Last month, Peter and I interviewed several different doctors / doctors office. My psychiatrist had recommended that I get a "Preconception Checkup / Consultation" with my selected OBGYN before getting pregnant.
We put together a list of questions that we asked at each appointment....I have included a few of the questions below.
1. Will you do an epidural? (I want the drugs!!)
2. Are my current medications safe for a baby?
3. What type of prenatal vitamins should I be taking?
4. What should I add to my diet? What foods should I avoid?
5. In reviewing my charts, am I at risk for any potential problems?
6. Tell me about the hospital where you deliver?
Southwest Women's Health Care. My friend Elba recommended this practice - She really enjoyed her experience. I was very excited about her recommendation because the office is only 2 miles from our house. In making the appointment I felt disappointed almost immediately. I was on hold for about 10 minutes and when the woman answered she was very short with me and and made me feel like my questions were annoying and taking up too much of her time. I decided that maybe I could deal with a rude staff person in exchange for a good doctor stationed near to our home.
I arrived at the appointment 20 minutes early as requested. I filled out a mountain of paperwork which I had expected. When I turned in my paperwork at the front desk, the woman handed me a bag filled with samples of formula....this threw me off and I mentioned that I wasn't actually pregnant yet....the woman was surprised and a little embarrassed because unfortunately this meant that I needed to fill out a whole different set of paperwork. Aaahhh!!
When I finally made it to the exam room, they sent in a Nurse Practitioner instead of the doctor that I had asked to meet. The Nurse Practitioner was very knowledgeable and kind. She took her time answering questions and seemed to provide thorough information. I was sure to ask if all of the doctor's within the practice would answer the questions the same way....she assured me that they would.
That brought me to my last questions: which doctor will actually deliver the baby? This is where things got tricky. There are 8 doctors on staff...if I chose this practice, I would see a different doctor at each appointment so that I could get acquainted with each one. 1-2 doctors are on call each day, the doctor that I would see on delivery day is the doctor on call (not necessarily the doctor that I have built a relationship with....). Not being able to select a primary doctor coupled with rude and unorganized staff made this practice a 'no' for us.
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