One of the most important doctors you can talk to when planning a pregnancy is an obstetrician like Xiao-Mei Zeng MD. An obstetrician is concerned with childbirth and the many intricacies it involves. If you're looking for one for the first time, these tips will give you some guidance early on.
Get a Referral
Chances are that you probably know people who've given birth before. They have thus been in the same position as yourself when trying to find a competent obstetrician. You can use these people to your advantage and get referrals from them.
You can then compile a list of good obstetrician choices. Just make sure you hear mostly all positive experiences from every person you talk to so that if you go with the same professional, you can have the same experience if not better. These referrals take a lot of the guesswork out of this process.
Opt for Experience
The more experience an obstetrician has, the better your experience will ultimately be. That's because experienced obstetricians have had plenty of time to perfect their practices over the years.
If you go with an obstetrician just starting their medical practice, they may not be accustomed to making clients feel comfortable or being as thorough. These issues might lead to a bad experience when giving birth to a child, which is the last thing you want happening.
You should be able to see exactly how much experience one of these specialty doctors has by looking up their professional credentials.
Schedule a Consultation
Once you think you've found the right obstetrician for your childbirth, it behooves you to schedule a consultation with them. That's the only real way of knowing if you made the right selection or not. Most of these consultations are free, and they'll let you see the obstetrician's practice firsthand.
Right when you walk in, get a sense of the overall vibe from the office and staff. When talking to the obstetrician, ask them about their credentials and experience. Most importantly, ensure that they make you feel comfortable as you'll be working with them for quite a while, even after giving birth.
Childbirth is a beautiful thing, but it needs to be monitored by a qualified obstetrician. Even if you've never worked with one of these doctors before, there are plenty of precautions you can take to ensure you make the right selection and help your birth go smoothly.
