Just Found Out I Am Pregnant - Granite Falls,NC

Do you have a regular doctor? Ask him or her for a recommendation.
If you are in the Greensboro area, I recommend Central Carolina OB-GYN. They have both doctors and midwives on staff and work out of Women's Hospital. They are very laid back, have excellent bedside manner, and really know what they are doing. With both my children, I was able to be cared for by midwives, but ended up having C-sections by the doctors at the practice.
Good luck!

Why don't you pick a practice that has midwives and docs. Start seeing a midwife, she will give you so much good attention. Congrats!

It depends on what you're wanting in a care provider. Just like you and your friends have different tastes in men, clothing, and hairstyles, so you and your friends may have different ideas of who the "best" OB/midwife is. Friends' recommendations may be good, but only if you're wanting the same thing your friends liked.

Go to http://www.TheBirthSurvey.com to see what reviews are available in your area for doctors, midwives, and hospitals. They are *not* all equal. It has been shown that the primary factor in whether or not a woman ends up with a C-section or other intervention is NOT due to some standard medical/scientific issue, but PRIMARILY due to her care provider's practice style. In other words, if your doctor has a 50-70% C-section rate, your odds are high of getting a C-section whether you need it or not. If your midwife has a 20% or less C-section rate (they don't actually *perform* the operation, but it is counted as "theirs" if one of their clients ends up having a C/s), then the odds are high that you will have a vaginal birth, and that if you end up with a C-section, that it was actually necessary/beneficial.

If you're the type of woman/patient who just wants to lay back and do whatever your doctor says, and your idea of a birth plan is "go to hospital; have baby," then you'll be happier with one type of doctor. If, however, you want to understand what is going on, and actually have some input into your own pregnancy and birth, and be able to make choices about yourself and your baby, then you'll be happier with a different type of doctor, and preferably a midwife. If you tend towards "natural" birth, you may want to get recommendations from other "natural"-minded people like at a La Leche League meeting, or from an independent childbirth educator in your area. ("Independent" just means not affiliated with a hospital.)

I would strongly urge you to see if there are any midwives in your area, because midwives are proven to be better for pregnancy and birth than doctors are (fewer prenatal losses, lower interventions during labor and at birth, and better maternal and neonatal outcomes). Obstetricians are surgeons, so they tend to use their surgical skills more often than truly necessary. They also tend to practice defensive medicine, which also drives up rates of intervention.

Your choice of care provider will influence your choice of birth place; and your choice of birth place will influence your choice of care provider. If you like the idea of a midwife, but the only ones available to you attend only home births, then you will have to have a home birth in order to have a midwife. Some midwives attend hospital births. In my area, we don't have any hospital-based midwives, and very few midwives at all! Some doctors and midwives attend births at only one hospital; some attend births at several hospitals.

All hospitals are not created equal, either. And don't be fooled by "spa-like surroundings" as a measure of whether you want to give birth at that hospital or not! Some hospitals advertise labor tubs, but have so many restrictions in place that no woman actually ever "qualifies" for getting into the tub. Ask about their rates for various interventions, including C-sections, episiotomies, vacuum and forceps extractions, epidurals, inductions and augmentations. This goes for hospitals and care providers alike, because both influence the likelihood of you ending up with some intervention. Ask if your doctor and/or hospital require continuous electronic fetal monitoring, as well as IVs.

Check out "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer for more information.

Congratulations, H.!

I agree with the suggestions if Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth.

I would add a couple of more recent books to that list:
Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein and

gentle birth, gentle mothering - A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting by Sarah J. Buckley, MD
(she references a lot of research, which depending on your preference can make it a bit harder to read every word, but her suggestions and recommendations are truly evidence-based as well as common sense, and she makes great suggestions on how to figure out for yourself what is 'right' for you)

As for choosing a provider- the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) has a great little brochure, Having a Baby? Ten Questions To Ask. You can find it on their web site at http://www.motherfriendly.org/downloads.php

Another great place to get information to clarify for yourself what you want to be looking for and how to find it is Childbirth Connection: http://childbirthconnection.org/
On the left sidebar follow the links to Choosing a Caregiver and Choosing a Place to Birth.

This all can be a bit overwhelming, especially if this is your first foray into the world of pregnancy, birth and babies... so take it a step at a time, discuss it with your partner as you learn more, explore your own intuitive reactions to various options you learn about, keep an open mind. And like somebody else already pointed out, this is not about what or who your friend liked, this is about what and who will be right for you - everybody is different; our expectations, hopes and dreams are not all the same, and we don't relate to people equally well and the same as our friends or family members.

But I hope as you explore this new world you will be excited and enjoy the journey. It is definitely an opportunity for growth and all decisions you make form here on out will not affect only you, but your baby as well, so you will need to ask more questions and take more factors into consideration than ever before.

Best wishes!

Congrats on your pregnancy!

I have to agree with the post from Kathy P. I couldn't have written it better myself!

Since you are early in your pregnancy you have some time to find a great care provider. I would strongly suggest you take some time to figure out what you want from your pregnancy and birth and find a provider that will support and encourage your ideas and plans. The trick is finding out what you want from pregnancy and birth before it's too late!

I would suggest Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth as 2 book suggestions to help you figure out what you want. Keep your options and your mind open.

Pregnancy and birth are amazing powerful experiences. They are yours to own.

Whatever type of caregiver you decided to hire remember they are there for you. You should be able to ask questions and explore options with your provider and feel that they are really hearing you. They are providing a service that you are paying them for. If you do not feel respected, supported and encouraged it's time to find a new provider.

