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I wondered this as well. We're not TTC yet but currenlty my general doctor does my OB yearly stuff so I suppose I'd have to find a real OB practice if pregnant but I'm not sure.
I guess you could call and ask the receptionist. They should be able to do an office appointment instead of a physical.
Oh my gosh, I just realized you meant OB not pediatrician. I'm going to delete my original post!
Do you currently have an OB? What about using them?
I'm going to the same person that is currently my OB. I've only seen him a few times before (had others before that I didn't like) but he is super friendly and answers any questions/concerns you may have.
When we found out I was pregnant I did some online background checking on him and he has great reviews. There were a few negative in there but it was mostly causes by personality conflicts or people having to wait in the office longer than they thought they should (isn't that with every doctor?).
I was in the middle of university when I found out I was pregnant and had a hard time finding a doctor - the one I did find I did not like. I found she never asked me what Iw wanted and continually tried to get me to take the test to see if your baby could have down syndrome. I felt like the decisions were out of my hands. I put myself on a waiting list for a midwife and was beyond excited when they were able to take me - what a different experience. I still had a hospital birth but they were beyond amazing. They would tell me about what was going on and ask me what I wanted and what my birth plan was. I felt like I had a say in my own pregnancy, finally!
All I know is that it is important to find someone you feel comfortable with and someone that you can ask questions and that will give you honest answers.
First, does your GP do obstetrics? If not, is there someone in their practice that does? That might be a good starting point if you like your GP. If not, ask your GP to refer you to some people that do obstetrics. That may not actually need to be an OB! Family docs can do obstetrics as well as nurse-midwives. One of those might be a good option for you, especially if you are generally otherwise healthy. But yeah, ask your GP for who they normally send their patients to, what their patients have said about those docs, who they would go to themselves, etc.
After that, it's fine to make a brief office appoint. Just tell the receptionist that you'd like to meet the doc for an introductory visit. Also, verify that your insurance covers any of the docs you plan to meet. Make sure to narrow your list down to just 1-3 docs though so that you're not spending a ton of time doing this, *esp* if you are already pregnant. Don't want to miss those early appointments.
I have two kids, want another. I'm changing OB's the next time. I HATE the way they treated me with my son, gave them a 2nd chance (mistake) and will be changing.
Here are some questions to ask:
Labor at 36 weeks: do they stop it or let it go (If they say 'let it go', don't go with them. even at 36 weeks, the baby can have problems. and I speak from my own preemie daughter who was born at 36 weeks.)
Do you see EVERY doctor in the practice or just one?
Does labor require pain? (I didn't have pain, so that's a question I'll be asking next time...)
How do they view c-sections?
Do they do elective c-sections?
If you are having natural labor, do they still give you drugs to speed it up? (I'd recommend against that...)
Do they induce labor? What do they use to induce?
How long do they let labor go before going to a c-section?
Do they offer natural no-meds-used births?
I'd advice doing research on the birthing process PRIOR to walking into ANY office. That way you'll have your own questions and will have an idea on how YOU want to deliver your baby and the process you want. It also gives you more knowledge on what's going to happen and if you have questions, you can ask them straight out. If you don't like their answers, try another doctor until you find one that has answers you like and/or they give REASONS for their answers.
good luck!!! hope this helps some!!!!
Thanks for the info. We haven't been up here that long so I haven't been to anyone in the area. It seems like most of you are suggesting a brief office visit which would be nice but is there anyway to narrow it down before going to their office? It would be just a complete shot in the dark right now with who I picked off of our insurance list to even meet with.
Like is there a site that shows rates of c-sections or complications or whatever for different doctors or practices or is there information available if you call or email. This all probably sounds really naive but I was in school way too long and with my student insurance you just showed up to the health clinic and went to whoever was available, so I really don't know how this whole thing works.
I might be thread-jacking a bit, but it's something I've been wondering about since you're on the subject.
I live in a smaller city where there are only a handful of OB's and 1 hospital that delivers. From what I've heard from most of the people I know who have delivered there, you simply deliver with the OB that is on-call, not necessarily the one you've been seeing throughout the pregnancy. Is this normal?
I guess what I'm getting at is that it doesn't seem to matter where you go during your pregnancy if during the most important time (delivery), they aren't actually there. True? Not true?
Just wondering.
@bree72: around here, it's whatever dr. is on call for that night from your OB. Unless you've scheduled to be induced and/or a c-section.
If you don't want to do that, I'd advice going to a different city.
I'll end up having to go to another city because of my issue with not only my ob, but also the hospital: there's only ONE in my area, which means going at least an hour away. Sucks, but there it is.
