Ask Your OBGYN The Right Questions Before Childbirth

Childbirth is a very personal and important experience, which means that the OBGYN who is responsible for helping you through it should be someone you trust. To make sure you find the right person, it is important to ask the right questions.

Like any other doctor or professional service that you will hire to care for and work with you over the course of your life, an OBGYN is someone you should scrutinize before making a decision on the right one. That's not to say that you should be overly skeptical and critical of every one that you speak with, but you should make sure that the one you ultimately choose is someone you have vetted sufficiently.

A major part of knowing you have found the right OBGYN is the comfort factor of knowing that you like and trust the person that he or she is. At the same time, the nuts and bolts of the medical issue at play here - your pregnancy - are quite important in their own right and should be given their due.

To ensure that you choose someone who displays an effective combination of both of these qualities, it is necessary to speak with each doctor about these types of issues and get an accurate gauge on where they stand on a number of issues. This will help you determine whether or not you are comfortable with how your childbirth will evolve with them guiding you along, and whether or not you are comfortable sharing the experience with them.

First and foremost, it is always necessary to ask logistical questions first to ensure that working with a certain doctor will make realistic sense for you. These can include inquiring about what hospital they are affiliated with, whether or not they accept your specific type of medical insurance and basics about their practice including hours and fees. You should also make a point of confirming whether it will be the actual OBGYN who helps you deliver your child, or another member of his or her practice.

From there, you should get specific answers on where he or she stands on a number of the key issues involved with childbirth. Does he or she support either a natural or a medicated childbirth if you have a strict preference for one or the other? How often is a cesarean section necessary in patients they have previously worked with? How does he or she monitor mother and baby in the time immediately following the birth?

There may be more questions you need to ask each specific OBGYN you speak with depending on your own personal needs and preferences, but these basic inquiries should be discussed with any potential candidates. From there it will be up to you to decide who you are most comfortable working with.