Who should monitor my pregnancy?
It is a rather simple question ... or not. I used to have a great family doctor. My husband was one of his first patients. Dr. K. took care of our health for the past seven years. Since obstetrics was one of his specialities, he monitored my first pregnancy himself. Only at the end of the pregnancy I was transferred to the hospital obstetrician. My family doctor even came to the hospital to check on my baby after she was born. Unfortunately, right after that he went to visit his parents to Hong Kong. On his return to Canada, he decided to close his practice and move back home. He was a great doctor licenced in Canada, Hong Kong and the UK. I can understand his decision to pack and move out. Unfortunately for us, it meant that on my return from the hospital I was left without a family doctor.
Note for non-Canadians: this whole business with family doctors is very annoying. Whatever health issue you have you have to go first to the family doctor who than refers you to the specialist. If you have no family doctor you are pretty much left without access to the health care system. Of course, there is always a walk in clinic, but they don't know who you are and have very limited capabilities.
So, having infected stitches (which I did not know at the time) and no doctor, I had an urgent need to find one. My criteria for a new doctor was quite simple, or so I thought. He or she should be young, graduated from any university which name I can recognize, and located near by. After a week of search those criteria began to widen. 'Young' became 'born after 1954'. 'Known' university became 'has a website'. "Nearby' became 'near any subway station'. Pity the heath care where fifty year-old doctor becomes 'young'. Anyway, it took me over two months to locate a doctor that fit this criteria and who was taking new patients.
I don't want to sound ungrateful. She found my infected stitches very fast and gave me antibiotics, but she is a part of a Family Practice. Like any theory, the idea of Family practice is good. Bunch of doctors work together sharing resources and providing easy access for patients. The reality is quite different. My new doctor works only three days a week and only 9 to 4. She does not work evenings or weekends. In fact no one there works evenings or weekends. After to my old doctor who works 8 to 7 six days a week, it came as a shock. My old doctor would see you whenever you needed him. If you had to see him today, you would. The new one, does not have the same attitude. You will see her when she has time, even if it it next week. Usually by the time you get to see her, the original problem has resolved itself and you have an entirely new one. If you don't want to wait you can see another doctor from the same Practice. These doctor will have no idea who you are, and would not have time to hear you life story. So, you either will get very generic (e.g. useless) advise or you will be send for all-encompassing tests (just in case). To find out the results of tests you have to make an appointment with your family doctor. It is all one big circus.
So, coming back to the original topic of who is going to monitor my current pregnancy. My family doctor does not do it. Too much of time commitment, I guess. She suggested that I should go back to my old obstetrician. I had nothing against my old obstetrician, except that she did not gave a damn about me and completely miscalculated my baby's arrival date. I asked to be to referred to another obstetrician.
The question is do I go to the hospital where I had my first baby or to a new one. I choose a know evil. I hated that place, but I am not sure other hospital would be any better. At least the delivery was good and staff at the delivery room was knowledgeable. I've heard plenty of horror stories about post delivery part of the hospital stay that were very similar to mine. After all, it is the nurses who make the hospital, and, for all I've seen, most of them could not care less for the patients. I elected to go back to the hospital I hate simply because I already know the system there. Known hell is better that unknown heaven. Hence, I've been referred to another obstetrician working there. I have heard good thinks about him. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
There is also a third option - a midwife. Unfortunately, they are hard to come by in downtown Toronto. They also tend to have a rather peculiar attitude toward pain relief ('pain relief is bad'). As my family doctor pointed out - " with high sugar and strep B infection they would send you to an obstetrician anyway. Just go to one from the beginning". My first appointment is on August 29. Dr. P. beware, here I come ...
It is a rather simple question ... or not. I used to have a great family doctor. My husband was one of his first patients. Dr. K. took care of our health for the past seven years. Since obstetrics was one of his specialities, he monitored my first pregnancy himself. Only at the end of the pregnancy I was transferred to the hospital obstetrician. My family doctor even came to the hospital to check on my baby after she was born. Unfortunately, right after that he went to visit his parents to Hong Kong. On his return to Canada, he decided to close his practice and move back home. He was a great doctor licenced in Canada, Hong Kong and the UK. I can understand his decision to pack and move out. Unfortunately for us, it meant that on my return from the hospital I was left without a family doctor.
Note for non-Canadians: this whole business with family doctors is very annoying. Whatever health issue you have you have to go first to the family doctor who than refers you to the specialist. If you have no family doctor you are pretty much left without access to the health care system. Of course, there is always a walk in clinic, but they don't know who you are and have very limited capabilities.
So, having infected stitches (which I did not know at the time) and no doctor, I had an urgent need to find one. My criteria for a new doctor was quite simple, or so I thought. He or she should be young, graduated from any university which name I can recognize, and located near by. After a week of search those criteria began to widen. 'Young' became 'born after 1954'. 'Known' university became 'has a website'. "Nearby' became 'near any subway station'. Pity the heath care where fifty year-old doctor becomes 'young'. Anyway, it took me over two months to locate a doctor that fit this criteria and who was taking new patients.
I don't want to sound ungrateful. She found my infected stitches very fast and gave me antibiotics, but she is a part of a Family Practice. Like any theory, the idea of Family practice is good. Bunch of doctors work together sharing resources and providing easy access for patients. The reality is quite different. My new doctor works only three days a week and only 9 to 4. She does not work evenings or weekends. In fact no one there works evenings or weekends. After to my old doctor who works 8 to 7 six days a week, it came as a shock. My old doctor would see you whenever you needed him. If you had to see him today, you would. The new one, does not have the same attitude. You will see her when she has time, even if it it next week. Usually by the time you get to see her, the original problem has resolved itself and you have an entirely new one. If you don't want to wait you can see another doctor from the same Practice. These doctor will have no idea who you are, and would not have time to hear you life story. So, you either will get very generic (e.g. useless) advise or you will be send for all-encompassing tests (just in case). To find out the results of tests you have to make an appointment with your family doctor. It is all one big circus.
So, coming back to the original topic of who is going to monitor my current pregnancy. My family doctor does not do it. Too much of time commitment, I guess. She suggested that I should go back to my old obstetrician. I had nothing against my old obstetrician, except that she did not gave a damn about me and completely miscalculated my baby's arrival date. I asked to be to referred to another obstetrician.
The question is do I go to the hospital where I had my first baby or to a new one. I choose a know evil. I hated that place, but I am not sure other hospital would be any better. At least the delivery was good and staff at the delivery room was knowledgeable. I've heard plenty of horror stories about post delivery part of the hospital stay that were very similar to mine. After all, it is the nurses who make the hospital, and, for all I've seen, most of them could not care less for the patients. I elected to go back to the hospital I hate simply because I already know the system there. Known hell is better that unknown heaven. Hence, I've been referred to another obstetrician working there. I have heard good thinks about him. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
There is also a third option - a midwife. Unfortunately, they are hard to come by in downtown Toronto. They also tend to have a rather peculiar attitude toward pain relief ('pain relief is bad'). As my family doctor pointed out - " with high sugar and strep B infection they would send you to an obstetrician anyway. Just go to one from the beginning". My first appointment is on August 29. Dr. P. beware, here I come ...
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