{dramarama}

Last summer I decided to find a good OB since I have been seeing a family doc or NP since we moved here. So I did a ton of research on google and forums, trying to find someone who sounded good, not to busy, and with a view similar to mine on interventions. After a false start with one office that made me wait an hour, only to tell me that they didn't take my insurance (the info about which they got over the phone when I made my appointment), I went the the OB arm of my current medical group. I met with the main doc who absolutely met my criteria and was pretty cool to boot. At a second appointment I got to meet the other doc in the practice, whom I also deemed awesome. So when the time came to make my first prenatal appointment, I was pretty shocked to hear that the first doc is no longer with the practice and the second one (Dr. M the Nice) is out on medical leave.

I decided to see the doctor that was covering for Dr. M the Nice. He has his own practice in another city but has graciously agreed to cover Dr. M's patients. Danny and I were so excited at our first appointment, also a little nervous and really, really hoping I could get an ultrasound. After the medical assistant tried to tell me (using her magic due date wheel) that I was going to be due on November 31*, Dr. C the Rushed swept into the room. He was so quick that he barely got my answers to his questions and hardly made any eye contact. After the quickest pap of my life he did the u/s, but just long enough for us to quickly see the heartbeat and get a picture. I was lying on the exam table with tears in my eyes from the emotion of the moment and as Dr. C puts things away and flips through my chart he asks the most impersonal "So are you excited?" ever. And then he leaves.

I made my next appointment with the midwife, even though she doesn't do deliveries, just because I didn't like Dr. C and wanted someone who will look at me and take the time to be present with me during the visit. When I went in for the 12 week visit, I was greeted not by the midwife, but by Dr. C. Huh? I guess when you make your first appointment with someone you are their patient FOR-EV-ER. So I decided to try to understand his style and at least get to know him better since he will be my doc all the way through. Again, my visit felt rushed and though he did answer my questions, I had to ask them a couple times to get a word in before he rushed off to the next thing.

All of this I decided to deal with. But the other night at work I got the brilliant idea to google Dr. C the Rushed. Most of the 15 reviews or so that I saw were negative (and I understand to take them with a grain of salt). However, there was a common thread throughout all the reviews: rushed in the office (ding ding ding), inductions, and scheduled c-sections. Many women said he told them (or their loved ones) that their baby was too big to deliver vaginally and scheduled the c/s. Some one said the hospital staff called him "Dr. Slash and Dash". Not a good sign.

My concern now is that this doctor is the kind that is not patient to let nature take its course and is bothered if you don't deliver during the day. Hence the scheduled c/s and inductions. I really don't want a c/s unless it is for the safety of my baby. Then I'm totally on board, but there is no way I am going to let someone cut me open for their convenience.

So this is my doctor drama. At this point I don't really feel like switching practices is an option. There's no one else nearby that I want to see and many don't accept patients that are already pregnant. One thing that makes me feel better is that with Danny, my mom (a labor and delivery nurse) and my best friend Gissel (no one to be trifled with) at my side during labor I will have people to advocate for me. And there is always hope that Dr. M the Nice will be back from her medical leave before I deliver, or that someone else will be on call when I go into labor.

*In case you didn't catch it yet, there is no November 31.