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Jon & Kathy
Jon and I came to this site after signing with our agency, who encouraged us to do some of our own 'advertising'.
Our profile was activated the end of October and we started getting calls and emails about 3 weeks later. We received THE call about our son on New Year's Day. It was actually from the agency that the birthmother contacted. So, not only do birthparents look through here, but more ...
Things to Ask Your Doctor
Naturally, you will be full of questions when you go to your first doctor's visit. Is the baby okay, when am I due, what shall I do? Those are all normal questions. Many of your questions can be answered by reading books and magazines to inform yourself about your body, the development of your baby, and so on. After you've done extensive reading, if you still have questions about those issues, do ask your doctor.
At first, your most important questions for your doctor should be those that will help you determine if this is the right doctor for you. If you usually see a family practice doctor, they may or may not deliver your baby. Most urban physicians will refer patients to a specialist called an obstetrician, a doctor who specializes in prenatal care and delivery. However, in more rural areas, your family physician might be the only doctor available to deliver your baby.
You might also choose a midwife. Midwives practice in many locations. Some work in hospitals, some in free-standing birthing centers. Some do home births.
Because you have so many choices, you will want to have a doctor who will work with you for the kind of birth you want. Say, for example, you are determined to have natural childbirth without any drugs, pain killers, anesthesia, or other medical interventions. You should ask your doctor how she feels about supporting you in that choice. Does her record reflect that most of her patients get drugs during labor? Perhaps she is not the right one for you. Or maybe you have strong feelings about matters like episiotomy or circumcision if your baby is a boy. Ask your doctor how she deals with those issues. If she routinely does episiotomy on all first-time mothers and you really don't want one, will she respect your wishes?
Many parents make what they call a birth plan. After reading about and discussing the choices you have as far as location and type of birth you want, you write out how you want your birth to be. Maybe your birth plan includes choices like no episiotomy, no drugs, and no circumcision. Present your plan to your doctor and find out how she reacts to these choices. If it's not a match, find another doctor. Maybe your birth plan welcomes the use of pain relief and all medical procedures, but the doctor you go to won't support those choices. Again, it's not a good fit and you might want a different doctor.
You will also want to ask your doctor about practical considerations such as do they accept your insurance, what are their fees, is it a group practice where you get whatever doctor is on call for your delivery, what kind of appointment schedule do they recommend for prenatal care, do they do pediatrics as well or will you need to find a pediatrician yourself, and at which hospital do they deliver.
A final tip on selecting a doctor: Most of the time, you will be selecting the entire practice, not just one doctor. So make sure you also feel supported and respected by the entire staff from the receptionist to the nurses as well as the other doctors.
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