Anxiety re: delivering with a group practice

Re: Anxiety re: delivering with a group practice

• rachswi member

  August 2015

  My practice is 9 OBs and 5 midwives. By the time I give birth I'll have met all the midwives but only 2 of the OBs (my practice is more interested in having a midwife delivery for low-risk pregnancies like mine so I probably won't meet the other OBs).
  
  I'm not overly worried about it because most people who go into a practice together will agree on those things. All my midwives are interested in doing things as naturally as possible.
  
  If you're worried about it, make sure you have a birth plan set and give it to the doctor so it's in your file and all the doctors know what you want.

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• SJFTCA member

  August 2015

  I'm in a similar boat. My group has four OBs and a PA, and I've still yet to meet two of the docs. I've seen one guy three times, two others once each, and I'm scheduled to see a fourth doc at my next appt. I was told I would see a new doc at my next appt and was asked if that was ok, and I went ahead and agreed bc I guess she could be the one to deliver the baby, so I figured I'd better meet her! I'm in love with the doc I have seen several times and really want him to be the one to deliver the baby, but I guess there are no guarantees.

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• dramaphile member

  August 2015

  It's pretty common to have a group practice. Your L&D nurses will be the ones who spend most of your time with you, so they're the ones you'll want to communicate your wishes to. The OB probably won't appear until toward the end, anyway. At least you've been able to meet all of them, if you only had one OB, it's possible they might not be able to be there and you could end up with a doctor you've just met.

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• nbpa3027 member

  August 2015

  Honestly, it is the nurses that run L&D not the doctors. As long as you have a partner helping advocate for you and you have a set plan, you will most likely be fine. You are likely to only see the doctor a handful of times during labor anyway and only for a few minutes at a time. When it comes down to delivering, you aren't going to care who is there catching the baby. I would go into it with a basic knowledge of the other doctors procedures, but I agree with the previous poster who said docs tend to go into practice with like minded doctors.
  
  Also remember that there are certain things that are hospital policy, not doctors. So things like IVs and monitoring you might not have a choice about, even if it is your doctor on call.
  
  I have very quick labors and with my first, I wasn't in the hospital long and the doctor walked in just in time to catch the baby. It was my doc, but I at the time I really wouldn't have known the difference. With my second, I was induced starting at 8am and the first time I saw my doc was when she broke my water at 2pm. My daughter was born 40 minutes later and my doc didn't make it back in time, so she was delivered by the nurses.

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• MargaretC5 member

  August 2015

  I agree with PP in a hosipital setting it is the nurses you will be dealing with most the time. The doctor will usually check in when you are admitted, if anything is wrong and towards the end when you are ready to deliver. I found all the nurses to be very supportive of my wish to decline interventions. The doctors would offer and leave so I did not really need to worry about them. Also all the drs in the practice had read my file and knew my wishes, and did respect it even if they were suggesting another course of action. I did end up needing interventions with my delivery but the drs did allow me to make the desicion in my own time, I was never pressured by any of the drs in the practice.
  Honestly once I was on labor I cared a lot less who the dr was then I did for the rest of the pregnancy.

  

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• thefithuntress member

  August 2015

  I love all of the midwives and OBs at my practice. The midwife I worked with the most quit recently but I still feel great about the others, especially since I've made an effort to schedule different appointments with different people.
  
  If you're truly concerned about giving birth with someone you trust and having as little medical intervention as possible I suggest getting a doula. From what I've heard and read they can be a great tool to help give you the confidence you need. Check with your practice to see if they recommend anyone-mine gave me a short list of approved doulas.

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• pink*sheep member

  August 2015

  With my first there were only 3 obs out of the 5 who I felt really comfortable with, and I thought the odds were on my side in terms of getting one of them. Of course that didn't happen, and I ended getting the dr I liked the LEAST! I mean by a long shot. Well when all was said and done, she was amazing and I had such a wonderful experience with her, I wouldn't go back and have it any other way.

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• megandchase member

  August 2015

  Realistically even if you didn't go to a group practice there is no guarantee your doc will be the one to deliver. No doctor is on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week. At least you will know all the obs that could deliver for you rather than getting the hospital's on call OB

  
  

  
  

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• Gapeach83 member

  August 2015

  I have had no issues. They all go on each other notes. Both deliveries where what I wanted. I feel more confident because I know at least one of the 6 doctors I have seen will be there and not some random hospital doctor. One is always on call usually they are at the hospital the whole time (the main practice is on hospital campus)

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• TarHeelMomToBe member

  August 2015

  My office has 5 OBs, but also partner with another office to cover deliveries.  I was in labor for 18hrs.  There was one of the doctors from my office there when I checked in.  

  
  

  About 10hrs into labor, her shift was over and another doctor took over - from the other office who I had never met.  I don't even remember her name.  She did a great job delivering the baby and sewing me up.  Other than checking progress every 1-2 hrs, that's the only interaction I had with the OB.

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• Bettytteb member

  August 2015

  Thanks all. I appreciate the feedback. I think I imagined the OB having a more extensive role in the whole process, but I guess thats only likely to be the case if there are complications. I have been thinking about a doula also and maybe I'll bring that up at my next appointment. Thanks again!

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• lyankowi member

  August 2015

  My OB practice just has whoever is on call deliver the baby. I lucked out and Dr induced me the day he was on call. He was actually on call at the other hospital but came to where I was to deliver the baby I don't want to be induced this time so I am just going to be OK with a complete stranger.

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• oliarnmom1517 member

  August 2015

  There are 3 OBs in the practice I go to but the hospital has 5 on call OBs because there are 5 hospitals total through out the city.. 2 big ones and 3 smaller ones.. So there is no telling who will deliver this baby But as long as they make it out safely I'm ok..

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