Genmedmom here.
I could not have imagined going anywhere but the OB/GYN office down the hall from mine. My lovely OB was a clinical instructor in the same course as me, and I ran into her at the medical school from time to time, in between my prenatal appointments. She'd seen my cervix and God knows what else was going on down there, and yet we would find ourselves standing around pleasantly chatting about curriculum changes while sipping lukewarm coffee. I didn't care.
Just take good care of us.
Still, with my first, I went a little psycho around delivery. I created an annoying three-page natural-no-epidural birth plan with all sorts of stipulations: no med students, minimal residents, no male anybody.
Ha. When the meconium hit the fan, there I was being wheeled into an O.R. crowded with every level trainee and both genders well-represented, and I didn't care.
Just take good care of us.
Babyboy had to be rapidly and forcefully extracted: hauled from above and pushed from below. But he was born and he was healthy and all was good.
For my second, I had no plan. I was so traumatized by how violently OPPOSITE everything had turned out from what I had envisioned the first time around, I couldn't make any decisions at all. So my lovely O.B. firmly (but nicely) guided me through a successful VBAC.
I've seen her around since and we are very friendly. I've probably also run into multiple nurses, residents, and students who were witness to my howling hysteria in one or the other delivery, but I can't remember who was there from either so who cares.
Personally, I'm glad that I delivered with a physician I know professionally and admire. I could never have managed going to any other hospital but my own anyways, too inconvenient.
But not everyone feels the same way. The question occurred to me: Where do OB/GYNs deliver? Do you guys generally prefer your own or a different hospital?
How about other specialties- OB anesthesia, what about you? Does it vary at all by specialty?
Maybe it just has more to do with individual comfort level with the total, supreme lack of privacy, and knowing you will be definitely be observed if not at your worst, then at least, perhaps, not at your best.
I'm very curious about this, as I am covering this topic for a doctor-mom writing project. Please, share your perspectives! Inquiring minds will want to know.
I also gave birth at the academic hospital where I work. I am an anesthesiologist and work in the OR with the couple of OB residents who helped deliver my baby, but I requested to have no OB medical students because I thought it would be awkward if I were ever to have them with me on their Anesthesia rotation. I also had a colleage attending do my epidural as opposed to an anesthesia resident for the same reason. Otherwise I felt like it was good to deliver in a familiar place with familiar faces.
ReplyDeleteGood to know! Sounds like the general consensus thus far is familiar=good.
DeleteI delivered my first at the small rural hospital where I work, by my OB/GYN colleague (I am FP with OB.) It was a wonderful experience. In the end my baby had to be shipped to a hospital 40 min away with a NICU. My second baby I delivered at said hospital with a NICU where my baby spent time In the NICU. I had a great experience at that hospital as well. Were it not for complicated pregnancies and NICU stays though I would definitely choose to have them at my small hospital where everybody knows me and I felt loved and cared for, not to mention it is 2 minutes from my house.
ReplyDeleteDear Dr. Emily,
DeleteHello, I am a high school student hoping to go into medicine (specifically family practice in a rural area.) I saw your comment and was quite intrigued. Would it be possible for me to contact you to ask a bit about your training and life currently? If not, no worries.
Thank you so much!
Taylor
Sure! Send me an email at emilypoff@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.
Delete"Loved and cared for". Awesome.
DeleteI was very happy to be in a familiar place. My ex is anesthesia so a few of his partners popped in to say hello and he picked the best CRNA to do the epidural. My dad is a NICU doc so he was present in case anything happened. Since my son was six weeks early this was especially reassuring. I was a resident at a different (training hospital) at the time but have been here 10 years now. So even though it was an away experience, it was still like being at home. I was a little annoyed at the number of people in the room when I delivered my son - they poured in at the last minute, but I didn't stipulate anything so oh well. It all worked out in the end.
ReplyDeleteWow- lots of familiar faces there for you! And yes, I can relate to the "it all worked out in the end".
