Did you dislike your Obstetrician? How did you handle it when it was time for delivery of your baby?

Question

I do not care for mine at all. I actually see 2 docs, one woman who is really great, but young and the main doctor, a man, requries that if you are an OB patient you MUST see HIM at some points of your pregnancy. Well he is a richard-head if you know what I am trying to say. I had the female doc for the first 3 times I went there, then got him and I felt it was too late to switch to a new doc. He is terrible, comes in- does not even look at you, goes straight to the chart, and makes off-handed, almost offensive comments. He lectured me about my footwear, asked me "is there movement?" I said "yes he is kicking me right now" and his reply was "oh you deserve it". What an A. s s..... I am really nervous about delivery if he is on call. I mean he acts like he knows everything and I am afraid of how he will want to handle things when Im in labor...did you have a doctor you did not like? What happend? Can I ask for another doctor if he is on call?

Answer 1

If you don’t like your OB ask for your medical records and go searching for a new one. Selecting a doctor is like buying a house, you need to make sure that you are going to like it after you buy it. I have great OB’s, 2 of them due to high risk pregnancy, and LOVE both of them. I have their cell phone numbers and was never afraid to ask any questions that I had, no matter how stupid I thought they were. When I went into the office one of them would always hold my hand when he asked how things were, how I felt and how the baby was doing. He always made sure to say good bye and hello to my husband. The other one had a less hands on approach but was still very friendly. They both knew my name without looking at the chart and remembered what we talked about last time. When it came to delivery I was extremely confident in them and had an amazingly easy and pleasant birthing experience. Where do you live if you are in LA area I can give you my OB’s phone number. But no matter what if you are not happy go find a new one because you will not trust him during delivery and he might not care enough to do everything right when the time comes.

Answer 2

I had a crazy OB situation. I was referred to a female OB and I liked her just fine, but she didn't tell me she was also pregnant (she was big boned and I couldn't tell under the scrubs). Several weeks later I was transferred to her female associate for my OB care. The new ob was a "richard-head" too. :) I endured her and finally had my last visit with her since my regular OB had returned from maternity leave. At this last visit with the #2 OB I told her, respectfully, what she had done to make me uncomfortable and that I thought she should improve it for the sake of her own patients. At the next visit I was notified that I was being banned from the entire practice since the #2 OB was refusing to treat me if she happened to be on-call when I went into labor. Apparently I offended her a tad. ;) So at 37 weeks I was searching for a new OB! Eeeek! I just got on the phone and found one. The new doc was a man, and more old-fashioned than I had hoped for. But he was willing to take me and I certainly didn't want to finish the pregnancy without a doctor. He was wonderful at the delivery and I'm so pleased with the way things turned out.


If you're not happy, don't be afraid to seek other care.

Answer 3

I saw a group of six doctors when I was expecting and only cared for 2 of them. I had a problem with the female doctor because I felt like she rushed our appointments and didn't fully take my concerns into consideration. Needless to say, she was on call when it came time to deliver. I had mentioned to the other doctors that I did not want her to deliver my son. When it came time, she was there, and I was so excited and nervous that I didn't mind. She was sooooo wonderful. There was a period where I spiked a fever and the fetal monitors were concerning. She never left my side. She was in the room with me for almost 9 of the 13 hours of labor. She was so professional and calm and just a sweetheart. I know it's hard to say what will happen, but having your baby is so awesome, I think we have a different type of judgment at that time. Do what you feel comfortable with...it is a special time for you. Good Luck!!

Answer 4

I went through 5 or 6 different OB's before I finally found one I could tolerate... I found her 2 months before my due date. I actually delivered on Thanksgiving day, so she wasn't even on call.

