Replies

My anecdotal evidence is kind of out of date -- since my youngest is 18 -- and probably the 'birthing rooms' have better equipment. All my friend had was a DopTone and it was inadequate to the situation, and she was IN the hospital.

I'm not in the business directly, but I did medmal defense when I was in private practice, so at the time I knew who the bad apples were. I personally chose my OB because he was the director of OB surgery at my hospital (a very common surgical procedure is named after him), and he had a stellar reputation for coolness under fire and vast experience.

Admittedly he was an older guy in the South (he's gone to his reward now), where midwives have been equated with "granny-women" for years. But he was very open to discussion and new ideas (his attitude towards natural childbirth ought to be a model for every OB - as it turns out I went natural and it was a breeze, but he cautioned me up front it it was 'not for everybody' and I liked that) and I'm sure if he were still alive he'd be examining the options just like he always did.

If the midwives are good, the attitude of OBs will change. But if the government gets involved, they will screw it up. Guaranteed.

I personally chose my OB because he was the director of OB surgery at my hospital (a very common surgical procedure is named after him), and he had a stellar reputation for coolness under fire and vast experience.

We had a similarly eminent physician delivering for my wife in the unit she managed. Because he was leaving town for a polo tournament, so he induced her with pitocin to the point where he almost killed our daughter after 14 hours of labor. It's a good thing he knew what he was doing with forceps or she would have been a crash C-section.