Okay so this is kind of a rant, but also I'm curious to hear what your experiences have been with your OBs. I'm a ftm so I have nothing to compare mine too. I chose my Dr per my friend's recommendation and started using her as my GYN. I just love her and decided to use her as my OB as well. At this practice there are 5 OBs and an NP. I haven't seen my Dr since my confirmation appt at 9 weeks. I was told I would see each of the 5 doctors during my pregnancy so I would be familiar with them in case my Dr is not available when I deliver. I thought that was a good idea. I also thought I would see my Dr for most of my visits. I've seen the NP a few times, ultrasound techs only when I had my ultrasounds (and had to specifically ask to see a nurse those few times with questions I had), and I've seen 2 other doctors. My next 2 appts are with the NP again. To be quite honest, my care feels very impersonal and I have not formed any type of Dr/patient relationship since I hardly see the same person. I feel like when I do deliver, it will still seem like a stranger, instead of my Dr who has been caring for me throughout my pregnancy. I go every 2 weeks now that I'm in the third trimester, and its too late to switch to a different practice. This is far from the experience I imagined, and not similar to what my friends and family had with their OBs. If I ever have another child, I will be finding a new OB. I just wondered if my experience is the norm, or if you ladies see your OBs regularly and have formed a good relationship with them? It makes me wonder what my Dr does if she never sees her pregnant patients? Does she only show up to deliver them? On the day I deliver, I am afraid it will seem like I'm surrounded by strangers, and that makes me sad.
Re: how has your OB experience been?
My sister, on the other hand, lives in a small town and the same OB has delivered all five of her children. She also knows him socially because the professional community is very small and she works out of the same tiny hospital, so her care is very personal.
It could be the times you're scheduling.. I always ask who I'll be seeing when I schedule, and if I've just seen them, I ask for a different time/day to insure I see someone else.
I've also asked to skip one on occasion- I already know him, and am totally fine with him delivering baby, so I'd like to get to know the other doctors better.
Overall, my experience has been good.. Honestly the front office staff is what makes me crazy. Seriously, don't call twice to ask to move my appointment.. If I say I can't come earlier once, cancel it or deal with it!
Small amount of background though, when I first saw a gyno ever it was him, and I was freshly eighteen. He asked me during my first Pap smear if I was having sex, and I said yes with protection. He then started to chastise me and say how disappointed my parents must be because he remembers how religious they were during my mom's last four pregnancies. I left after that was done and planned on never going back.
Now thanks to Medicaid and a few other issues I had no choice in who I saw and I'm just trying to make the best of it. My fiancé thinks the care I receive is a bit of a joke since he doesn't listen to me when I tell him about my regular activity levels, and diet, and just assumes I'm lying because I gained weight rapidly last month. Ugh.
If this whole pregnancy thing happens again I would go as far as to pay out of pocket to use the birthing center, which I didn't find out about until around 25 weeks and was too late to switch over insurance wise on their end at said point. (They do accept Medicaid, but next one, if it even happens, will be planned)
This time my practice has one doctor and the hospital midwife or doctor will deliver. It is nice seeing the same person every time, but it's not necessary.
I am impressed with my care though because the staff doesn't treat me like another number but I feel like they review my chart prior to walking in to the room.
Hm, I must be in the minority when it comes to the practice. My OB has been there with me through many of my baby making years. She's been there through 2 losses and this will be my 2nd child that she will be delivering via C Section. All my appointments are with her so we do have a good doctor / patient relationship. The only time I was with an NP was at the first OB appointment and maybe a few appointments over a couple of months because she was on maternity leave. Other than that, she's been my main PCP.
The OBGYN department is huge spread over 3 different locations in town. The location I'm seen has 5 MDs, 5 midwives, 2 NPs then pretty much there's like about the same amount of staff in the other two locations so there's lots to choose from.
It's a boy! Grow baby, grow! EDD: 4/22/2016
With DD, I met with the same OB for all but my last appt at 38 weeks (OB was on vacation for week 37-39), so I met with his co-worker. The coworker was up to date with what was happening with DDs growth stuff and scheduled my induction. He was then the on duty OB overnight when I went into labor naturally and stayed at the hospital to talk to the on call for the day time. She was from the other clinic and I'd never seen/met her before. I think she was in the room for a total of about 2 hours of the 17 hours I was there before Lily came - 3 or 4 quick checks and then delivery/aftercare.
It really is all about your nurses. The L&D nurses are the ones who are with you throughout everything and make everything more comfortable.
I always have the same doctor and nurse each time at the current practice that I'm seeing. It's nice to have someone who knows me, but at the same time, I don't really care if I know the doctor who is delivering my baby, since I'll have someone I trust there already (DH). With either practice, I knew I wouldn't be getting MY doctor at delivery, so I've been used to that idea since day one.
It's a relief for me to have a positive experience, since I've always been terrified of Drs.
