10 Questions to Ask Your OB/GYN About Their Birth Philosophy

So often we think of medicine as a science, but it can really be an art form. Doctors have professional training, medical textbooks, and access to an abundance of research studies, but at the end of the day they're still individual people. They each have their own style, preferences, and philosophies. There's no one way for providers to practice medicine.

This difference of professional opinions is even more pronounced in birth because of the gray nature of labor and delivery medicine. Of course there are professional guidelines and recommendations (such as ACOG's or ACNM's stances on various aspects of birth), but ultimately each professional is going to lean on their education, experience, and preferences when making recommendations.

You might be thinking: "this is nuts. Every OB or midwife is going to practice excellent medicine - I'm hiring them to take care of me, and trust that they'll do that!"

To be clear: there's a difference between being hospitalized for birth, vs. almost anything else. When you're pregnant, you're not sick or dying (usually). A lot of medicine in L&D is really preventative, and not necessarily life-saving. Because you're not dying, you have a lot more options when it comes to the nuances of your care, compared to someone who ends up in the hospital after a car crash.