Choosing the best obgyn can be very confusing. You may not know the factors to consider or the specific questions to ask. It’s even worse if you’re doing it in your first pregnancy.
Understanding how to choose the best obgyn in Santa Monica is essential in building a positive doctor/patient relationship. Here are some top factors to consider in your selection process.
- Get Someone You Trust
Ultimately, it narrows down to getting someone you can confide in and trust. You’ll be dealing with sensitive information about your health.
Plus you’ll be making a lot of trips to their clinics. For instance, you’ll be visiting every four weeks for the first trimester and second early trimester.
You’ll also visit the obgyn every two weeks into your third trimester. For the last four weeks, you’ll be going there at least once every week.
That’s why it’s important you choose someone you trust and like.
- Check Your Insurance
Check your insurance policy to determine what it does and doesn’t cover. Review the benefits the cover offers and ask questions when in doubt.
This is the best time to know the costs you’ll need to foot from your savings. Also, consider the types of hospitals that are found ‘in the network,’ where the services are likely to be more affordable.
Going out of network will be very costly in case of any complication, and you or your baby needs special attention. Such may include staying in a neonatal intensive care unit.
- Consider Your Health History
While we recommend staying ‘in the network,’ there are some exceptions. If you have a chronic ailment like heart disease and diabetes, you may need some specialized treatment.
However, most in-network facilities may not offer these advanced services that you need. Your health and that of your child should be your utmost priority.
- Choose your Obgyn Early
Ideally, it’s important to choose your obgyn early in the process. In this way, you’re able to get preconception counseling. It’s quite essential for those with high-risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma.
However, most patients will seek the services of an ob-gyn after getting positive pregnant results. Doing so on time allows the medics to establish the care on time. You’ll also be able to get the available genetic screening options.
- Select a Hospital
It’s hard to resist ads that show beautiful photos of delivery suits with amenities like manicures and pedicures. But let’s be realistic, you won’t be in the hospital for more than a few days if you have a standard vaginal delivery. Well, the caesarian may take some more days.
As such, choose substance and quality over style. These are some basic questions which you may ask:
- Is the hospital in the network?
- What level of neonatal intensive care unit does the facility have?
- Does the facility offer any prenatal education classes?
- What type of lactation and care does the hospital offer after birth?
