There are a number of prenatal care options available to women in Hamilton.
- Midwives
- Obstetricians (aka: OBs)
- Family Practitioners
- General Practioners & Obstetricians in tandem
OBs
Most people have Obstetricians in Hamilton. Heck, Obstetricians handle the vast majority of births everywhere, in every town, city, province and country. Well, pretty much. And it’s been like that for a long time.
OBs provide prenatal care for most low and moderate risk pregnancies and all high risk pregnancies. They can see as many as 200 pregnant patients a year, which means a couple things that might turn off some women: there are often long waits before appointments (I’ve heard of women waiting 1-2 hrs past their appointment time in a room full of other pregnant women) and appointments with the actual Obstetrician can be 5-15 minutes long and essentially consist almost entirely of data tracking. You may not be able to ask all the questions you want to, your OB may not have the time to thoughtfully discuss your issues and a nurse will usually handle a lot of your in office care.
Now, don’t get me wrong, while I am not a fan of how OBs take care of mothers in the prenatal period, if you have problems during pregnancy or your birth requires close and careful observation, having a surgical specialist caring for you is a great comfort. Obstetricians provide life-saving medical support to mothers and babies every day and that is amazing. I have worked with lots of OBs and obstetrical residents in Hamilton’s hospitals and I’ve seen great care given.
Unlike Midwives, you should not expect your OB to be at your birth, unless they schedule a surgery or induction for a day in which they are working at the hospital. In Hamilton, OBs work in rotation at one of the two hospitals (St. Joe’s or McMaster). When you go into labour, the person overseeing your birth care will be the OB on staff that day. More specifically, and because Hamilton’s hospitals are teaching facilities, your care will be directly overseen and the babies in straightforward births will be caught by the obstetrical resident. If your condition shows signs of becoming high risk, the OB will become involved in your care.
An OB is a specialist. If you want an OB to provide your prenatal care, you need a referral from your family doctor. If you do not have a family doctor, you can ask a doctor at a walk-in clinic to make a referral. It is possible to call an OB’s office directly and request care, but they don’t have to take you.
*note - very high risk pregnancies are generally also cared for by an extra specialist: a Perinatolologist. The Perinatologist will monitor your high-risk situation while your OB will continue to overview your prenatal care. Your baby’s birth may be highly managed or your may be directed to have a c-section.
Come back and join us for more discussions of prenatal caregivers in Hamilton!