My personal preference was for a midwife and eventually went the route of home birth. I realize that is not for everyone but don't limit yourself to an OB/GYN hospital birth. Midwife attended births are a wonderful option for low risk healthy women and their babies. Many birth centers are located near or even within hospitals offering the medical support you might need in the VERY rare event of complications.
Good luck with your decision. I hope you find a wonderful provider. Congrats again!! Wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy and birth!

The first thing you want to look for is an ob with whom you feel comfortable. This person is going to be examining you repeatedly, and if they make you feel shy or nervous, it's going to make you dread your appointments. Not only that, but you need to feel like you can talk to them because there are some embarrassing things that can occur during pregnancy that you need to be able to ask about. The second thing you want to look for is a doctor who pays attention to your questions and opinions. A pushy doctor will run right over you. Some people are fine with that, but if you have an opinion about how you want, for instance, the birth to go, you don't want a doctor who will only do things his/her way. The third thing I would recommend is looking at the way the staff in the office behaves. This may sound strange, but you will be interacting with the nurses and office staff as much if not more than with your doctor. If they are rude and impatient, it can make for a very unpleasant situation, for instance, when you have to call for the third time to ask if you are really in labor this time... You will get a good idea of this as early as the first phone call you make, and certainly by the time you have made one visit.

Ask other women who have children in your area, and you will notice that one doctor or one practice comes up more frequently than others. Moms who have been through it can tell you exactly who is good and who isn't and why they feel that way. The last thing I would advise is that you pay attention to your instinct. If something tells you that the doctor you choose isn't right for you, listen to your gut and switch, even if you've been there for a little while. I've never met a woman yet who regretted switching when she felt this way, but I have met plenty who regretted not paying attention to that intuition. Best of luck and congratulations!

I am new to the area so can't help with a name but personally I prefer a female doctor. She can understand the issues and feel your pain so to speak. Choose someone you are comfortable with, both meeting and talking about intimate things. Remember this person will be seeing all of you, so to speak. God Bless and happy dctor hunting.

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Congratulations! This is such an exciting time for you. :) If I were you I would NOT go with an obgyn. I would look for a midwife. There is probably a good birthing center near you. With a midwife you will have a gentler, less intrusive, natural pregnancy. Not to mention a much more positive birth experience. One in which you actually have some control.

congrats H.! the first thing you should look at is what kind of insurance you have and if they have any restrictions on who you can see/ where you can deliver. beyond that, i would ask close friends/ family for recommendations on who they've used, etc. are you in the lexington, ky, area? if so, i can help with recommendations. i'm an ob nurse and work at uk, and know some of the doctors that deliver at both central baptist and st joe east... i would be happy to tell you what i've heard/ my two cents :)
congrats again! also-- while you're on the hunt for a doctor, don't forget to take your prenatal vitamins, drink lots of water, cut down on caffeine, and get plenty of rest :)

CONGRATS!!!! very exciting. I would look into which hospital you decide to deliver at and see which doctors they have there. All are very good, but some have more experience or just seem more caring than others. Ask around and see which doctor has a good rep and experience. GOOD LUCK

Hi! Congratulations!!!!!!!! This is a great article on choosing an obstetrician http://www.babycenter.com/0_choosing-an-obstetrician_1582.bc

Personally, how I chose mine was; I first decided what hospital I wanted to deliver at, then got a list of obstetricians that could deliver there, figured out which ones took my insurance, then figured out which ones would be convenient for my to drive to. After I had my list narrowed down I searched online for reviews for each doctor and asked friends and family if they knew anyone that used them. I made my decision and asked a few questions that were important to me at my first visit to be sure we were a match.

Good luck to you!

ask people you know and trust . if you go to one and don't like them you can always change this early on. good luck. mom of 7. R. or better yet visit the baby area of the hospital you will be at and ask a nurse which obs they like. no need to tell them why.

Im a nurse at St. Joes East and I have heard that Dr. Campbell is really good. Plus their new Women's Hospital opens up in March. I work in the ER there and Love it. Congradulations

H.,

I would first like to say, CONGRATULATIONS!!!. As far as finding the perfect OB to take care of your prenatal needs I would consider all the delivery options you have and decide what kind of delivery you want. If you want to go with the traditional hospital delivery with epidural then ask a friend or family member who has recently had a baby about their OB. Then make an appointment to interview them. Personally for me I wanted someone who was compassionate towards my needs and was very intuitive when it came to possible problems during pregnancy. You don't want an OB that's not going to provide you relief from morning sickness if you need something. You also need to feel comfortable with them. Also, discuss their preferences for natural child birth versus c-section. Many OB's would allow you to deliver and in fact prefer you to deliver by c-section over natural birth and I think that you ought to have an OB that is going to do what is best for your baby - not you or them (they like convenience). Really it's all about preference. If you take an alternative approach like have a home birth call your local hospital and get information on midwifes in the area. Good luck.

I would definately choose someone who respects your opinion. Also consider a midwife. They are less likely to use unecessary medical interventions. Also they allow you to bond with your baby right away versus an OB who may wish to take the baby and examine it etc right away. I loved my midwives at the women's birth and wellness center in Chapel Hill NC. Also educate yourself on the birth process by taking a comprehensive class such as a Bradley method class. Good Luck.
PS I reccommend all new moms-to-be to watch the documentary the business of being born. It is a real eye opener.