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Interviewing doctors?
Hi ladies! I'm a former knottie/nestie in Austin and haven't frequented the boards in the last year or so. My DH and I have been TTC for the last few months, and we're pregnant! We're very excited, and just in talking to friends, I've gotten several recommendations for OB/GYN's and birthing centers in the area (I'd like to do it naturally if at all possible).
Rather than just picking an OB/GYN from the list, I'd like to go and meet with a few of them before deciding who I'll go with. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem so easy. I've called one today to find that the doctor doesn't meet you at the first appointment - you meet with a nurse practitioner first, and then you meet with the doctor a couple weeks later.
Does anyone have experiences to share around meeting with doctors? I'm wondering if that is just standard practice and I can't really meet with the doctor up-front, or if it really depends on the practice. Any advice or help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Slobina
P.S. If you know me outside these message boards, please don't tell anyone we know in common that I'm pregnant. It is still early so I'm not really making it public. Thanks!
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Re: Interviewing doctors?
Congrats on your pregnancy!! If you are considering a birthing center, you should have no problem scheduling an appt. to meet with a midwife who works there. At least, that's what I found when I did this recently.
Also, if you get the book Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, which is often rec'd, there is a good list of questions in there to ask potential healthcare providers. I wish I'd started reading it much sooner since it can be tricky to find a doc who avoids the routine interventions. It's really helpful to learn about them early so you know what kinds of questions to ask and why you're asking them! Best wishes with everything.
(Sorry I didn't really answer your question about getting in to meet with a doc. I don't know about that one, but some practices have a "meet the docs" night.)
The Blog
Hey there! I remember you! Big congrats on your pregnancy.
If you're serious about the natural thing, I would look into the Austin Area Birthing Center. I'm sure that you could go visit them and they would be happy to talk to you. I have no idea how that works with who your OB is, etc., though.
GL!
Congratulations!!
I always saw the doctor for every single one of my OB appointments. Perhaps you could explain to the office that you are still trying to decide which OB to go with, and you would really like to speak with the doctor in order to decide if you want to continue to see this doctor. Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestions, ladies! I did leave one thing out. We have already been to the Austin Birthing Center over on Mopac and Duval. A close friend of ours delivered her child there about 3 years ago and raved about it. I really liked it and I'm ready to commit to them, but I feel like I should at least talk to an OB/GYN before committing to them. Maybe I'm over-thinking this and I should just go with my gut.
Bobcatsteph, I have not talked to our mutual friend in YEARS. She just fell off the map after she got married. She friended me on facebook, but other than that I have not heard from her. I'm not sure of my EDD yet - currently we think it is 10/25, but that's based on the assumption that I had my period on 1/18. The midwife I talked to at Austin Birthing Center and my husband are both unconvinced that what happened on the 18th was my period. So it remains to be seen.
Thank you for the book recommendation too, Faon! We are planning to use the Bradley method so that will be really helpful.
Amy
I interviewed about 5 doctors, because I was extremely focused on getting a med-free, low intervention birth, and I knew not all docs would be willing to deal with a patient who was going to refuse as much as I was planning to (IVs, fetal monitoring, etc.)
One I just knew personally and talked to her outside of the office setting, though she offered to see me for a routine visit "off the record." Other docs I just saw in office visits for my various appointments (like I went to the doc I chose for my 10 week, then another for my 16 week, for example), and I think I ended up having to pay for a couple of docs appts because they were outside my routine regular visits. One doc I think billed insurance as just a non-OB office visit so insurance paid for it. you can ask them to bill it that way; just call the doc's office and explain that you want to just talk to the doc.
Depending on how gung-ho you are to go med free, I'd recommend either one of the birthign centers (you can easily schedule a tour and talk with one of the midwives there) or I would suggest OBGYN North and Drs Christina Sebestyen and Andrea Campaigne. That practice is known for being the go-to for patients interested in low-intervention med free hospital birth. Every other doctor I talked to, even the more liberal ones, were still not willing to deal with my requests for low-intervention. Plus, Dr. S and Dr. C have three nurse midwives on staff that are wonderful. They deliver at NAMC, and NAMC nurses are extremely familiar with their patients and do everything they can to help you achieve a med free birth if that is what you desire.
Good luck!
Congrats!!! Good to see you again!
My doc meets you at the first appt but many don't. I would personally get a few names you're interested in and call and see what their policies are. You should be able to do that over the phone. So - see if they deliver at your preferred location, what their views on med-free births are, etc.