OB/GYN anyone?

It's time to find an obstetrician - wheeeeeee!

I met with my therapist yesterday, and we talked mostly about the pregnancy. She was very helpful in explaining the logistics of choosing an OB and a birthing center. Oh for the days when my mother simply saw the family physician, and then he met her at the only hospital when it was time to deliver! Living in Seattle, there are a bazillion doctors to choose from, and a fair number of conventional (hospital) birthing centers. No, I will not be having a home birth, a water birth, or a midwife. A doula is a possibility. More importantly, I want to be at a facility that is easy to get to, that can have my epidural prepped within 30 seconds of my arrival, that has a surgery center on the same floor just in case, and a neo-natal unit only steps away.

But mostly it's about the drugs, in all honesty. I have been terrified of childbirth since I was a little girl. Not other people's childbirth or the birthing itself per se, but of the pain. I am consistently an enormous wimp when it comes to pain, especially the anticipation of it. I seriously considered adoption for a few years when I realized I wanted to become a mother - simply to avoid giving birth.

A few months ago I saw an episode of some Lifetime or Bravo show about a woman who consults as a... hand-holder for pregnant woman. Never seen it before or since, so I have no idea what it was called. I was very surprised that the very first time I hear about this show, the episode features a woman who is quite literally phobic about her own impending childbirth. Especially the needles. I was sooo sympathetic to that poor woman. I used to be very bad with needles. Being poked every day for months on end has almost completely eliminated my panic attacks. Things got very sketchy last week at a blood draw where the lab tech couldn't find a vein and spent minutes digging in my arm to find one...

But it also gave me some hope, because I could see that although I could relate, I knew that I wasn't quite as terrified as she was - and she survived! Still, I am soooo not thinking about that epidural right now. I want the drugs, but not the giant needle in my spine.

But back to the "process" of selecting a facility and a doctor. I'm pretty sure which birthing center I'm going to choose, but the doctor...? Do I have to use the doctors on their website exclusively or what? Well, apparently there is a system in place that means not all doctors can work at all hospitals. A doctor has to be registered to work at that location. Good news, each doctor can be registered at all sorts of different locations. Bad news, doctors don't seem to want to advertise which ones they can work at. So while it's possible to have a doctor at one location who will be able to go to a different location for the childbirth, it is just easier to pick a doctor you already know is assigned to the birthing center you would like. I suppose if you had very strong recommendations for a particular doctor, you could choose the doctor first and use whatever hospital s/he works at. But Seattle traffic is a bitch, so I'm making my decision based on location. Lucky for me, the place nearby seems to be very well reviewed.

Also, my therapist was able to recommend a specific doctor based on my personality, since her office is at the same campus and she has regular conversations with most of them! She actually ranked the top 4 she thought I would like, going down a list of names and faces, making comments on why I would like each one. It was very amusing when her finger landed on a certain doctor and she said, "You wouldn't get along with him at all."

Now I just have to combat my phone phobia and make an appointment!