Community› The Bump Local Boards› Northern California Babies
Northern California Babies
New Discussion
Options

I need advise on choosing the doc

raqlimaraqlima
in Northern California Babies

DH is in the Air Force. Although we live in Sacramento, I get my care at Travis AFB cause I work there as a contractor and it's easier to step out for a doctor's appointment and not have to take the day (of half-day) off. Here are my options for pre-natal care:

1) Family Practice - I would have a physician and a back up physician. They would follow me throughout the 9 months and they would be present for the delivery.

2) OB/GYN - I would see a different doctor at each appointment (whoever is available) and the delivery would be done by whoever is on call at the time.

3) OB/GYN in Sacramento - I can ask for a referral to see a doctor in Sacramento which is where I live. I could choose the doctor. I would look for an OB doc that would follow me and deliver my baby. The downside is that I live 1 hour away from work, so each appointment throughout the 9 months would mean taking a half-day off work. The good thing is that at the time of delivery I would be right there (unless I'm at work when the time comes).

 I need your advise. I'm a first time mom-to-be. What do you think is more important, continuity of care or care by a specialist? Does anybody know a good OB in Sacramento? Thanks.

Report Reply to Post

Re: I need advise on choosing the doc

  • Options
    SweetiePSweetieP

    I personally would go with option 3 - you never know when you'll go into labor and it's nice to have someone who "knows" you.  With that said, my labor with my 2nd child was so fast, that the oncall dr barely made it into the room.  

    Why do you have to take a half day off?  Some OB offices are open at 7:00 in the morning....  I'm up in Rocklin but I know that others in the sac area have recs for obs in the area.

     

    Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.
    imageimage
    imageimage
    image
    Report Reply
  • Options
    CelynCelyn member

    I like continuity of care through a pregnancy.  Does the family Dr. practice do a lot of deliveries and pregnancies?  An OB is a trained surgeon.  In the vast majority of cases, that kind of expertise is not necessary.  At the same time, many family doctors are too under specialized and try to do it all without doing all of it well.  That said, I personally would prefer an experienced family dr to a random rotation of OBs.  If that's not the case with your family practitioner, I'd go with option 3. 

    Delivering a first baby an hour away from where you live is not really a big deal.  There's usually more than enough time to get there.  Having a local doula working with you might be helpful, for many reasons, but mostly so that she can advise you when is the best time to leave for the hospital.

    image
    NorCalMOMS bio* NorCalBOTB* babywearingBIO
    Harmony Doula
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • Options
    SarahCeeSarahCee

    Do you have a family practitioner already? If you like them and they will guarantee to be there for the delivery I personally would go that route. Also, a lot of OB practices will let you book a lot (if not all) of your prenatal appointments at one time which might let you to schedule with the same OB at AFB if there is someone there that you like.

    I prefer continuity of care, but my OB was not there with my first and my new OB will probably not be there for my second either. Not that it even makes a big difference since I don't remember seeing any doctor in L&D until it was time to push. They really are there just to catch the baby, and at that point I would have had DH catch him :-)

    I'm at UCD and see Dr. Kim. For the most part I like her and the other OB's in her practice are pretty reputable too.

    GL with your decision.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • Options
    EmmieBEmmieB member

    If the rotation of OB/GYNS is 3-5 doctors, I would do that, and make sure that you see all of them a few times each during your pregnancy.

    Otherwise, do what Celyn said ;-)

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • Options
    Mama_v2.0Mama_v2.0
    Assuming you are not high risk, I would be more concerned about the facilities I deliver at (and the nursing staff there). The doctor basically answers any questions you have and reviews your weight and urine and makes sure the baby has a healthy heart beat at each appointment. The doctor comes in gets the baby out makes sure you are okay and out the door they go. The staff at the hospital cares for you and baby the first 24-48 hours and you want to make sure they are able to give you the support you need for a good start (whatever that means to you.)
    Mama to Z - 5.5 years, G - 3.5 years, & M - 1.5 years.
    Report Reply
  • Options
    green*eyesgreen*eyes
    I agree with SweetieP and would choose option 3.  I think you could get away with taking less than half a day off for most appointments, if you got the first or last appt of the day.  If you do have any complications (hopefully you won't, but I was off work for 10 weeks) you'll want to have your doctor near home.  And personally I would not have been able to handle the idea of an hourlong drive to the hospital for delivery - though it would likely be fine, the idea would be way too stressful for me. 
    Report Reply
  • Options
    raqlimaraqlima

    Thanks ladies,

    I guess the next step is to have the first appointment with the family doc and get some answers. If I choose to go with option 2 or 3 I still need the family doc to give me a referral. I'm inclined to go with option #3. But here's a 4th option:

    4) What do you think about following with the family doc for the first half of the pregnancy (just cause of convenience) and then switching to an OB in Sacramento (option 3) for the second half? Would this be enough time for the OB to get to know me? Would they miss out anything important?

    So far I'm a low risk pregnancy, but this is my first time so I have no idea what could happen. If anything were to happen at any point the family doc would refer me to OB anyway. And I could get an OB in Sacramento. Maybe I'm complicating things too much. Please comment. Option 4 - good idea or bad idea? TIA

    Report Reply
  • Options
    MadameD517MadameD517
    imageCelyn:

    I like continuity of care through a pregnancy.  Does the family Dr. practice do a lot of deliveries and pregnancies?  An OB is a trained surgeon.  In the vast majority of cases, that kind of expertise is not necessary.  At the same time, many family doctors are too under specialized and try to do it all without doing all of it well.  That said, I personally would prefer an experienced family dr to a random rotation of OBs.  If that's not the case with your family practitioner, I'd go with option 3. 

    Delivering a first baby an hour away from where you live is not really a big deal.  There's usually more than enough time to get there.  Having a local doula working with you might be helpful, for many reasons, but mostly so that she can advise you when is the best time to leave for the hospital.

    I agree. 

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"