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Physician or Friend
Can Your Doctor Be Both?
By Shel Franco
I thought I knew my OB. After all, she had been my gynecologist since I was 16. What I didn't count on was getting to know the four other obstetricians in her group. I went through my pregnancy seeing only my OB, until a nurse said I should meet the others. I followed her advice, all the while looking forward to any appointment that put me back in the presence of my beloved doctor.
Labor day rolled around, and as you probably guessed, my OB wasn't on call. I delivered with a virtual stranger.
Fast-forward a few years to my second son's birth – this time, a new state, a new hospital. A practice of four midwives came highly recommended by a friend. From the beginning, I rotated through all the professionals. And though I had my clear favorites, I certainly felt closer to these women than I had to those "mystery OBs." In the end, the sheer number of other patients reminded me that I would never be endeared to these midwives after only nine months of care.
When pregnancy No. 3 rolled around, I was once again in a different state, without a regular OB/GYN, but I did have a family practice doctor who just so happened to deliver babies.
I had three different pregnancies with three different types of childbirth professionals, but I learned one lesson: It's important to develop more than a passing relationship with your doctor.
"Before you start having unprotected sex, you should start developing in your head where you want to be [during pregnancy and birth]," says Dr. Brad Fox, a family physician who also delivers babies.
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