Lets talk OB's

coolwhipz1

I'm curious about how you all chose your OB. STMs was this the OB you used prior? FTM how did you find your OB? 

Heres my story-

I am a FTM and was sort of lost on how to find one, what are good qualifications. My best friend has had two kids, both had different OBs and she delivered at two different area hospitals. She gave me the name of the woman she went to with her last pregnancy, and highly recommended her. In doing some research I found that different doctors only deliver at certain hospitals. So I went about it trying to decide which hospital I wanted to deliver at and then find which doctors deliver there and then pick from there. 

I was torn between 2 different and highly rated hospitals in the South Denver area. One wasn't better than the other for me, except that SR was about 5 minutes from my house while LA is about 20. I decided since they both rated the same for me I would go with the one closest, SR. In looking at their website they had a list of OBs that they work with. I found one lady that I really liked, she had great reviews and took my insurance. Made my 1st appointment, showed up and was filling out the paperwork and was informed she recently changed hospitals she delivers at (website hadn't been updated yet) and she now delivers exclusively at LA! Funny how that worked out, but it didn't make much of a difference to me since it was also a #1 choice for me. I ended up scheduling a tour of the birthing center at LA for the week after to make sure I was certain it was a fit for us, and I LOVED it! Funny how things work out, but had it been another hospital she changed to I would have probably found another OB. 

After having multiple appointments with her I am so happy she is who I went with! 

JNR6510

The OB I go to now is who we went through for our fertility treatment referrals. Her office liaised with the closest fertility treatment center (over 4 hours from where we live) so that is why I chose her practice. It was more of a matter of practicality. It was much simpler to be able to do a lot of the visits and monitoring at her office (an hour from where we live) and only have to drive up to the RE's office for the things that couldn't be done down here.

Sugargirl1019

I picked an OB based on what hospital they delivered at, and also how much experience they had with Type 1/high risk pregnancies. I decided between 2 doctors, a very young lady and an older more experienced one. I went with the younger one hoping she wouldn't be stuck in the ways of how to treat a Type 1 regardless. I LOVE her!

kelseyrayay

My first ob was awful. They had 7-8 different drs and it felt so impersonal. I didn't know who was going to deliver my son and they made me wait 2 hours to even see anyone. But my ob now is amazing. He takes his time with his patients. I feel like I'm important not just another paycheck. Plus I'll actually know who is doing my c section and when. 

cmar1006

I have moved since giving birth to DD. But each time I have need an OB I just went through my insurance to find a provider since each time I was brand new to the area and didn't know anyone. Fortunately with my current practice I am really happy and found out through other moms in my network that they are a great practice. Unfortunately I may need to switch doctors because the only hospital they deliver at doesn't have a high level NICU and since I am carrying twins there's a chance one or both of them could need a NICU if the are born prematurely. I don't know what to do!!

mcdoug211

I used a different doctor with my first. I never had any problems with him, he didn't like when I asked about the medicine to induce me all I wanted to know was why that over others he was very dismissive I was anxious about the impending birth I didn't think much of it at the time but rubbed me wrong later on. With this one he was incredibly rude to my mom when she asked a simple question and i was unimpressed when they called in antibiotic for a uti but didn't tell me I had one I only found out weeks later when I went to pick up a different medicine and they gave me the antibiotic too. I asked my friend who had baby recently and she loved her. So I gave her a try, I've only seen her once but she seems really nice and gives off a good vibe. It's also a really good hospital she delivers at so if something were to go wrong the baby won't have to be transferred anywhere! Good luck!

Becky012016

There's only 1 local hospital that delivers babies and only 2 OBs who are in a joint practice. They were my only option. They used to have a midwife with them who I adored but she left right before DS was born. The next closest hospital to deliver babies is over an hour away and I'm not a fan of driving that far when a decent option is right here in town. 

yasandson

I was attributed one at the hospital i wanted to give birth. Ftm 

mrs_tacos

I originally went to my OB because he works closesly with a few local REs, who told me they trusted him to do my initial tests and assessments. I ended up loving him, so I stayed. I'm so disappointed he won't be the doctor I give birth with! Trying to find a new doctor I feel as comfortable with in NYC is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Inanigloo

