Anonymous wrote:OP--whatever practice you choose, do this one thing: hire a doula for your delivery. While all women can benefit from having one, you would do especially well with one. There are many recommendations here on DCUM, and you have plenty of time to interview and find the best fit for you. I would also recommend a Bradley class.

Good luck to you.

I think a Bradley class would be a terrible idea for this particular poster, because it would just heighten and reinforce OP's anxiety/control issues.

Based on what you described, I'd go with your current OB and ask for recommendations of particular books or websites he/she would recommend for answering general questions. Then you could limit your in-office questions to ones that truly require his/her individual expertise and knowledge of your case.

OP--whatever practice you choose, do this one thing: hire a doula for your delivery. While all women can benefit from having one, you would do especially well with one. There are many recommendations here on DCUM, and you have plenty of time to interview and find the best fit for you. I would also recommend a Bradley class.

Good luck to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8:29 has good advice, OP. I would second the
--hospital
--location of office, ease of parking, wait time--those weekly appts at the end, when you are least mobile, get tedious, and if you're newly preg now that's in the summer too.

Also, if you share what your reservations are about the practices, DCUM can help tell you which are legit and which are not that big a deal.

Why I like them and why I have reservations -
1. Current GYN (also OB), seems to be low intervention and solo practice lots of experience misses maybe 1 or 2 delivers a year delivers at Fair Oaks. - Gets annoyed when I ask too many questions. Is a bit further away but not bad,
2. Doctor #2 - solo but may end up doing on call for delivery if after hours or weekend, has high C-section rate like 45% I would prefer V delivery, Delivers Fairfax
3. Group of 4 women docs, seems like a well liked but also busy practice tons of reviews mixed - Fairfax hospital close to my job,
4. Group of 6 docs close to my job mixed reviews deliver Fairfax (cwc)
5. Two docs - same group as doctor #2 for on call, but has lower c sections, seem to deliver more
6. 3 docs well rated but further away VHC hospitcal

pp here. Sounds like you are close to fairfax? Assuming so, and that's the hospital you want, all the stuff I highlighted are negatives.

What is your current gyn's c-sec rate for FTMs? for #2, is that overall, or FTMs? Why did you eliminate 5?

mixed reviews for a busy practice doesn't mean anything. it means some people didn't click with some docs. to be expected.

Close to your job is a big plus so Ilike 3 and 4 for you. Find out wait times if you can. For many, the leave they spend on doc visits is leave they don't get to spend on the baby after. I'm a fed and was advanced leave, so I got the full 6 weeks...but had to pay it back by forfeiting all my sick leave after baby for ~2 years.

What is important to you and why?
Knowing the doc who delivers you?
Having your questions and views taken seriously in pregnancy?
you want a "v" delivery. What do you mean? vaginal ok, but--unmedicated? low-intervention? epidural right away?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8:29 has good advice, OP. I would second the
--hospital
--location of office, ease of parking, wait time--those weekly appts at the end, when you are least mobile, get tedious, and if you're newly preg now that's in the summer too.

Also, if you share what your reservations are about the practices, DCUM can help tell you which are legit and which are not that big a deal.

Why I like them and why I have reservations -
1. Current GYN (also OB), seems to be low intervention and solo practice lots of experience misses maybe 1 or 2 delivers a year delivers at Fair Oaks. - Gets annoyed when I ask too many questions. Is a bit further away but not bad,
2. Doctor #2 - solo but may end up doing on call for delivery if after hours or weekend, has high C-section rate like 45% I would prefer V delivery, Delivers Fairfax
3. Group of 4 women docs, seems like a well liked but also busy practice tons of reviews mixed - Fairfax hospital close to my job,
4. Group of 6 docs close to my job mixed reviews deliver Fairfax (cwc)
5. Two docs - same group as doctor #2 for on call, but has lower c sections, seem to deliver more
6. 3 docs well rated but further away VHC hospitcal

1 and 3 seem like your best bets. Just make a choice and know that the chances of that being a life-changing bad choice are incredibly small. What happens during your pregnancy will happen and if you make a bad choice, you can switch to a bigger practice later.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8:29 has good advice, OP. I would second the
--hospital
--location of office, ease of parking, wait time--those weekly appts at the end, when you are least mobile, get tedious, and if you're newly preg now that's in the summer too.

