Choosing a Healthcare Provider for Your Pregnancy

The birth of a child is an amazing, exciting, and exhausting event in a woman's life. You will want to carefully choose a healthcare provider to share this time with you and your family.

What types of providers are licensed to deliver babies?

In many communities, obstetricians, family physicians, and certified nurse-midwives deliver babies. All are trained in the care of women during pregnancy and labor and delivery, and after birth.

• An obstetrician is a medical doctor who has special training in the care of women.
• A family physician has special training in the medical care of children, men, and women. Family doctors can care for all members of a family at all stages of life.
• A certified nurse-midwife (CNM) is a registered nurse who has special training in the care of healthy women. CNWs work with physicians and deliver babies in hospitals and birth centers. If you develop a medical condition during your pregnancy that needs more specialized treatment, you will need to see an obstetrician.

How do I start my search for a provider?

If you belong to a health plan, your choice of healthcare providers may be limited to providers for the plan. Check the plan's list of primary care providers, obstetricians, and nurse midwives.

Ask for referrals from friends, coworkers, relatives, or the county or state medical society. If you are moving, ask your current provider to recommend someone in your new location. Some hospitals may give you names of providers to consider.

If you do not have health insurance, there are several ways to find and pay for the care you need during your pregnancy:

• Find out if you are eligible for Medicaid.
• Contact a social worker who helps pregnant women (a perinatal social worker).
• Find a healthcare provider who will allow you to pay what you can at each visit, with further payments after the baby is born.
• Find a women's health clinic staffed by healthcare providers who are in training and supervised by certified doctors.
• See if there is a clinic in your area that will allow you to pay what you can afford.
• Contact a local medical society or state regulatory agency for information, help, and advice.

What should I check?

Think about what type of provider you will be comfortable with. Do you prefer a male or female provider?

Look for a provider whose office and hospital he or she works with is easy to get to. Contact the provider's office and ask if they are accepting new patients. Ask about office hours and appointments, payment policy, and insurance coverage.

Schedule an interview to meet the provider. While at the office, notice how the office looks and how patients are greeted. Expect courtesy, respect, dignity, and attention. Be prepared to discuss your special needs, to pay for this office visit, and to ask questions such as:

• What experience and training does the provider have in caring for pregnant women?
• Which insurance plans do they accept?
• Which hospitals do they use to admit patients? Is the hospital easy to get to?
• Find out how often the provider delivers babies by cesarean section rather than vaginal birth. Also find out how often the provider does episiotomies or forceps births. What is their approach to the use of drugs, anesthesia, or natural childbirth during labor and delivery?
• May other family members come to office visits with you and may they be with you during your labor and delivery?
• Does the provider practice alone, or is he or she part of a group? Find out if the provider will be on call for you or if your provider shares call with other providers. Will you have the chance to meet the other providers before the birth?
• What is the provider's office procedure? Ask about scheduling appointments, both routine and when you are ill. How long is the typical wait? How do they handle emergencies?
• Who provides care for the provider's patients after hours, when the provider is out of the office, or out of town?

After your visit, ask yourself:

• Was I treated well?
• Was it easy for me to talk to the provider about my concerns?
• Were all of my questions answered?
• Did I feel rushed or dismissed?

Trust yourself. Choose a provider you feel comfortable and confident with. Ask yourself if this is the person you want to help you with your baby's birth. Only you know if the relationship is right for you.