I have had the same OB for both pregnancies and really like her and everybody in their practice. She's with a group of 6ish, but I see her every time except for an upcoming appointment with the NP while she is out of town. She delivered DS. I was induced so I don't know what the protocol would have been had someone needed to be called in. However, I'm not concerned if somebody else ends up having to deliver. I've been very happy with my care overall in their office. The only thing that annoys me is whenever they're running forever behind for some appointments, but I realize newborn babies don't care about my appointment schedule, so they come first! Haha
I'm sorry you're having this experience though. I think it depends on your practice and where you live. I'm in a good sized metro area and there are quite a few OB groups here spread across two major hospital systems.
I'm seeing a midwives group, so no OBs. I have 6 midwives I see on rotation and although I haven't gotten to know them super well, I am a fan of the bedside manner they all seem to foster and have in this group and love them. I definitely have a favorite already but they are all wonderful and make me feel cared for while I'm there and that's what I care about, they don't need to know me super well. That being said, I've had no complications and a relatively stress-free, textbook pregnancy so far so my check-ins are usually short and sweet. I'm ok with that because I feel ok. If you do not feel ok, ask more questions, ask for an OB. Maybe there is more for you there. All the best!
I will say I don't require alot... im a medical provider myself... my appointments are only every 5 weeks and last about 15 minutes from the time I walk into the office until I walk out... lol.
He also owns a very small hospital in a tiny town right down the road and his nurses are TOP NOTCH.... love everything about it
The only way I feel unsatisfied is that the appointments are so short/rushed feeling. They are clearly a revolving door of patients. They don't even tell me my weight or BP so I just assume if they aren't saying anything it's ok and I'm only with the doc for a grand total of 2 mins at each visit and they ask if I have questions when they've already got one foot out the door which makes me feel dismissed. I've also had issues with getting results/call backs from the doctor. For example my cell free DNA test took over 2 weeks to get back (hello anxiety!). Then last week I had a really weird sick-spell where I just felt awful (back ache, nauseous, couldn't even drink water, exhausted) all our of nowhere. It was very unusual bc up to this point I've been feeling quite good aside from minor things here and there. So I called the doctor to talk to them and the nurse I spoke to brushed it off completely as "pregnancy" symptoms and was pretty condescending. They said they would check with the doctor and call me back, but never called back!! Good thing apparently it was nothing and I've felt fine since but still!!
And sorry I'm not sorry that in every book I've read, sudden back pain and nausea out of nowhere can be signs of preterm labor or something else serious so I wanted to check! I was pretty annoyed by that.
I'm another one who goes to a large practice that rotates doctors and NPs for visits. This is my third pregnancy though, so I'm pretty comfortable with the process, as I've been with the same practice for all three. This time I have the added complication of being high risk, and also being seen by the high risk/mfm. The MFM has actually been the dr I've seen the most this pregnancy, but she does not deliver.
Despite this, over the last 6 years, I've established a pretty good relationship with my "primary" OB, and also my primary NP. The upside to the rotation is that it's much easier to schedule appointments at times that are convenient to me (which is a big issue for me since I work full time and travel away from the OB's location quite a bit). I also get a feel for each doctor. As I've gone through, I've also gotten better at advocating for myself and my wishes, which quite frankly, we all need to be prepared to do even if you see one provider primarily.
Another wrinkle is that, during labor and delivery, it's common in my experience for the L&D nurses to be carrying the load of patient care, not the doctors, unless there are complications. If you deliver at a teaching hospital, the residents/med students may also be involved to some extent. In many cases the primary OB just comes in at the end to catch
Marriage: 12.18.04
DD1: 5.19.10
DD2: 4.11.12
Now for this pregnancy I am high risk, over 35 and expecting twins, so I only see my 2 OBs when I go in every 2 weeks, and I love them both. If your office specializes in high risk and you are having an "uncomplicated" pregnancy, this might be why you have seen the NP more?
Since I have epilepsy, a seizure disorder, at my last visit they made a note "physicians only going forward" where now I will only be seen by the doctors at my appointments. That's just because I often have questions that the MW team can't answer. I do find myself wishing that I lived in an area that allowed for a close relationship with one doctor, or even two doctors, instead of getting to know a ton and getting the luck of the draw on "the big day".
The only reason it was important to me to understand the temperament and personality of the OB was that my labors were really long and the nurses had to check in with them for advice and instruction. If you're having a short labor with textbook progression that isn't important, but if you plateau for a while it's nice to know the general outlook of the person who is telling the nurses whether you'll need to start Pitocin etc.
I don't know what kind of community you live in, but with baby 2 my insurance changed in the new year when I was 30 weeks pregnant and I had to switch providers. It was a little stressful, but I do think it's never too late if there are other options and you're not happy with your care. And I left my first OB on good terms so was able to switch back for this pregnancy when my insurance changed again.