I never imagined my 4th pregnancy would be my first without a family doctor

Maggie Campbell · for CBC First Person

· Posted: May 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

This First Person nonfiction is the acquisition of Maggie Campbell, a woman and ma successful P.E.I. For much accusation astir CBC's First Person stories, delight spot the FAQ.

I could perceive her bosom bushed acknowledgment to an at-home fetal doppler. Our 3 sons gathered astir america connected the sofa and watched arsenic Dad put the jelly connected my belly. The dependable of their small sister's bosom bushed made them laugh. 

I should have been feeling joyousness successful this precious moment, and I did, but that joyousness was overshadowed by worry. 

When we recovered retired we were expecting our 4th baby, we were not instantly ecstatic. Instead, our thoughts were: "We don't adjacent person a doctor. Where bash we go?"  

I called the bureau of the obstetrics doc who cared for maine during my erstwhile gestation successful 2022, hoping I could instrumentality to him. In P.E.I., patients mostly spot their household doc for the bulk of their gestation arsenic agelong arsenic they're debased risk, and aren't transferred to the attraction of an obstetrics doc until astir 34 weeks. But the doctor's bureau explained I would person to telephone the provincial diligent registry — the waiting database for radical who don't person a household doc — and they would nonstop me.

I've fixed commencement successful Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and P.E.I., travelling to enactment adjacent my parent and member earlier returning permanently to P.E.I. to beryllium with my husband's family. Normally, I would spot my household doc to corroborate the gestation and the process would begin. But since my household doc successful P.E.I. had retired and I don't person a caller one, I alternatively spent days conscionable trying to benignant retired who I was expected to telephone and wherever I had  to go.

Like overmuch of Canada, P.E.I. has a shortage of household doctors. It's even statistically official: Access to wellness attraction is worse successful P.E.I. than successful immoderate different province.

WATCH | Could foreign-trained doctors capable the spread successful P.E.I.?:

On apical of each that, I conflict with terrible ADHD and after years of searching, recovered a safe, non-habit forming and reliable medication, but I had to halt taking it erstwhile I recovered retired I was large due to the fact that of the imaginable risks to the processing baby.

My ADHD means I person a hard clip regulating emotions and processing problems oregon dealing with the unexpected. Pregnant with nary doc and nary medicine to assistance power my racing mind, my intelligence wellness declined rapidly portion I waited for my archetypal appointment.

My hubby has been my yellowish airy — slowing maine down, helping maine support way of the important appointments and keeping the kids engaged erstwhile I request a minute. I don't cognize however I would person gotten by without him, but helium has a full-time occupation and works nights truthful we couldn't person maintained this setup for agelong without due medicine and therapy for me.

A fewer weeks later, I got my archetypal assignment with a household doc acknowledgment to the diligent registry. That archetypal assignment was a blur — we checked the heartbeat, did immoderate regular tests and I was sent for humor work. My humor unit was a interest but we started monitoring instantly from home. 

I've had 3 steadfast boys but person not ever had casual pregnancies. 

We astir mislaid our 2nd lad astatine 20 weeks owed issues with the placenta. He was calved astatine 36 weeks, aft respective weeks of furniture rest. We spent 7 days successful the NICU portion helium was treated for jaundice and immoderate different preterm issues. Our 3rd lad was different hard gestation and an adjacent much hard birth. 

I was acrophobic this past gestation would beryllium difficult, too.

Between that archetypal assignment and the 2nd scheduled for 4 weeks later, my humor unit steadily got worse. I was without ADHD medicine and contempt lining up to effort and spot a doc astatine a walk-in clinic, I ne'er managed to get a slot.

By the clip my 2nd assignment rolled around, I was an affectional wreck and physically declining arsenic well. I spent the bulk of the assignment crying.

The doc classified maine arsenic precocious hazard for pre-eclampsia, prescribed medicine for precocious humor unit arsenic good arsenic a caller ADHD medicine to try, and referred maine to an OB who I was told had much acquisition with high-risk pregnancies. 

I was relieved to beryllium assigned the aforesaid OB I saw during my past pregnancy. He got maine done that conscionable fine, and I consciousness reassured to person idiosyncratic acquainted to spot maine done this pregnancy, too.

Without a household doctor, it took longer to entree attraction and the process was tricker to navigate than my erstwhile pregnancies. While the concern is acold from ideal, the aesculapian professionals I've seen person done their jobs good and arsenic rapidly arsenic they tin fixed the authorities of the aesculapian strategy connected P.E.I. 

I spot that I'm successful bully hands for the remainder of this pregnancy, but present my interest turns to beingness aft our babe miss arrives successful July, erstwhile we spell backmost to being without regular aesculapian care, backmost to the conflict maintaining my ADHD and medications without a doc — and now, with 4 small radical who trust connected me.

WATCH | This Ontario pistillate is 9 months pregnant, and there's nary 1 adjacent to present her baby 

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