A bit different because I'm in Canada but it may offer something still.My midwife from my DDs birth recommended my OB. He did my previous DnCs so it was a no brainer to go to him since my midwives can no longer take me. What sold me on my OB was his bed side manner, his openness to what I would like and that his office is directly across from the hospital. The fact that he is just is as excited and invested in getting me a take home baby is just a bonus but it means that I trust him with my care too. 

mrsmarygs

I found my OB when I was looking for a GYN. I looked through my PPO that also cut co-pays in half through my insurance. I narrowed the list down by looking up websites, and found one that had a super nice, easy to use website with good reviews for their doctors. They only had one OBGYN at the time, so he was who I chose. I love him so far! 

mamakculb

When we got married in 2012, it was the first time I'd had real health insurance, and truly been sexually active, so I looked up OBGYNs in the area to get my annual women's exam. I knew we weren't going to prevent getting pregnant and would want someone who would also be a good OB. My Dr. Has a small private practice and had great reviews. I went for my yearly visit and 3 months later got pregnant with our first. I am now on my third pregnancy with this same doctor and I hope he can deliver any future babies we may have. He even delivered my nephew. His office is small but extremely personal. I see him every single visit, and I can walk into his office 6 months after having a baby and be known by name. He is extremely gentle and non pressuring and aways asks about my older kids. 

atthemoment

My ob is the same as DS. Its a 4 DR practice affiliated with a community hospital..nothing fancy. I started as a teenage patient with the NP for yearly pelvic check ups. I like my OB but since being now labeled high risk due to NT im also seeing an mfm ( not often) and may have to switch to the "big city" hospital for the rest of my pregnancy and delivery depending on how my other scans look.

labby18

I'm a Military Spouse on Tricare Prime (meaning I get seen at the Naval hospital with no premiums or copays etc - this stands also with referrals out to town vs Tricare Standard which is like a HMO where I'd be seen out in town with premiums and co pays)  so when i got referred to the OB clinic from Family medicine I just got assigned to someone. Luckily I love my OB, if i didnt i could request a different one in the clinic. Sadly he will be moving in July so I will be getting assigned to a new doctor soon. 

mightymcqueen

My ob doesn't work at the Kaiser hospital that does deliveries, but instead of finding a different doctor I opted to have my appointments rotated by the group of nurse-midwives that cover low risk pregnancies. I won't know who will be on shift when I deliver, so I thought it would be nice to meet as many different people as possible. So far, I really like it. 

jutondreau

I'm a military spouse and we were stationed in Japan this past September, so new hospital and OBs for delivery. So far, they're all fine in my opinion. Who knows who will do our delivery--luck of the draw with that.

kelseyrayay

@jutondreau What base are you on? When we were stationed in Japan we were on Shwab. Literally no other girls anywhere on the base so I had zero friends over there. 

parker0706

My MIL was an OBGYN (now retired) but did her residency where we currently live so she had a lot of insight on the doctors available to me. We have 2 great hospitals across the street from each other but only one has a level one nicu. I chose that one because God forbid something happen, I want to be as close to my baby as possible and not stuck in the hospital across the street if baby needed to be transported. I love my OB, she's in a larger practice so they do have times when they're on call if I go into labor at night. With DD I was induced so my OB delivered me and it was a picture perfect delivery. This time around I hope to go into labor on my on, hopefully during the day, so she can deliver me again. I did not like the doctor that was on call during the night while I was in labor with DD and my doctor wasn't very happy with some of the decisions he made without consulting her. It all worked out so hopefully it will this time around too!

MyNamesTaken

My family doctor will see me until about 25 weeks I think then refer me to the OB I had the first time. He was great and always saw me for appointments. He had a resident working with him who would do some of the preliminary stuff but he was always in to ask questions and check on me himself. He delivered DS with the resident as well and I was happy. The only issue is that he only books appointments really early in the morning so it may make daycare drop off a little tricky

mercury94

My OB was recommended by my GP. I was originally referred after an abnormal pap, which seems to have been a fluke. I really liked her. Plus, the hospital she delivers at is down the street from my house, so I stayed with her. 

