Getting Comfortable With Your OB/GYN
Posted on: 27 July 2018
Being pregnant is an immensely exciting and time. In every stage of your pregnancy, you'll be heading to the doctor for various checkups and procedures which will help to ensure you and your baby's health. Much of the time, you'll be seeing an obstetrician. These are doctors trained in every aspect of pregnancy care, including post-partum. As you'll be attending these appointments so often, is it important to keep seeing the same doctor? That depends on several factors. Your priorities are your own — but here is what you should be thinking about.
Consistency
If you continue to see the same obstetrician throughout the full term of your pregnancy, that person will be able to build up a very clear picture of you and what you're going through. They'll be well-informed on your progress and your preferences. That consistency can be really helpful. It means that you won't need to give these details every time you attend an appointment — or introduce yourself over and over!
Convenience
Because these appointments are so frequent, it is simply faster to keep making appointments with the same doctor. In fact, you'll probably book the next one as you're leaving the last. As you have plenty of other things to be thinking about while you're pregnant, this convenience will be very welcome.
Comfort
However, both consistency and convenience should come secondary to this most important point — your personal comfort. If you don't gel with the first obstetrician you see, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from finding another to try. You don't need a different doctor for every single appointment; you just need to meet somebody who you feel is listening to you, respecting you and your wishes and taking a focused interest in your and your baby's wellbeing. Nothing should encourage you to make another appointment with a doctor who doesn't tick every single one of these boxes, especially at a time in your life when it's vital to reduce your stress as much as possible.
Granted, obstetricians are professionals, and it's extremely that you'll find one that's rude and difficult to work with. That would be an outlier, but if that does happen, don't feel you're harming the level of care you'll receive by looking elsewhere. You'll actually be doing both you and your baby a favour.
Ask friends or family for recommendations, and visit a few obstetricians to get a better idea of who you should choose.
Share