Tell me about your OB/GYN experience!

TheMilkMaker

Just curious what your OB/GYN experience was...mine took over another one's practice halfway through my pregnancy and I ended up seeing only the NP for the last two months of my pregnancy, had a random doctor deliver the baby, three random doctors visit me in the hospital each day, and the NP again for my six week check up. 

I do understand that it's an unpredictable specialty, but was hoping maybe she could pop her head in to say hi considering her office is right across the street and she seemed to have no issues canceling my appointments for other women having their babies.  Maybe I'm just being curmudgeonly, which is where you ladies come in!  I'd love to hear your experiences so I can decide if I'm just being too high maintenance or if I should consider a new OB when the time comes  

How often did your OB cancel your appointments?

Did your OB deliver your baby?

If not, did she check in on you after the baby was born and/or attend your six week checkup?

megaroo64

Ok- for my two kids, I had two separate OBs because the OB I had for B decided she would no longer manage pregnancies.

Neither of them ever cancelled appointments. They were part of an OB group of 5-6 doctors. So they didn't schedule appointments when they were on call- so there was no canceling because they had to go deliver or anything.

Also, neither of them delivered my babies. Ironically, the doctor that delivered B was the doctor I transferred to when I got pregnant with N. But she didn't deliver N.

Also, neither of them visited me in the hospital. With B, I already knew I wasn't going to be her patient anymore and started with a new doctor for my 6-week appointment. With N - she was out on maternity leave for the last month or so of my pregnancy. I saw a NP for the remainder of the pregnancy and for my 6-week.

What your describing sounds kinda crappy. Like the trade off for me was never canceling appointments, but a toss up for who delivers and visits me at the hospital- but it sounds like you get appointments cancelled AND a toss up for who is with you at the hospital.

For the record- I love my OB that I have now and loved the NP too.

TheMilkMaker

Thanks for the feedback ladies!  It sounds like there are better situations to be had out there, so I need to do some homework

@heelibrarian - this may be too personal of a question so feel free to veto, but did your insurance cover the midwife?

lioness13

This is probably rare but I go to a private practice with only 1 OBGYN (no NPs). She saw me for every appointment and I don't think one was ever cancelled (can't remember). And she was never behind or kept me waiting. She delivered my baby, visited me before I checked out and did my 6 week follow up appointment. I was soooo happy with her and the whole experience.

Mufflerlove

My OB is my family doctor (she does both, she accepts outside referrals as an OB) but she never cancells appointments.  She is notoriously late for appointments, especially in the afternoon.  And yes she delivered my baby and did my six week check up.  Which I guess is a trade off because those births she attends can effect her regular appointments.  My hospital is across from her office.  At my hospital OB's deliver there own patients (most of the time).

dmlk413

How often did your OB cancel your appointments?  She never cancelled appointments but if I happened to be scheduled on a day that she was on call, then she was very late.

Did your OB deliver your baby? No.  My OB is part of a large practice and who ever is on call that day, delivers your baby.  I actually saw every OB in the practice but mine during the weekend I delivered.

If not, did she check in on you after the baby was born and/or attend your six week checkup?  No to both.  I had to reschedule my 6 week check up because my grandfather was dying so I saw the NP.  I actually saw my OB at my 40 week checkup (6/13) and then not again until my yearly exam in Sept. 2014. 

While I liked my OB, because of the lack of personalized care, I would go with a midwife if I have a second.

phishgirl29

I LOVE my OB. Hes so calming but approachable. He never canceled an appointment on me but did encourage me to see one or two of the the other 8 doctors in the practice. I wasn't planing on him delivering, but I hoped it would be him.

He actually was away when O came 9 days early so I had this women OB who delivered him through an emergency csection. She left placenta in me causing me to have an emergency D&C 20 days later, and follow up surgery this past summer to undo to mess she made in my uterus which was filled with scar tissue.

Needless to say, if I'm ever lucky enough to get pregnant again, my OB will be there, even if it means no attempt at a VBAC.

momofcatan

I loved my OB, her set up was different from what most of you described, maybe its a Canada/US difference. I only saw her for all of my appointments and I was pleasantly surprised that she was rarely running late (I'm used to my family doc and now the pediatrician who are always at least 30min late). She never cancelled appointments.

She shared call with 12 or 15 other doctors with one on call at a time. Whoever was on call that day would deliver the baby so chances were very slim that it would be her. I had a different doctor on call but when there was a question during labour she called my OB (I think it was like 3 or 4 am) to ask her opinion which I really appreciated. Since I was in labour early in the morning she came into the room while I was delivering because she was in the hospital anyways checking in on any of her patients who had delivered in the past day.

We saw her the next morning and I saw her for my 6 week checkup.

I would definitely use her again, the only down side for me was that she was 45 minutes away from my home/work so getting to and from appointments was annoying, but definitely worth it.

TheMilkMaker

Thanks again ladies, this info has been really helpful!  I took a look at some of my OB's recent yelp reviews and it seems like what I experienced almost two years ago is still status quo so I will definitely be looking elsewhere!  DH also reminded me that with DS I had some abnormalities in my lab work and ultrasound that she didn't catch until I pointed them out to her...I didn't know interpreting diagnostic results was the patient's responsibility...she definitely needs to go...

Thanks for the clarification @heelibrarian!  CNM's are now on my list of things to look into as well!

kh59

I know you've already had lots to responses, but I thought I'd throw in there that I had a great experience with a practice with several midwives, and my insurance covered everything exactly as it would have for an OB.  In my fun-filled, 42-hour labor, I had several phone call check-ins from home with two of the midwives and saw three more once I got to the hospital (they had 8-hour shifts).  I had lots of support from them throughout labor, not just for the birth.  The midwife who was with me for the longest part of my labor but not the actual delivery texted me to say congratulations the day after the birth and sent me a picture of an iris from her garden since she knew that was what we were naming the baby.  She did my six-week follow-up appointment.  For prenatal care, appointments were never cancelled.

BC&LM

How often did your OB cancel your appointments?

-At least once, maybe twice, because she was stuck at the hospital delivering a baby, but I was always able to be rescheduled easily. If I couldn't see my favorite OB, I could always get in to see one of the other two doctors in her practice who were both nice and equally competent. I don't find a couple of cancellations over that long span of time too bad!

Did your OB deliver your baby?

-Yes, but that was totally luck of the draw. For an unplanned delivery, you get who is at the hospital that day. I actually didn't deliver until I had been in the hospital for three days, and it just so happened she was the main doctor both the night I arrived and when I had my C-section three days later after my induction failed. I did see some other doctors in between; I believe at least one was from my practice, but I was pretty out of it so it's hard to remember.

Did she check in on you after the baby was born and/or attend your six week checkup?

-Yes, I was in the hospital for six days total (three before, three after), and I saw her several times in addition to the two other doctors in my practice. My six week checkup was also with my main doctor.