An obstetrician, or a gynecologist in other words, is a medically trained person or doctor specializing in the management of the complications occurring during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. He is a person who has received special and advanced training in managing antenatal care, labor and postnatal recovery. She/he not only manages the day-to-day well being of a pregnant woman, but also makes your pregnancy a happier and relaxed experience. Pregnancy, labor and birth ought to be a joyful experience for a woman and her partner. This can happen only if they feel positive about the pregnancy and the birth of their baby to come. Here is where the role of an ideal obstetrician comes into the picture.
In today’s modern day scenario, the place of midwives has been taken by experienced and more knowledgeable professionals, the obstetricians. Let us see how they are more advantageous than the so called midwives.
The duty or work of an obstetrician starts from your first visit to him after you detect that you are pregnant. These doctors perform many useful services which can be managed only by specialized hands. They can be headed under the following:
1. Prenatal Care
Right from the detection of your pregnancy, a lot goes into taking proper care of yourself and to keep the baby’s development normal and healthy. The tests to be performed, medicines to be taken during this period, the diet to be followed, all this is updated to you by the doctor you decide to see. All prenatal queries and guidance are given by a good obstetrician right from day one.
2. Labor and birth care
At every stage, your doctor takes all necessary steps to see that your growing baby is healthy. In case there arises any situation of high or low risks, it can be easily handled by a good obstetrician.
3. Emergency care
If during labor one opts for painless delivery, this can be done by ordering your doctor to opt for pain relief. Any kind of unforeseen situations of risks can be easily handled by them as they are trained medically and surgically to deal with such situations, and take prompt decisions.
4. The best care
All latest technologies and equipments are used by obstetricians, giving physical and emotional support to mothers to be. All surgical care at the hospital can be entirely left to your doctor, giving you an easy and relaxed pregnancy experience. Obstetricians are educated as experts and are equipped to handle complications arising during pregnancy, labor and child birth.
Apart from the above mentioned issues, an obstetrician also helps in post partum contraceptive counseling, risks of sexually transmitted diseases, infertility diagnosis and menopause management.
Just as a coin has two faces, everything has its pros and cons. We have discussed the positives of choosing an obstetrician, now let’s look into its negatives as well to make our search complete. Some of the most common disadvantages are:
1. An obstetrician or gynecologist, generally, is handling many cases of pregnancy at one time. This might leave them unable to give proper personal attention to individual patients during prenatal visits. A pregnant mother goes through lot of hormonal and emotional changes, and the absence of this personal touch by the doctor could lead to nervousness and dissatisfaction.
2. At times, the lengthy procedures at the hospital’s antenatal clinic and long wait drains out a pregnant mother. This can be quite boring and irritating at times and consulting a reputed obstetrician can make this inevitable for every visit.
3. Consulting a professional doctor can lead to a lack of personal attention during labor. Obstetricians, at times, are so busy that they are not even present in the hospital during labor. The birth is handled by their team of assistants. This could make a couple think that they have been cheated both emotionally and ethically.
4. Appointing a professional obstetrician can lead to high costs during pregnancy and child birth.
Yet, after all the above discussion, we can only conclude by saying that an obstetrician can make your pregnancy healthy and worthwhile to a great extent, reducing unnecessary risks attendant upon the birth of your most prized possession.