You can still switch docs, especially easy if you aren't too far along. I know what you mean about them being insensitive. I'm vegan, and small for my frame. I went to one doctor (who was morbidly overweight) and she actually told me it was totally unhealthy to be even vegetarian while pregnant, that I needed to eat meat... She even told me to DIET low carb high protein so that I would have a "small baby" since she normally did c-sections and didn't like the "natural birthers" and *gasp* those Bradley Method freaks.

Just change docs till you're comfortable. You can even have your records transfered. I didn't, but then again, I just told them I was having a completely healthy normal complication-free pregnancy. I had to go to one appointment just to answer the little questionairre thing, but no big deal.

Personally, I would rather try to get a different OB than to hope and wish that you go into labor when your bad doc is not there... or even throw yourself to the random doctor on call, and run the risk of them being more callous or harsh than the first!

I lucked out and the doctor that delivered me was actually better than my OB, but I know this to be rare.

Answer 5

I didn't like any of the OB's in this one group at Sutter in Sacramento, so I switched around the middle of my pregnancy! I found a midwife I really liked. In her group, you could end up getting any number of doctors or midwifes when you actually went into labor. My labor was really long, so I ended up having about 2 docs, and 2 midwives. The one I really liked ended up being the one that came onto shift just as I was delivering!

So, you just never know. It really won't matter when the time comes. I had so many dang people in the room - my husband, my mom, my mother-in-law, the doula, nurses, etc. LOL!!!

Answer 6

Well....don't know what you can do about who's on call, I've always heard you get who you get. With my last delivery, I managed to pizz off the doc. on call because I kept asking questions, she left in a huff and went home, took a shower, and came back and lectured me about how I don't trust her etc. etc. Needless to say, I got hysterical the moment she left the room, and hubby went and 'had a talk with her in the hallway.' She came back a short while later and apologized. The rest of the delivery was a blur of pain, meds etc. At the very end she leaned down and whispered in my ear that she knew from the beginning I was going to be a c-section. She had something to prove, all I wanted was a healthy baby! BUT, we made it through and my hubby was veing very vigilant! Assign that task to your hubby and possibly mother or friend, their job is to make sure that the medical end is taken care of despite the rudeness, attitude of the doc.

Answer 7

I went to a group of doctors for my son, I liked all of them except for one. She was so mean to me about my weight, telling me I was starving the baby and my son was going to be underweight, which is not true at all, I am just a small person. She was so offensive the head of the group wouldn't allow her to see me anymore. Well, of course, I ended up going into labor early and sure enough that doctor was on call. She ended up being really sweet and supportive. So you never know. Technically, when you go into labor you only see the doctor at the final push and to sew you up if you tear. Most of the time you are with the nurse. So my opinion is just stick with you doctor, they know you and they know your pregnancy.

Answer 8

It is most definitely not too late to switch Dr.'s. I had no choice but to switch [due to a cross country move]. I had 4 different Dr.s in 3 different states & only met the Dr. who would deliver me less than 3 weeks before I gave birth but he was amazing!!! I noticed an immediate difference from the other Dr.s the first time we met and felt totally confident in his abilities to deliver me. Had I not I would have found another. Its really not too late until you actually have the baby. No one should deliver you unless you are comfortable & confident in them [barring extreme circumstances of course, such as emergencies where you may not have any say].

Best of luck to you & congrats!

Oh and whats a "richard-head"?

Answer 9

Yikes! That's a toughy. There were 2 doctors and 4 midwives in the office I went to, and we had to see all of them at least once during the pregnancy, but we could choose which one we wanted for the delivery. I'd say make your next appt with the one you like, and talk to her about it. Tell her you really feel comfortable with her and want to know what you can do to ensure that she's the one that delivers your baby.
(Butter her up, flattery opens a lot of doors ;) )

Answer 10

Ok you can go to a different ER if possible. But my suggestion, just make sure who is on call on Labor and Delivey. Your best beat would be to just stay home, go in labor, sit around until the last minute and have the EMTs help you deliver. That way you will not have to see that idiot doctor until the next morning, when he comes to check on you and the baby.