Carebella

We'd moved but I knew I wanted a Midwifery center again. Especially after having to transfer last time. The first time I was trying to look at hospitals and OB's and the lack of reviews and modern medical thinking was extremely frustrating. I started looking at Midwives but didn't want to do a home birth. So when I found a birth center and they were literally across the street from a hospital it was a match made in heaven. They do an evidenced based science approach, only take low risk pregnancies, and you always get quality time with a midwife at each visit. They also allow you to eat, drink, and encourage moms to birth however they are most comfortable (water, bed, stool, etcetera). The one here is fine, but I really miss my CO birth center. 

zetega

I switched OBs partway into this pregnancy-- loved my old doctor personally (never delivered with him, I'm a FTM, but had been going regularly for some health issues and annual exams), but the practice was large and I HATED the one other doctor I met in the practice (and he ALWAYS seemed to be the one in the hospital when I contacted the on-call doctor-- bad odds for delivery). So I'm with a new OB now I found through word of mouth. 

@mrs_tacos, I have some (not necessarily scientific) Thoughts & Opinions about NYC hospitals and have had friends who've delivered at almost every one of them. I personally switched from a doctor affiliated with Mt. Sinai eastside to one affiliated with Weill Cornell; I would have been happy with either of those hospitals but anecdotally my friends seem to have a slight preference for WC. I've heard mixed reviews of NYU, NY-Presbyterian and St. Lukes-Roosevelt. NY-Pres and St. Luke's (aka Mount Sinai west) do have awesome-looking natural birthing centers if you're interested in going epidural-free (I am not) but I've had friends with mixed/bad experiences at both of their regular L&D departments. Then again, a one-off bad experience could happen to anyone anywhere... You may already be aware but just in case, know that the default in all Manhattan hospitals that I know of is to share a room in recovery (obviously birthing rooms are private) unless you are in one of those birthing centers I mentioned. Private rooms are $800-1200 a night (not covered by insurance). I love NYC (and I'm sure you will too), but some things about it do suck!

Sorry for the novel...

ETA Just to make super clear my info is all anecdotal-- don't mean to malign anyone's choice of hospital (you're going to get great care at pretty much any major NYC hospital) and am sure lots of people disagree!

mrs_tacos

@zetega Thank you so much for the info! I've been looking into natural birthing centers, but am not 100% sold. I'm hoping to do some tours soon. Also, can you answer a question for me? I've been told that many doctors in NYC won't accept new patients once they are in their third trimester. Do you know if that's true?

zetega

@mrs_tacos I don't know that there is a hard and fast trimester cutoff, but I do believe a lot of practices in NYC "book up" month by month. My practice has three doctors (and they share hospital delivery duty with another practice of 3, for a total of 6 you might see when you're delivering) and I know all 3 doctors at my practice are already "full" for September (two of them were already full when I called to switch-- at 10 weeks pregnant!!).

But don't stress out! There are a LOT of practices and a lot of solo doctors in the city (who do most of their own deliveries, if you like the idea of knowing who will be there at delivery) and you will be able to find someone good at the hospital you want. I might suggest that you start calling sooner rather than later, even if your initial appointment in the city won't be for a few months, so you can get your foot in the door so to speak. 

SummerGirl21

My current OB is different from the OB who delivered my last two, but that's a long story.  I found my first OB just by researching online (Yelp, etc) and looking up their credentials and where they delivered.  I had just moved into the area and was already 12 weeks along, so I couldn't really go off of recommendations or someone I had seen previously. I really loved that OB, but the office kind of fell apart and so I'm now seeing another doctor who used to be in that practice.  I had seen her before and I really liked her, so I am happy with that.  I do wish I was seeing my old OB though.

BostonBaby1

@mrs_tacos I haven't lived in NY for over a decade but it wouldn't surprise me if a lot had cut-offs. In Boston, it can happen easily where an OB will book up before end of first trimester but as PP said, there are still plenty. 

I picked my OB when my old gyn retired. I decided to go with a doctor that I have known for over 30 years (since childhood.) There are a number of doctors at the hospital and delivery depends upon the attending and on call. However, I ended up with a c section and was lucky enough to have my actual OB deliver DS. She will hopefully do the RCS but I am comfortable with all the doctors. Still, it was so special to have her and I trust her implicitly which is rare and phenomenal. 

