Questions to ask your Obstetrician

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It can be daunting trying to find the best person for you to deliver your bundle of joy. It is so important that you feel safe and empowered by this person, considering they are going to be an instrumental part of one of the most incredible days of your life! Here are some questions I have put together to give you a guide in what you should ask to make sure you are on the same page.

What are your philosophies around birth?

There is no point obtaining an Obstetrician that has completely different views on birth then you. Trust your gut on your initial meeting with the Obstetrician and be mindful of how open they are to you and your questions.

Are you available for my estimated due date? Do you have a back up and will I meet them?

For your peace of mind, it’s good to know if the Obstetrician has any holidays booked OR if you are due around the Christmas period if you are going to experience pressure to get induced. Keeping in mind that your Obstetrician going on holidays is not a reason for you to get induced.

How much choice do you feel I should have in the decisions that will be made?

Will this Obstetrician listen and accept your choices and honour your intuition when it comes to any decisions during pregnancy and labour?

What are your thoughts on pain relief options during labour?

Will this Obstetrician push pain relief onto you even if you have made it clear in your birth plan not to? Do they trust and believe that women are more then capable of a pain free birth? OR if you are wanting pain relief, what are the options that are available to you?

What support is offered once the baby is born?

Keeping in mind that postpartum is just as important as birth. What services can they refer you to or be of assistance to? Is there a location consultant you can be supported by? What checks are done and in what timeframe?

What is your cesarean rate? When do you recommend one? Do you allow maternal assisted caesareans?

If the rate is high, what is the reason for this? Is it because they are not experienced with physiological childbirth or another reason? Make sure you are asking about their attitude regarding caesarean. If you are required to have a caesarean you may be interested in maternal assisted caesareans however not every Obstetrician is open to doing this.

What is your episiotomy rate?

With intervention rates higher then ever, will this Obstetrician be working with you to support a psychological birth and look at ways to avoid getting an episiotomy?

What are your induction rates and what do you think is a reason to induce?

Are the reasons to induce labour a case by case or is this a common practice that this Obstetrician does? If they recommend induction, will they be able to provide strong reasons why they think this is the best decision for you - and if you decline, will you be made to feel bad? Will they assume the baby is going to be born by a certain date to work with their schedule? Do they consider Christmas a reason to induce?

What is your process with breech birth? Do you support vaginal breech birth? Or any other birth variations?

Whilst these may not be part of your birth, it is important to know how the Obstetrician views any variations of birth just incase as you never know what journey your birth will take.

How do you manage the third stage?

Do you support intervention free third stage?

Do you welcome doulas and/or birth photographers during labour and birth?

This is to make sure that the Obstetrician will support your birth team and not leave them feeling as if they are getting in the way or that you are hindering them from doing their job. At the end of of the day, a women should be able to have any birth team she desires so it’s important that your Obstetrician is on board with that and open to working together as a team to support the birthing mother.

What are your thoughts on water birth?

Are there options for you to be able to labour or birth in water?

*If you are planning a vaginal birth after caesarean*

What are your thoughts on VBAC?

Make sure you won’t have to have a constant battle on your hands or having to provide constant data on why this option should be made possible to you. YOUR body, YOUR birth.