opinion, I have triplets and it was very difficult for me to eat but I never heard 1500 calories for a pregnant woman, doctors don`t want the babies to be very big but even though 1500 calories is for a non pregnant woman.
all the best
Reina

 

[MizzMarr]

This sounds scary. 1500 is a low calorie diet for a non-pregnant woman! As your and your baby's health are priority, I would personally go elsewhere! I think some of the speculations about why he might be 'famous' could be on the money. Regardless, I received some recommendations for good OBs from my gynocologist (Liliana Rossi, love her) and their names are:

Dr. Gustavo Katz
Dr. Dal Verme
and Dr. Sebastiani

All are OSDE doctors so if you haveOSDE you can look them up in the book. If you don't have coverage I will look up their info for you if necessary. The first is supposedly very holistic and tries to be very much in tune with the mother and what she wants her experience to be like.

Best of luck!

 

[nledec]

Thanks so much for all of the comments. This really sent my head spinning! The OB is Dr. Rauch. I went to his private consultorio in Recoleta ($350pesos a visit too which I thought a bit steep for BA). I won't waste time on the details but he is very highly recommended by both patients and very respected physicians as "the best in BA." So I feel so odd asking for someone else. I've got this diet though, and he definitely wasn't kidding--it says right across the top "Dr. Rauch: 1500 calorias."
I speak fluent Spanish, so that isn't a problem. And my insurance is through Cigna International so I'm not limited with which doctor I can see. I appreciate all your recommendations.

 

[nikad]

I am a mother of one and was very picky at the time I was looking for an OB, also make sure to ask them if they will be available by the time your baby is due ( this was a must for me, and some OBs might not be available so ask beforehand! ). I have never heard of Dr. Rauch personally. Both the Drs I recommended are in Recoleta, also in any case, you have to see an OB you feel comfortable with and fully trust, if your current Dr. is not the case ( it doesn´t matter how famous he is ) just move on