*typos

coolwhipz1

Carebella said:

We'd moved but I knew I wanted a Midwifery center again. Especially after having to transfer last time. The first time I was trying to look at hospitals and OB's and the lack of reviews and modern medical thinking was extremely frustrating. I started looking at Midwives but didn't want to do a home birth. So when I found a birth center and they were literally across the street from a hospital it was a match made in heaven. They do an evidenced based science approach, only take low risk pregnancies, and you always get quality time with a midwife at each visit. They also allow you to eat, drink, and encourage moms to birth however they are most comfortable (water, bed, stool, etcetera). The one here is fine, but I really miss my CO birth center. 

SITB*******

You must be talking about the one next to Swedish. I had been checking that place out since before I was even pregnant. Unfortunately for me my insurance doesn't cover it, and where I'm at now and going to give birth I have zero co-pays and everything is covered. It looked soooo nice though. 

missyrosek

FTM here. I am high risk from the start because of a chronic illness, so I picked the high risk practice that delivers at the hospital that's near(ish) to my house. I thought I had picked a doctor within that high risk practice, but found out a couple of appointments in that they have patients rotate among as many of the doctors as possible so you've gotten to know each one by the time you go to give birth. 

I was a little unnerved by having to meet new doctors that often, but learned I liked a lot of them and it will make me feel more at ease with the C-section roulette that I may have to play in September.

Sprite2012

I'm a STM and I'm going to a different OB/midwife than with my first.  Mainly because we moved pretty far away from my previous practice, so I needed something more conveniently located.  I actually delivered my first at LA, as I lived in Littleton.  It's a great hospital, I had a wonderful experience.  I've heard great things about SR, but I've never (and would never) live that far south.  I don't live in the south suburbs anymore, I live in south Denver now and will be delivering at RM.

coolwhipz1

Sprite2012 said:

I'm a STM and I'm going to a different OB/midwife than with my first.  Mainly because we moved pretty far away from my previous practice, so I needed something more conveniently located.  I actually delivered my first at LA, as I lived in Littleton.  It's a great hospital, I had a wonderful experience.  I've heard great things about SR, but I've never (and would never) live that far south.  I don't live in the south suburbs anymore, I live in south Denver now and will be delivering at RM.

You mean Rose? My best friend delivered her 1st at Rose and had an awful experience. I remember visiting her there since she had to stay for a bit and Rose was just never on my radar after that. Not to mention I live in DTC. 

Im glad to hear you had a good experience at LA, that's where our baby will be born. They've just completely remodeled their birth center and I was extremely impressed when I took the tour. 

So off topic-but do you not consider Littleton to be quite far south? That to me is way more burbs than the tech center area of south Denver. I think it's much more convenient to get around just due to the highway being right there. I can get downtown in about 10 mins.....

BostonBaby1

missykhamvongsa said:

FTM here. I am high risk from the start because of a chronic illness, so I picked the high risk practice that delivers at the hospital that's near(ish) to my house. I thought I had picked a doctor within that high risk practice, but found out a couple of appointments in that they have patients rotate among as many of the doctors as possible so you've gotten to know each one by the time you go to give birth. 

I was a little unnerved by having to meet new doctors that often, but learned I liked a lot of them and it will make me feel more at ease with the C-section roulette that I may have to play in September.

I am also high risk but in general, the MFM doesn't deliver. So I typically see both the OB and MFM the same day ( different offices but in the same building. They work together.)  Only I see the OB less frequently.  It's always interesting to see how different places do things. 

Carebella

@coolwhipz1 Yes! Mountain Midwifery Center in Englewood, just a block or two away from Swedish in their new location I think. I'm sorry your insurance doesn't cover them  They are an amazing team and I seriously debated for about a minute moving in with a CO friend at 32 weeks so I could transfer and birth there  Even if they were out of network it still would of been cheaper for us then the center out here. I think MMC is about $5k for no insurance/kaiser, in network forcus was about $1,500, the center here is out of network I think and about $7,200 

JNR6510

BostonBaby1 said:

missykhamvongsa said:

FTM here. I am high risk from the start because of a chronic illness, so I picked the high risk practice that delivers at the hospital that's near(ish) to my house. I thought I had picked a doctor within that high risk practice, but found out a couple of appointments in that they have patients rotate among as many of the doctors as possible so you've gotten to know each one by the time you go to give birth. 

