When I got pregnant I remember seeing a movie where the preggo protagonist “interviewed” a bunch of OB/GYNs to find one she liked. I had NO IDEA how to go about this process. Moreover, I had no idea what I wanted from my baby doctor. Well, lately I’ve been reading a lot of posts by pregnant friends and strangerbloggers, so I thought I’d write up what I’ll be looking for next time around. I got super lucky with the doctor that I chose to deliver Camper- but who knows? Maybe next time around I’ll need to figure out that interview process?
1) Availability- How big of a “rotation list” is the doc on for weekends, etc. Do I have a 1 in 4 chance of getting my doc if I go into labor on a Saturday, or 50%? I think it was 50% with Camper’s doctor. Also, if I have an emergency (i.e. I think I’m leaking amniotic fluid, but I’m not sure…) will I see her? Or the nurse? Or get rebuffed on the phone by the receptionist?
2) If the doc isn’t on call for deliveries…who is? Camper’s doctor’s partnership was with her father…who I also really, really liked. In the future I will schedule an appointment to talk to doctors who could potentially deliver my child in case my doc is not available.
3) Call me sexist, but I like girl doctors. I have always had the best experience with women doctors, whether for myself or for Camper. I don’t know if it’s because of my own hangups or preferences or because they were just great doctors.
4) I want to be the only one pushing in the relationship. For example, is the doctor all about breastfeeding and natural childbirth? That’s great…but I don’t want to hear too much about it. I liked Camper’s doctor because she told me what she thought, but only once. After that it was up to me. Although she did seem disappointed when I stopped breastfeeding, and I could have done without that (I had already worked through my feelings on the subject), she was always supportive of my choices.
5) I don’t want to have to have a “birth plan.” Planning out how every last thing is going to go can just set me up for disappointment. Camper’s doctor talked to me about options, she told me the risks up front and let us make the decisions. We made decisions as the process went along, when we actually had information to make decisions with. Camper’s birth was highly routine- epidural, pushing, baby comes out. I did get to hold him for a few seconds before he went to the NICU, but if I had insisted on holding him “first” and trying to breastfeed immediately, they wouldn’t have caught the breathing problem as quickly as they needed to, not to mention the sepsis, which can be fatal. After this experience, I will always deliver in a hospital with a good NICU. Although what actually happened didn’t match what I wanted to happen (pretty heartbreaking, actually), my baby was safe. He got a pacifier, yes. He didn’t breastfeed the first day, no. But he was a great latch and I think we’re pretty bonded…and he’s here. Alive. I guess the summary of this “idea” I’m trying to get across is: I want to trust my doctor. I want to trust her to make decisions when I am too delirious or too happy or too grief stricken to even know what’s going on.
6) Referral from a like-minded friend. There’s NOTHING like a referral from someone you trust. That’s how we found Camper’s pediatrician now, and we LOVE her. LOVE.
I think that’s it for now, but if anyone has any that they’d like to add (or even how to “interview” doctors without messing up your insurance royally) I’d love to hear it!