DeleteI'm an OB resident and I would definitely deliver at my hospital! We've had a number of residents have babies over the years, and no one seems to mind her co-residents being there for any and every step in the process.
ReplyDeletethat's pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteI delivered between my 2nd and 3rd year of med school and I asked for no med students (because awkward)! I did end up working with my ob and resident on my obgyn rotation, but the resident didn't remember me :). My ob turned to me after a delivery where I assisted and said, "Hey, I know you!" I'm glad I delivered at my hospital if only because I subsequently knew everything about the hospital from a patient perspective!
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny! And a good point about knowing the patients' perspective.
DeleteAnesthesia resident here! I chose to deliver at my hospital for insurance reasons, but I'm so glad I did. The OB residents treated me like family. I had a lot of pre-term contractions and would frequently drop by triage for a quick exam/US to make sure I wasn't in labor. They were wonderful! And I let one of my junior residents do my epidural when the time came- as residents, we do hundreds of these, so I had no problem letting a non-attending do it.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part? The OB status board displays your current weight/BMI... mortifying!!!! But so glad I delivered at my own hospital.
I also totally went into our OB clinic and had the residents put the probe on me from time to time!
DeleteDefinitely a perk!
DeleteI am a family doc who does OB in a smaller town. I saw one of my female partners for my prenatal care. I had a two day induction as I was post dates and we knew baby was big. First day one of the female OBs was on; second day it was a male OB. I of course ended up with a C-section after pushing for 3+ hours and said male OB was the one who did it. At that point I did not care. The funny part with him is that he worked in the city where I attended med school in a neighboring state and I worked with him on my OB rotation. It's crazy how we ended up in the same small town. I work with him all the time and he did my repeat C-section (during my first section he said "you're not going to want to VBAC next time are you?") It was nice delivering in the hospital where I work and knowing the nurses that were taking care of me. It never occurred to me to not deliver there.
ReplyDelete"It never occurred to me not to deliver there..." awesome. FYI since my own VBAC I have heard about several specific cases of uterine rupture, and I'm not sure I would have tried it if I had known.
DeleteI was a 4th year med student when I gave birth to my daughter at my school's main teaching hospital. I asked for no other students in the room (except my husband!). An awesome midwife did the actual delivery, but people also "poured in" at the last minute, including a peds resident I had worked with on my rotation and loved, and my (male) anesthesia advisor, who I had met with 2 days prior as I was considering anesthesia at the time. Having him there was the only slightly awkward part. I also knew the attending neonatologist on call well and liked her a lot, which was very reassuring (did not need her, thankfully). The best part was having so many student and resident friends pop by for (brief) congratulatory visits while we were in postpartum.
ReplyDeleteAnother mostly positive experience! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI had my son between ms2 and ms3... i was taking a year off so i knew all the med students from my original class. I requested no medical students because that would be mortifying. Once i found out which med students were on ob rotation that month, i hid in my room the whole hospital stay and would only walk the halls once my husband promised no short white coats and only at 3 am. The next year when i was on my ob rotation it was so fun to see some of the nurses and my ob on call! (And only then didni realize how intense/so close to scary my birth actually was..
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense, and I probably would have hidden too!
DeleteI had my son between ms2 and ms3... i was taking a year off so i knew all the med students from my original class. I requested no medical students because that would be mortifying. Once i found out which med students were on ob rotation that month, i hid in my room the whole hospital stay and would only walk the halls once my husband promised no short white coats and only at 3 am. The next year when i was on my ob rotation it was so fun to see some of the nurses and my ob on call! (And only then didni realize how intense/so close to scary my birth actually was..
ReplyDeleteAwesome you were able to take a year off!
DeleteI delivered at my own hospital both as a resident and as an attending (anesthesiology). It was a wonderful experience both times because everyone knew me and treated me like a VIP! There are a few awkward moments I think of now (like knowing the colleagues who have seen me completely naked), but everyone was so warm, loving, and professional that I don't really care.
ReplyDeleteAnother positive experience! I am so glad!
Delete