Good luck in your search! The best place to start is to ask people you know. It seems like a bit of an awkward topic to bring up but I've asked and been asked and other women will recognize that everyone needs to visit the gynecologist and be happy to help you. I am not discouraging you from asking questions, but every patient is different, and no health professional can honestly tell you flat out what they would do in a generic clinical situation. Recommendation from people you trust is probably the best way to find a new provider, finding reviews online is also useful. If you are in a small town that only has one group, you might be stuck with them. If you have a couple of options, keep in mind that your doctor might not be the one to deliver you - with most groups, it will be whoever is on call. So the likelihood of your provider delivering you is something to ask about.
I see an OB that I really like, but the office staff is often rude, and there are a couple of docs in her group that I am very uncomfortable to have take care of me. I'm lucky that I work on the labor and delivery floor so I get to see them from a different angle. So I am switching OBs as soon as I get pregnant. Just my 2 cents.
the questions I listed are pretty generic and ones that I WILL be asking. It's also questions I've heard other doctors on the morning news say should be asked. It's also listed in many pamphlets I've seen and books I've read as well as websites... A lot of times, it'll come up in the office, but not until further along.
good luck with your search!!!
I didn't have an OB when I found out I got pregnant. In my area, a lot of women choose their doctor based on what hospital the doctor/practice is affiliated with. So, I researched up on which hospitals had strong Maternity and Neonatal departments, were in a convenient location, and matched up with those doctors who accepted my insurance plan. I only met with one OB/Gyn practice and have been mostly happy with them. Their administrative staff can use some improvement here and there, but that part is not a really important part of the whole process in my opinion. You're going to the doctor (not hiring a wedding vendor! :) so I don't think you need to have a deeply emotional connection with your OB. And it is true that the OB who you see during the pregnancy may not be the doctor on call when you deliver.
I am not pregnant yet but may be soon and I was wondering the same thing, my regular doctor is great, but not an OB so im searching, have some reservations about my current doctors staff, i was wondering if it is normal for nurses to take blood without out gloves, that kinda freaks me out a little bit but i guess i really dont know what protocol is, anyone know?
So i plan to hopefully find an OB and a new primary doc.
generally when you're looking for a doctor, the best way to find out if they're good or not is to ask others for their opinion if they have had experience working with him or her, such as a friend or colleague who has been a patient of that doctor, or if you know someone who has a working relationship with that doctor (by asking nurses or clerical staff who work with that doctor). or simply by asking your family doctor or PCP about a OB they would recommend.
@Miss Frenchie: normally, nursing staff should wear gloves during blood draws for infection control. it protects you as a patient, and also protects the health care professional. (i'm a nurse myself).
I've found that by googling a Dr's name you'll find some reviews but typically word of mouth is the best way to go. I don't really have that option either so I made my first appointment with the only Dr I had been told about. If I don't care for him I'll try somewhere else until I'm comfortable. This is one moment in my life that I feel like I have the right to be picky.
@Ryna, thanks for the questions. I have my first appt with a potential obgyn (who i've heard nothing but the most amazing things about) and i'm not sure what to ask her.
Thanks for the questions to ask. We do live in a one hospital town so there might not be much looking around though it's still good to find out about the hospitals reputation since we probably could go somewhere else a bit farther away maybe. One of my husband's friends did an OB rotation up here so I guess I could awkwardly ask him about his experience, ugh, I hate asking vajayjay questions to a guy I only kinda know, maybe I'll get my husband to talk to him about his rotation, otherwise I'd just have to stop women with newborns on the street and say soooooo tell me your experience at the hospital here.
I'm just concerned because while my mom had lots of kids and no problems a few of my aunts who live in more rural areas like where I live now had really nutty stuff go on......like episiotomies and c-sections gone way wrong....so to me it's a bit more nerve racking than when we were choosing wedding vendors ;)
I actually just decided to find an OB GYN that I really liked. I was going to a guy and I REALLY didn't like him (for various reasons- both his personality and his practice- rushed, no time for questions, rough). I realized that I would NEVER want to give birth with him as my doc, so I asked my GP for recommendations.
This male doc was highly recommended, but when I asked my GP, I asked whether she knew an OB that had things I was specifically asking for-- besides being good at what she does, I wanted someone who was nice, would take time to answer questions, etc etc. When i gave specifications to my GP, she was able to narrow down her list of recommendations. I picked the one she recommended the most and I LOVE HER.
Do you already have a GP that could make a reco?
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I've seen this advice given a few times when it comes to having a baby but how exactly do you do that?
Do you have to make an appointment with each one or talk over the phone or . . . ?
And what if one doesn't work out? Do you just make an appointment with someone else or do you have to say something and explain or . . . ?
Just wondering, we're not quite at the stage yet but when the time comes I realized I only know one person in the area we moved to that has given birth here so I'd mainly have to go by online recommendations. And I know I am picky and have a bit of 'doctor phobia' when a patient, but I do want to be able to be comfortable with someone.