the doctor

I had seen two other Obs before deciding that this third one was the right one for me. By the time I saw her though, I was already pregnant so that might have subconsciously factored into it. A lot of people in San Francisco deliver at CPMC.  It seems to be the hospital of choice.  I wanted to make my own choice. 

My sister-in-law delivered at Mills Peninsula in Burlingame.  We had visited her after she gave birth and the place was relatively new, easy to access, and had ample parking.  The first Ob I saw delivered there. I had some concerns about being more susceptible to postpartum depression and tapering off the medication I was on at the time.  We seemed to have some cultural differences as she did not understand why people were unhappy or depressed.  Where she came from, people supposedly did not have the luxury of being depressed.  She told me to eat some jelly beans instead of my medication as placebo effect.  At the time, it seemed humorous, but looking back it was kind of negligent that she would suggest something like that.

The next Ob I saw did deliver at CPMC.  She was really straightforward and while she was not warm or fuzzy, she seemed knowledgeable and open to hearing my concerns. She was the one who suggested we start before the tracker told us to so I am grateful for her suggestion. 

My Ob now delivers at UCSF.  What I liked about UCSF was that it was close by, the new hospital is being built within walking distance.  I was also open to exploring the possibility of having a midwife help me out and UCSF has them on staff.  I actually don't know if CPMC has that as well. I wanted to try a natural birth, maybe even without an epidural so having a midwife there would be great.  I am not against an epidural but I believe I had a relatively high pain tolerance.  Birth seems so unpredictable so that might not be possible, but I would like the opportunity and the support to try.

When I went in for my first appointment, which was called the pregnancy confirmation, I loved how close and convenient the office was.  It was also really new and high tech.  They weighed me on the bed I was sitting on instead of those uncalibrated beam scales.  They also asked me if I wanted to know my weight, which was surprisingly a first!  I actually did not prefer to know because it can trigger issues for me, but this was the first office that actually asked me.  Some offices I would even tell them I don't know how much I weigh or that I prefer a blind weigh and they would still tell me!  They did include the weight on the post-appointment print out, but at least they tried. 

My doctor was knowledgeable, warm, and pretty easy going which were all qualities I didn't know I preferred until I met her.