How to Choose a Birth Friendly Doctor

If you have decided to have an obstetrician attend your birth, make sure you've chosen one who agrees with your standards and ideas of birth. You want a knowledgeable attendant, but you also want someone who will listen to you and agree to let labor take on a natural course. The following steps will help you choose an obstetrician who is birth friendly.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. If you truly want a birth friendly obstetrician, contact the right individuals to help you make your decision. Contact the doulas and midwives in your area to find out who they've worked with and what type of experience they've had. Doulas and midwives are extremely birth friendly and will have experience in working with birth friendly doctors.

2. If there is a local birth group or community of parents nearby, contact them. Ask for referrals and listen to their individual experiences. More times than not, they can tell you who to stay away from.

3. Once your list is narrowed down, call the doctors and schedule interviews. This is a necessary process in choosing a good doctor. The good doctors don't mind, and if one of them does or is rushing you out of the room, rest assured that is how you'll most likely be treated on all of your visits and during labor too.

4. Write out all of your questions neatly with an area beneath them to write answers. Good doctors notice when their patients are invested in their health care and know what they want.

5. If there is a particular intervention that you don't agree with or would definitely not want, know why you don't want it and be able to back it up with solid research or evidence. Not wanting it because your neighbor said it was a bad idea is not a good enough reason for your doctor to take you seriously.

6. When you meet with your doctor, observe his personality, observe whether or not he takes his time or looks at his watch every couple of minutes, his attitude toward natural birth, large babies and cesareans. If he performs a cesarean on over 40 percent of his patients, don't let the door hit you in the back as you are running.

7. Once the meeting is over, thank him for his time. Let him know that you'll be in touch with a decision.

8. Take your time and discuss it with your partner. Are you both comfortable with the doctor? Do you feel as though she'll take her time during your labor and not rush you in for a cesarean when its not medically indicated? Do you like his personality? There are plenty of things to consider when choosing your doctor, so take your time.

9. Most importantly, listen to your intuition. If your instinctual response is "absolutely not," then please listen. Mothers are very primal in choosing good caregivers, so listen to yourself. If you have reservations and need some clarity, get it before you sign on as a client.

10. Give her a trial period. If you do two visits and are not satisfied, then switch. It's never too late and you must be comfortable with your provider.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want a natural birth, make sure that he is comfortable with true natural birth.
• Ask her if she's comfortable delivering a baby over 8 lbs. Many doctors get freaked out about weight. If 8 lbs. is too big, then keep looking.
• Ask him if he will allow you to labor as long as you and the baby are safe.
• If you are going to hire birth help such as a doula, ask her how she feels about that.
• Ask him why he performs cesareans. What are his most common reasons?
• Ask if she has a time limitation on labor.
• Run if he mentions routine inductions.
• Run if she mentions routine cesareans.
• Run if he mentions that an 8-lb. baby is too big to deliver vaginally.
• Run if your inner woman just screams, "NO!"