Monday, October 11, 2010

Doctordom/Doctordumb

**Slightly controversial topic - ah! now you are intrigued**

Let's start by saying that I have been thinking about the birthing process for a long time. Unnaturally long, really. It and its place in medical society have interested me probably since I went to Bryn Mawr. In my first Russian class, I sat next to a certified 18 yr old Doula. (See below for a definition.) I had never heard the term and thus began my curiosity into the field of labor and delivery. At this point, I would like to assure you that most doulas are not 18 years old. I think this was just one of the rare and "special" things that come with the Mawr.

I am sure that lots of people never sat and thought (about birthing), "but if I DON'T want to be in a hospital, what are my other choices," but I have. When we moved to San Antonio, I promptly looked up midwives and birthing centers in the area, much more than a year ago. I am not sure exactly what prompted me to do so, but I figured I didn't want to be pregnant and THEN trying to decide where to deliver said little one into the world.

So I officially start this entry with, here I am second trimester and all, interviewing doctors, midwives, and birth centers. Not where I wanted to be but the first trimester slowed me down a bit.

Rewind:
When we found out we were pregnant, my regular doctor set me up with the head of Obstetrics in a local well-respected hospital. (I don't want to speak too openly about those people who have let me down, so I am leaving this purposefully vague.) I was just 5 weeks along and already having a host of issues stemming from what was recently diagnosed as a Sub-Chorionic Hematoma (SCH). I figured that this wasn't quite the time to spout off my birthing philosophy and request something a little less clinical. :) Don't fret friends, all of these issues went away with the transition from first to second trimester and I am now just like any other healthy pregnant lady - a little irritable, hungry, and sleepy.

Anyway, the doctor was extremely medically capable, efficient, and had the bed-side manner of Rasputin. Here are some of my favorites,
  • While prescribing me a medication to help with the SCH, "Well, I'll just give you seven pills because who knows how long this pregnancy will last."
  • After a particularly harrowing trip to the ER somewhere around week 7, we showed up in her office at her next available appointment (6 days later) and she walked in, "Hey guys! How's it going?!? So, you're 8 weeks! What can I do for you?" We explained/reminded her that we were in for a checkup after our ordeal in OB/GYN triage and emergency care. She seemed to have no idea. Maybe that is why it took them 6 days to get us an appointment.
  • At that same appointment she said she would refill the medicine I had been taking. I dutifully picked it up and continued to take it over the weekend. About three days into the course, I realized it was 1/4 of the strength I had been taking previously. Whoops, mistake. "Sorry guys." I'm not exactly sure how I knew the prescription was wrong. I thought the weight of it felt weird but it looked exactly the same. I, however, am certain that no matter how skilled I am at mathematics, there is no way I can discern 100mg from 400mg in the palm of my hand. So, I guess that I didn't trust her from the jump.
  • I once asked how many patients she had and she said there was really no way of knowing. I rephrased, "Well, how many that are due soon?" She explained that there were 15 doctors on staff and each had a full load and that they attended only those births for which they were scheduled, paying no mind to who's patient is who's. I heard: "You will meet the person (possibly a man!) who will be delivering your baby once you are in active labor."
  • When she was meant to refill my prescription at 12 weeks, somehow they forgot. I called the office, and they had no record of me taking that particular medication. It felt like they must not have a computer system to store such data. I imagined the nurses with an old-school file, reading scraps of paper about me and Baby Z. After FIVE phone calls - each with someone of increasing importance but none with my doctor - they said it had been called in. When I went to pick it up, they hadn't called it in. The pharmacist and I rolled our eyes.

There are some things that I am grateful for during those first three months. Despite being brisk, brash, and insensitive, my doctor loved to run tests. I got an ultrasound every Tuesday and they could check on the baby and let us hear its little heart beat. Those images (see Sonogram Slideshow) made it worth putting up with Dr Jekyll. Besides that, the sonogram tech was one of the most pleasant, nurturing medical people I've met during these last 16 weeks.

I am sure tons of women go to a doctor, like her, and forge a very special 9+ month relationship. I was distrusting of Obstetricians in the first place and couldn't have met a worse match. I shouldn't say distrusting of OBs. I should say distrusting of the idea that they are the best qualified people to help healthy mothers and healthy babies during labor and delivery. I think OBs are the only people qualified to perform C-Sections and thank goodness they exist. I am, however, definitely distrusting of hospitals and insurance companies. And strangers, in general.

So, now that we have overcome all of the SCH horrors, we are on the every four week sonogram/appointment schedule and that means its time for the doc to go. Without her sonogram machine, she means nothing to me.

I will write more later about the San Antonio Birth Center - which I fell in love with and Sam ran screaming from, a different local hospital the offers both midwives and OBs - maybe a Goldilocks meets Little Bears porridge situation, and a hospital downtown that I *might* check out though it has no midwives.


Footnotes:
And to all my lovely doctor friends. I love you dearly and think being a doctor is a wonderful contribution to society.

doula [ˈduːlə]
n
(Medicine / Gynaecology & Obstetrics) a woman who is trained to provide support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of time following the birth

1 comment:

  1. so embarrassed and sorry you had such a crappy experience with your OB =(

    ReplyDelete