Looking back, I can see how ignorant I was. My doctor during my first pregnancy was very close-minded. My questions and concerns were dealt with abruptly. My delivery was horrific. Even the nurse who helped after the birth was horrible. I won’t go into all the details and disappointments about the way in which my amazing son was brought into this world – but let’s just say I learned my lesson.
Before we started trying to get pregnant again, I did my research. I have some health issues, the most important one being that I am overweight, and I wanted to talk to a doctor before getting pregnant again. I’m also intrigued by the idea of having a water birth, so I wanted to find a doctor who could tell us more about going that route, as well as accommodate a water birth if we decide to have one. So I read up on several different ob-gyns in our area, including reviews from other patients and even some articles the doctors had written for various publications.
The good news? We’ve found a doctor that we love so far. She is very open-minded, understands my concerns and health issues, and is helping me to deal with them one day at a time as we work on getting pregnant. She is completely different from my last ob-gyn. We’re not pregnant yet, but I feel much better about what our experience with her will be like opposed to how it was with my former ob-gyn.
As much as I wish things had gone differently with the care I received during my pregnancy, I am glad that what I went through taught me so much. I know now that it’s critical to have a doctor who will listen to my concerns and do what is best for me and my baby, not themselves. I’ve realized that I owe it to myself and my future children to make sure that the hands that I am putting my trust in are the best hands I can find.