I was a little unnerved by having to meet new doctors that often, but learned I liked a lot of them and it will make me feel more at ease with the C-section roulette that I may have to play in September.

I am also high risk but in general, the MFM doesn't deliver. So I typically see both the OB and MFM the same day ( different offices but in the same building. They work together.)  Only I see the OB less frequently.  It's always interesting to see how different places do things. 

My MFM doesn't deliver either. I always try to schedule my appointments for the OB and MFM on the same days wsince the MFM office is two floors down from the OB.

wannabeamongoose

@Carebella @coolwhipz1 Last time I birthed at MMC and that's where I'm going again this time. I've had an amazing experience with them and their new facility is really nice. When I chose them I was looking for a midwifery practice but did not want to birth at home, so the fact that they have a birthing center was huge. The fact that they are just blocks from the hospital sold me.

@Sprite2012 I've heard amazing things about the midwifery practice at Rose (if that's where you're referring to). I've had several friends birth there and they felt really supported in their choices. I'm sorry your friend had such a horrible experience @coolwhipz1. What I've heard about the hospital in general is really great and it's disappointing that she didn't have a better experience.

Also, @coolwhipz1 Isn't SR in Lone Tree? That's definitely south of Littleton. Littleton is suburban, DTC is urban-ish, but not Lone Tree - it's not beyond suburban. You have to drive for five years to wind your way out of cookie-cutter-house-land and find any retail/business of any kind. I feel like I'm living in the theme song to Weeds whenever I visit there. That's how I feel in general about all of Lone Tree/Highlands Ranch though. Just sayin'

ETA: And I've now officially revealed more personal information on the internet than I thought I would. Congratulations ladies! You now know where I live.

Sprite2012

coolwhipz1 said:

Sprite2012 said:

I'm a STM and I'm going to a different OB/midwife than with my first.  Mainly because we moved pretty far away from my previous practice, so I needed something more conveniently located.  I actually delivered my first at LA, as I lived in Littleton.  It's a great hospital, I had a wonderful experience.  I've heard great things about SR, but I've never (and would never) live that far south.  I don't live in the south suburbs anymore, I live in south Denver now and will be delivering at RM.

You mean Rose? My best friend delivered her 1st at Rose and had an awful experience. I remember visiting her there since she had to stay for a bit and Rose was just never on my radar after that. Not to mention I live in DTC. 

Im glad to hear you had a good experience at LA, that's where our baby will be born. They've just completely remodeled their birth center and I was extremely impressed when I took the tour. 

So off topic-but do you not consider Littleton to be quite far south? That to me is way more burbs than the tech center area of south Denver. I think it's much more convenient to get around just due to the highway being right there. I can get downtown in about 10 mins.....

I definitely don't consider Littleton as far south as Lone Tree!  I loved LA, and I bet their remodeled birth center is fabulous (it was pretty amazing 4 years ago).  

You're the first person I've hear have anything negative to say about Rose, and that makes me nervous.....if you don't mind me asking, why was her experience so bad??

missyrosek

BostonBaby1 said:

missykhamvongsa said:

FTM here. I am high risk from the start because of a chronic illness, so I picked the high risk practice that delivers at the hospital that's near(ish) to my house. I thought I had picked a doctor within that high risk practice, but found out a couple of appointments in that they have patients rotate among as many of the doctors as possible so you've gotten to know each one by the time you go to give birth. 

I was a little unnerved by having to meet new doctors that often, but learned I liked a lot of them and it will make me feel more at ease with the C-section roulette that I may have to play in September.

