Many women choose to give birth in private medicine not to distrust the public, but to be sure that it will be the same gynecologist who follows up during pregnancy who will attend them during their delivery. This has, like everything else, its good side and its bad side. And, once we have attended the first appointment, we have to know if we have chosen the gynecologist well or find another professional with enough time.
Private clinics
First, give birth in a private clinic It guarantees us a single room, and that, for a mother and her newborn is important, because they can enjoy greater privacy and tranquility. If you have had a bad experience with a roommate in a previous birth, you will appreciate even more knowing that you can better control your space.
But giving birth in a private clinic can also have drawbacks, as they usually have a higher rate of inductions and caesarean sections. The reason is possibly the adequacy of births to the availability of the gynecologist chosen. In other clinics it is not guaranteed that it will be the gynecologist himself who will attend the delivery but they do offer, in some cases, a common criterion of the doctors on call. Therefore, having the same gynecologist in childbirth by private medicine may not be possible or even be counterproductive. Each one should value it.
Gynecologist
But focusing on the question I was raising, we should be able to know many things about the doctor or the team that will assist us, to be sure of being placing our trust and the birth of our son in the best hands according to our criteria.
The birth plan
A gynecologist would first ask you to admit a birth plan and talk calmly with us about our wishes, respectfully and scientifically exposing the discrepancies you may have with them.
The protocols
Also, I would ask the protocols that will be followed both in childbirth care and in neonatology in the referral clinic, they are not the same everywhere. I would like to always ensure that medical interventions are made by clear necessity and not by protocol, especially with regard to shaving, enema, synthetic oxytocin, induction, bag breakage, induction date in pregnancies of more than 40 weeks, opening of the track, internal monitoring, freedom of movement in labor and in the expulsive, presence of the father in the caesarean section and, finally, tests that are done to the baby right after birth and if these are performed without separating it from the mother .
I would find out who would attend me if the gynecologist who carries my pregnancy He could not attend me, even if they are people he does not know, to have certain data on the cases that he cannot attend directly and which are these.
I would also ask if breastfeeding is favored in the same delivery room, if the clinic has protocols that train nursing professionals about breastfeeding, if the presence of an accompanying doula is accepted and what rules they have in case of entering the newborn in neonates
Pain management
I would also like to know what kind of natural alternatives they offer to handle labor pains. There are several possibilities: massages, relaxation, aromatherapy, yoga, acupuncture, bathtubs, dilation balls, acupressure and white noise, some not proven as scientifically effective but chosen by many women who find relief with them.
If it is a birth it is normal, and it is not induced or accelerated without medical reason, allowing the woman to move freely the pain becomes more bearable in most cases.
Having a comfortable, intimate space, without unnecessary interruptions, where the mother feels safe, is much more likely to enter a different state of consciousness in which pain becomes less present. This type of care is not always guaranteed in the centers, neither public nor private, so, in addition to the trust in the gynecologist, analyzing the place where we will give birth is also important.
It is also important that we have all the necessary information about the Epidural anesthesia We can receive and know your risks well.
Statistical data
Finally I would ask for statistics of your delivery care: Cesarean sections, inductions, episiotomies and instrumental deliveries. As a "customer" if I bought a car I would not ask for less information, so as a pregnant woman I think I have the right to ask all the information I deem necessary. If he refuses to give them to me, I will refuse to give him my confidence and he will not attend to me anymore.
And then, with all this information, if the answers are satisfactory, I would know if I have chosen my gynecologist well.