Also, if you share what your reservations are about the practices, DCUM can help tell you which are legit and which are not that big a deal.

Why I like them and why I have reservations -
1. Current GYN (also OB), seems to be low intervention and solo practice lots of experience misses maybe 1 or 2 delivers a year delivers at Fair Oaks. - Gets annoyed when I ask too many questions. Is a bit further away but not bad,
2. Doctor #2 - solo but may end up doing on call for delivery if after hours or weekend, has high C-section rate like 45% I would prefer V delivery, Delivers Fairfax
3. Group of 4 women docs, seems like a well liked but also busy practice tons of reviews mixed - Fairfax hospital close to my job,
4. Group of 6 docs close to my job mixed reviews deliver Fairfax (cwc)
5. Two docs - same group as doctor #2 for on call, but has lower c sections, seem to deliver more
6. 3 docs well rated but further away VHC hospital

Oh and some of the groups do have newer doctors recently graduated in their on call or in their rotation.

In my defence I have eliminated 5 already

Anonymous wrote:8:29 has good advice, OP. I would second the
--hospital
--location of office, ease of parking, wait time--those weekly appts at the end, when you are least mobile, get tedious, and if you're newly preg now that's in the summer too.

Also, if you share what your reservations are about the practices, DCUM can help tell you which are legit and which are not that big a deal.

Why I like them and why I have reservations -
1. Current GYN (also OB), seems to be low intervention and solo practice lots of experience misses maybe 1 or 2 delivers a year delivers at Fair Oaks. - Gets annoyed when I ask too many questions. Is a bit further away but not bad,
2. Doctor #2 - solo but may end up doing on call for delivery if after hours or weekend, has high C-section rate like 45% I would prefer V delivery, Delivers Fairfax
3. Group of 4 women docs, seems like a well liked but also busy practice tons of reviews mixed - Fairfax hospital close to my job,
4. Group of 6 docs close to my job mixed reviews deliver Fairfax (cwc)
5. Two docs - same group as doctor #2 for on call, but has lower c sections, seem to deliver more
6. 3 docs well rated but further away VHC hospitcal

No, not normal.

Ask around, get recommendations, pick the hospital where you want to deliver and work backwards from there.

8:29 has good advice, OP. I would second the
--hospital
--location of office, ease of parking, wait time--those weekly appts at the end, when you are least mobile, get tedious, and if you're newly preg now that's in the summer too.

Also, if you share what your reservations are about the practices, DCUM can help tell you which are legit and which are not that big a deal.

I went to one OB for my first visit and really didn't like him so I switched to another. I'd think anything over 2 would be excessive though.

How do yo have time to go to 6 practices, let alone them having appointments within a decent amount of time for appointments?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Just pick one. You can always switch.

How! I am full of anxiety about this

I mostly cared about the hospital. I wanted to be at Fairfax b/c of the NICU and the fact that they deliver so many babies. After that, I asked coworkers for recs. Picked one of those. Done.

Last, if you can't decide on two, go to the office and sit in the waiting room for 15 min, you'll get a sense of the wait and can even chat up a patient. But this honestly, seems like a lot.

One: Decide where you want to give birth first. Depending on hospital admitting privileges that will rule some out.

Two: Call the front desk and ask some of your questions to them. Read their websites. That will tell you a lot about the staff.

Three: Check which doctors have had to pay out claims on your state's medical board website.

Four: Consider locations and hours. Making all of those appointments with a work schedule sucks.

Five: Get copies of all of your test results each appointment, so if you end up switching it will be no big deal because you'll already have your records.