I am also high risk but in general, the MFM doesn't deliver. So I typically see both the OB and MFM the same day ( different offices but in the same building. They work together.)  Only I see the OB less frequently.  It's always interesting to see how different places do things. I've had seven abdominal surgeries for Crohn's Disease, so a colerectal surgeon will be in on the C-section with the MFM. I've never had a "regular" OB, so I never even pondered anyone else delivering me. 

coolwhipz1

@Sprite2012 I don't quite remember all the specifics, it was 10 years ago (her boy just turned 10 last week in fact) but it was something about pushing pitocin on her, and she ended up having to have an emergency c that ended up being severely deterimental and they almost lost him. Something went wrong during the delivery and he ended up with multiple surgeries and quite a long nicu stay. She is the only person I know who has ever had a baby there though. I've had friends deliver at Swedish, St Joe's, Sky Ridge and Littleton so I got good info on all of them. 

Yeah Sky Ridge is in Lone Tree, but I think the fact that it's right off the highway and easier to access makes me feel like it's closer I guess. It's funny how people in different areas of the metro area see the different areas differently. Like for example to me nothing exists north of Coors Field, I never go north of Rino. I met someone from Thornton awhile back and they felt nothing existed south of downtown LOL. I guess we just don't have any reason to go that way, we don't know anyone up there either. 

Although...all this nonsense I keep seeing online about "brads wife" has me wanting to take a trip up there to go to Cracker Barrel

coolwhipz1

It's funny actually, my OB I specifically went to her because she delivers at SR. In fact her office is in SR, but she now delivers exclusively at LA. 

I have seen some recently bad reviews about SR turning into a "baby factory" and quality of care has really gone down and I've heard this is due to them having a "spa like" rep. And the fact that they now take Medicaid. I read multiple reviews that they at times didn't even have open beds and one women I read gave birth in the ER. 

So after seeing all that I'm happy to be going with LA. After taking their tour I just fell in love with the place! 

Carebella

@Lizlann So glad you get to go to MMC again, enjoy! 

Becky012016

coolwhipz1 said:

It's funny actually, my OB I specifically went to her because she delivers at SR. In fact her office is in SR, but she now delivers exclusively at LA. 

I have seen some recently bad reviews about SR turning into a "baby factory" and quality of care has really gone down and I've heard this is due to them having a "spa like" rep. And the fact that they now take Medicaid. I read multiple reviews that they at times didn't even have open beds and one women I read gave birth in the ER. 

So after seeing all that I'm happy to be going with LA. After taking their tour I just fell in love with the place! 

I'm not sure what Medicaid has to do with anything. It's another insurance just as any thing you'd get through employer sponsored or on the marketplace. It really seems like these reviews are pissed that poor people can now give birth there. And that's offensive. Nothing against you unless you feel the same that poor people shouldn't be allowed to give birth at certain hospitals because they're poor. 

coolwhipz1

Becky012016 said:

coolwhipz1 said:

It's funny actually, my OB I specifically went to her because she delivers at SR. In fact her office is in SR, but she now delivers exclusively at LA. 

I have seen some recently bad reviews about SR turning into a "baby factory" and quality of care has really gone down and I've heard this is due to them having a "spa like" rep. And the fact that they now take Medicaid. I read multiple reviews that they at times didn't even have open beds and one women I read gave birth in the ER. 

So after seeing all that I'm happy to be going with LA. After taking their tour I just fell in love with the place! 

I'm not sure what Medicaid has to do with anything. It's another insurance just as any thing you'd get through employer sponsored or on the marketplace. It really seems like these reviews are pissed that poor people can now give birth there. And that's offensive. Nothing against you unless you feel the same that poor people shouldn't be allowed to give birth at certain hospitals because they're poor. 

Actually what those various reviews were referring to was the fact that now they take medicaid they are constantly full, to the point where they are regularly turning people away and it is affecting the level of care women are seeing. It's a really good and luxury hospital so I'm sure the fact that more people have access to it now ensures that they were always full. Everyone wants to go there. I never mentioned anything about "poor people". They have a reputation of being a "luxury, spa-like hospital" so if they started accepting more insurance people of course are going to want to go there. 

I would imagine that once you start seeing higher numbers daily, and you have nurses rushing in and out of rooms to get to everyone constantly that is going to affect things. One lady whose review I read had her second baby there very recently, she had a great experience the first time and loved the luxury experience, but when she had her second it wasn't the same. She had written that she felt she was being rushing through the process to free her room up for the next person waiting.