re: So I Want To Be An OB/GYN...

Oh and I'm actually one of the people who liked the fact that a c-section was an option as was being induced.

He told me all the risks before hand and I did end up with being induced and having a c-section but I was actually really comfortable with the fact that the doctor showed me he knew his stuff before hand.

Quoting Larenna's Momma:“ I worry about the same things. But at the same time I feel like I could realy make a difference in the ... [snip!] ... their decisions before going forward. That kind of information may or may not be as readily available at some OB/GYNs offices.”

I am directing my college courses towards med school entrance requirements. Maybe, like ten or twenty years down the road, I or someone else will have helped to make an impact on the politics surrounding birth and doctors will be given more freedom. I still think it would be amazing to go to med school...but I just couldn't do it with things the way they currently are. I think the key to chance lies with the consumers...if women make it known how they want the system to change, eventually it has to. It is a business like any else. And, if a business wants to do well, it needs to listen to it's consumers.

Quoting whollydevoted:“ I am directing my college courses towards med school entrance requirements. Maybe, like ten or twenty ... [snip!] ... it has to. It is a business like any else. And, if a business wants to do well, it needs to listen to it's consumers.”

I've actually seriously considered the possibility of after I complete med school, to actually leave the country to pursue my medical career within a separate healthcare system that goes much more along the lines of what I believe.

I've realised tho that I am going to have to get over a lot of my skepticism about modern medicine (until appropriate), and to remain unbaised in the care of my patients, while providing them will ALL the necessary information to make their own educated decisions.

Quoting Larenna's Momma:“ I think that's a very good point. Every question needs to be just as valid as any other. How did your ... [snip!] ... they did/didn't do that made you worry about your pregnancies, or reproductive health, that was completely unnecessary?”

First, I think it's awesome that you want to do this.  I'd love to, but there's a lot of re tape docs have to deal with.  I'm considering becoming a nurse-midwife, though...

Anyway, if I have a question that my doc isn't sure of off the bat, she'll tell me she will find out for me.  Which I can understand...doctors are human, too, and can't remember everything.  I want to make sure I get the right answer to my question.  She's been good about either looking it up and letting me know before I leave, or having her staff call me when she finds out.

Perhaps the change that needs to happen in the system is the shift away from mainstream OB care. OBs are surgeons and specialists in pathology. They really aren't supposed to be handling your normal, low-risk pregnancies. They prepared for the worst and are always on the look out for it. I think the change I would like to see is for midwives to handle most births. In most developed countries midwives handle 70 to 80% of the births...and all of these countries have a lower maternal death rate than the US. In these countries OBs step in when the midwives realize something isn't quite normal. But, on the whole, a midwife trusts the natural process and lets it happen. OBs are trained to have to DO something. If we got to a point where OBs were left to deal solely with what they should be dealing with...the high risk pregnancies and the emergencies...then it would be a field I would adore being in. On the other hand...I would miss getting to witness the beauty of natural, uninterfered with birth.

You should read some books by Michel Odent. He is a french OB that in the prime of his career oversaw 1,000 births per year. He is amazing and his books are so good. I once watched a video of him "delivering" a baby and it was amazing.

As for your original question, I get so pissed off when I see OBs performing procedures without giving all the facts or without obtaining consent. I have watched doctors flat out lie to women or do things to them without even asking permission...or worse, doing them when the woman is screaming "NO!". I did recently have a good encounter with some OBs at Johns Hopkins. A planned home birth turned into a scheduled cesarean because the baby turned footling breech and the mom did not wish to deliver a footling. The doctors were really respectful of her wishes for the surgery (like letting her hold the baby right away, untying her arms as soon as he was out, not giving her a tranquilizer, etc). They were also respectful enough to not give her the third degree about not using OB care in the first place. They did their jobs as surgeons, and did so respectfully and wonderfully. It was a pleasure to deal with them. I wish I could say the same for all OBs.

well my doc. isnt a OB/GYN.I have an MD
but the doc that came in the room in the first apt was and
he was so mean he talked to me like i was stupid.
i told him you dont have to talk to me like that and hesaid how am i talking to you
and then i said you're talking to me like im stupid and i started crying and all he said was sorry but im just trying to explain you about BLAH BLAH BLAH.
and when i told him about like symptoms or discomforts i was having all he said was CONGRADULATIONS YOUR PREGNANT. like as if i didnt know

When I first met my doc I really didn't like or dislike him-he spoke quickly and it felt like you were being brushed off.Then when I was told I had GBS by him he was so flippant and just left the room without giving me a chance to ask anything.I lost 2 nights sleep (because I then researched it and was horrified at what could happen-ignoring the statistics) so I called and demanded a meeting with him.He seemed upset with me for not asking at the time and that's when we had it out sort of-after that he made pamphlets for all women testing pos for GBS. This is my 3rd to be delivered by him and I like that he doesn't induce just because I have monstrous kids, and he didn't panic(or make me panic) whan my huge baby came out face first and I started to hemmorage after.Also when my water broke with my 2cnd he came in on his own time to deliver because I told him I may travel to a different city because the on call doctor was not an option-that was so kind of him!And humor, he let me have the gas when I was hemmoraging because he was manually massaging my uterus, and after all was well he calmly said "Now may I have some of that gas".

Quoting Larenna's Momma:“ Hate your OBGYN?? Love her like a sister??? I want to hear your stories!!! WHY YOU ASK??? Well, I eventually ... [snip!] ... did he/she do that you loved? What did he/she do that really pissed you off (even if you didn't say anything about it)?? ETC.”

I switched from an OB to a midwife because of how coldly I was treated. She was obviously biased against young moms ... was very cruel and so unpersonal ... and I felt very uncomfortable around her. Not the kind of person you want feeling your belly or snooping around your girlie bits.