Rhode Island Babies
jenn6180
member
I need a recommendation for OB in RI
jenn6180
member
I just found out I'm 4 weeks pregnant with my first baby! I need an OB and took asuggestion from a friend to see Dr. Woodruff. My appt is not for a few weeks. I have been doing a lot of researching online for reviews on OBs in my area and haven't found any (good or bad) about Dr. Woodruff. I'm wondering if anyone has any input or recommendations for a GOOD doctor? I am healthy and don't expect a difficult pregnancy, I'd like to find a doctor that will help encourage a natural childbirth. Thank you!
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Re: I need a recommendation for OB in RI
Check out the Center for Ob/Gyn in Providence, they have several offices in other areas of the State, besides Providence. They have early morning appointments and evening ones as well! I have been with the Center, for over 10 years, now and I love my Mid-Wife. I did see Dr. Boyle, but when she had her baby I was unable to get in to see her, so I started seeing a mid-wife, I've been with the mid-wife ever since. All the Doctors, Mid-Wives, Nurse Practioners and staff are female, so they really get the needs of women. I have seen several MW and will see another Dr. soon (due to vacations and hospital days) and they are all wonderful. Good Luck in your search!!
I've heard great things about Dr. Woodruff. I go to Dr. Powers who is in the same practice at Caring for Women. She is very pro-natural birth. I had a med free birth with 1 intervention (breaking my water when I was at 8cm already and the bag was bulging, maybe you still consider this natural birth?) when she delivered my son in May.
A couple of things to consider -
what hospital do you want to go to? Caring for Women only delivers at Kent County now. I had a great experience there and loved that it was a smaller maternity ward. But if you want to deliver at Women & Infants, you'll have to find a different practice.
And, do you really want your OB to deliver the baby? At Caring for Women, if you go into labor in the middle of the night, the doc on call for that night will show up. When I called at 4:30am on my way to the hospital, Dr. Spurrell was on call and was at the hospital, but never saw me. They woke up Dr. Powers early but not until 6 or 6:30, but she came to the hospital early (was there by 7:30) and delivered me at 8:15. So they do their best to get your OB there, but there is a chance that it could be someone else. This is common at many practices, so just ask. While I was happy she made it, I didn't care who delivered me at that point! So it might not be a big deal to you. I really think prenatal care and education from your OB and a good nursing staff during labor is more important than who catches the baby at the end.
Good luck!
I've heard great things about Dr. Woodruff. I go to Dr. Powers who is in the same practice at Caring for Women. She is very pro-natural birth. I had a med free birth with 1 intervention (breaking my water when I was at 8cm already and the bag was bulging, maybe you still consider this natural birth?) when she delivered my son in May.
A couple of things to consider -
what hospital do you want to go to? Caring for Women only delivers at Kent County now. I had a great experience there and loved that it was a smaller maternity ward. But if you want to deliver at Women & Infants, you'll have to find a different practice.
And, do you really want your OB to deliver the baby? At Caring for Women, if you go into labor in the middle of the night, the doc on call for that night will show up. When I called at 4:30am on my way to the hospital, Dr. Spurrell was on call and was at the hospital, but never saw me. They woke up Dr. Powers early but not until 6 or 6:30, but she came to the hospital early (was there by 7:30) and delivered me at 8:15. So they do their best to get your OB there, but there is a chance that it could be someone else. This is common at many practices, so just ask. While I was happy she made it, I didn't care who delivered me at that point! So it might not be a big deal to you. I really think prenatal care and education from your OB and a good nursing staff during labor is more important than who catches the baby at the end.
Good luck!
I go to Dr. Powers as well. I love her! She's great. I didn't know that she now does only Kent Hospital. I live in Cumberland and if I had only a short amount of time I would be going to Woman and Infants. She was on call at W&I last year when I had an emerg. surgery. I didn't even think to ask that again. I would be so sad if she didn't go to W&I. I'll have to give them a call.
I believe they stopped as of January (they knew they were going to make the switch at my first prenatal appointment in October, though). Dr. Powers said they were missing too many births because half of the patients would be in Providence and half in Warwick, and many times women would be in labor at the same time so they basically had to choose which to attend. If you do stick with her, I think Kent is a great choice, although I understand why you wouldn't want to have to drive there from Cumberland.
I just had my baby on 10-4 and also went to East Bay Family Healthcare. I chose to go there because of Mary Mumford-Haley's reputation as a midwife. Unfortunately, as of September she has moved into private work doing exclusively home births in RI.
I ended up see Heidi (Dr. Schneider) for my last couple of pre-natal appointments and for the first 10 hours of labor. However, because of how long my labor was she handed me over to Dr. Kimberly Zeller who ended up being my delivery doctor.
They deliver at Memorial and I was extremely pleased with my birth experience. I had an unmedicated natural birth with 17 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing. Dr. Zeller was amazing, during pushing was when she really impressed me. I had a very hard time pushing my son out (8 lbs 13 oz) and had to work for every millimeter that he moved. For a while I didn't believe that I was making any progress and was losing focus, Dr. Zeller brought in a mirror for me to watch the changes and would press on the muscles to help me focus my pushing. I was very happy with how she handled things and would definitely deliver with her and at Memorial again.
The nurses were also very helpful during labor. My delivery nurse, Nurse Barbara, was so important to the process. The cord was wrapped around my sons body and then again around his neck, so when he started to crown it cut off flow through the cord and his heart rate dropped drastically and was slowing even more. Instead of telling me the baby was in trouble and scaring me, she just looked in my eyes and started shouting about how strong I was and how my baby needed to come out right now and that I could do it. On that contraction I pushed 4 times and continued to push even after the contraction ended and delivered him before the next one started.
I worked very hard while pregnant to put together what I felt was the best possible team to help me and I encourage every pregnant woman to do the same. Find people/practices/hospitals that suite your personality and wishes.
For me, the ideal team consisted of a midwife that would trust my instincts, doctors that would be available if I needed them but who wouldn't stand in the way of me delivering in a traditional way, a hospital that would listen to me as a person instead of pushing me through like a baby factory, a doula to provide support,and my husband to be informed and ready for what was going to happen.
I got all of those things and because of that I was able to have the best possible chance at a natural birth even though there were minor complications. Find your perfect team and don't be afraid to meet with multiple doctors/midwives before settling on one.