My hubby and I are TTC, and we are very excited. I currently go to Women First OBGYN on Union Deposit Rd in Harrisburg for my yearly exams. I see a nurse practitioner for my yearly pap exams and she is really sweet. I have never had a reason to see any of the doctors there (until now, when I am hopefully pregnant in a few weeks/months). I went for my "consultation appointment" to get a little info before we started trying. They told me that there are about 6 doctors, and I don't get to choose my doctor. You get the doctor who is on duty at the time you go into labor. I don't know how I feel about that. I talked to my friend who also goes to this OBGYN, and she told me that one of the doctor's was very rude to her, and was blunt when she was trying to ask questions. I just don't think I could be comfortable possibly ending up with a rude doctor delivering my baby! I don't know what to do. Is it common that you don't get to choose your doctor? Do you have an OBGYN in Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster that you love? Thanks for reading!
Re: Not so sure about my obgyn....
I don't think it's too unusual for them to have you meet all Dr's since you don't really know when you'll go into labor and won't know who is on call that day/night. I went to Partner's in Womens Health, and they did the same thing there. I was a new patient when I got pregnant, so I wasn't already estalished with a Dr. anywhere (we had just moved to the area not too long before). I saw every Dr/midwife in the practice at some point throughout my pregnancy....except the one that actually ended up delivering DD! There was one midwife I didn't care for much but I only saw her when I was sent to Labor and Delivery triage at the hospital for decreased fetal movement. I don't even remember her name now, but she just wasn't very personable. I have absolutely no complaints about the practice and I know they have several office locations (I went to the location in Lemoyne).
Just keep in mind that the Dr will really only be there to catch the baby in most circumstances (barring any complications and/or the need for a C-section). The nurse will be the one coming in and checking on you, watching the monitors, etc. for the most part and relaying info back to the doc. I think the midwife came to check on me once and I didn't see her again until I was ready to push!
Totally normal. I think the days of calling your doc in the middle of the night to meet you at the hospital are largely gone.
I go to Hershey's Nye's Rd. office, where there are three docs. I saw two of them before going into labor, and saw the nurse practitioner most often. There are a total of 10 OBGYNs at Hershey, and it was clear I could get any one of them at L&D. I didn't mind. Hey, everyone in that room (except my dear hubby) knew more than I did about what was going on, so I put my trust in the experts on-call.
I am 19 weeks pregnant and also go to Women First OBGYN on Union Deposit Rd. I too saw Sharon for all of my yearly paps, etc. before getting pregnant and loved her! I was turned off after my first prenatal apt with the certified nurse midwife (her name was Katharyn, I think)...she was def. blunt when I asked questions and made me feel kind of dumb for asking. I explored changing doctors/practices (and even called Woodbridge in Middletown) but ultimately changed my mind because, as the other ladies mentioned, there is a very good chance you will be delivered by a doctor on-call from another practice. I also decided that I don't necessarily need a warm and fuzzy experience each visit in order to feel like I am going to receive the proper level of care. Bedside manner is nice but not a deal breaker for me. Luckily I haven't had a problem with any of the doctors I have seen since that first appointment.
Hope this helps! Good luck TTC
I think this is pretty normal as well. I was fortunate that I was able to make one of my office visits, except one, with one particular doctor. I just requested him when making my next appt at checkout. I understand the justification of meeting every doctor throughout but because of some out of the norm health concerns (I have a clotting disorder and was on thinners throughout my pregnancy and seen a hematologist throughout as well) I was glad to be able to see one doctor and not have to go through my whole history at each appt.
That being said my son was delivered at Hershey by two residents and an attending doctor . . none of whom I ever met before but were all absolutely wonderful.
I see Doctor Carp on Linglestown Rd. He's great! He's older (60ish) but has a great attuide. He comes in and hi fives you, talks funny, keeps it interesting.
When I went into labor around 1 a.m. he was at the hospital at 2 or 3 a.m., I'm sure he would have been there sooner if I needed him, but I was in labor for 28 hours and only dialated to 7-8cm so he gave me my c-section. I really like him. Here's a picture of him and Hannah. Not many doctors will let you take a picture of the procedure (I have 3 others of where he's pulling her out):
Thank you for the comments, everyone! You made me feel a lot better.
I think I'll stick it out with my current office for now, at least until I go to a few prenatal appointments and get a better feel for the doctors there.
Have a great week!
Leah
I go to Women's First too, and had two pregnancies with them. I would recommend them. It is a little strange at first to think that you will see a different doctor each time, but like mentioned in a previous post, it is also nice to get additional opinions. I had good experiences with both of my pregnancies and deliveries, and liked all of the doctors, midwives and nurses. I would go to their West Shore office; it is so much more calm and quiet compared to the Union Deposit office.
I see Doctor Carp as well. He's awesome and I highly recommend him! Before getting PG, I also went to Women's First on Union Deposit. As other posters have mentioned, I really liked Sharon, the NP, and she was the one who did all my paps, etc. But, one time I was having issues with ovarian cysts and I had to see one of the doctors there, and she was SO rude. Because of that experience, I didn't want to stay with that practice when we started TTC.
The other thing is that Dr. Carp is a family friend of ours (his son and my DH are long time friends), so we really wanted him to be the doctor providing out prenatal care and delivering our son.