[soontobegran]

Well my OB isn't. She's in a team, and even if she's not 'on holidays' she does have some weekends and nights off when they cover each other.

OP could move to a new OB who won't be on holidays at her delivery date, but still isn't 'the one' who turns up to deliver.

I'm happy with my OB's judgment of her colleagues, and happy with what I know of the others in her team, so my arrangement doesn't bother me.

Maybe OP should explore things with her OB's backups a bit more - have a couple of appointments with him, for eg?

Splitting hairs Lokum, I am sure you knew what I meant.
You pay a management fee that is for 24 hour a day care from your obstetrician or their 'team'.
I am sure that we are all aware that even obstetricians need to have some weekends or nights off but that does not mean you are left floundering without care in that time.

[TiredbutHappy]

They don't call them until then anyway unless there is distress of some kind. What you are asking for is the standard model of care.

Not always though. Mine insisted he be called the moment I left home for the hospital, even though it was 4 am, he was there waiting for me (full term low risk birth). Some truly are worth their weight in gold

This post has been edited by Gumbette: 15/04/2012, 04:18 PM

[soontobegran]

Twilight26 how about you ask the midwives or your obstetrician if you could have an appointment with this doctor so that you can see if it's possible to establish a working relationship with him?
If you haven't met him you may find he isn't as bad an option as you think and then of course you may still get your own OB if his holiday doesn't coincide?
Lots of luck.

[soontobegran]

Not always though. Mine insisted he ba called the moment I left home for the hospital, even though it was 4 am, he was there waiting for me (full term low risk birth). Some truly are worth their weight in gold

Most of them are actually but sometimes there are unforseen circumstances that mean you will be in labour and delivering and your doctor is in with another patient or at his child's wedding or graduation etc.
Most Obstetricians are available at night for night call outs, I know I have called them in for delivery which they do and go home only to be called back when you know their head has just hit the pillow.
They then front up at 7am for appointments without complaint yet we know they have had a maximum of 5 hours of broken sleep.
I take my hat off to 'most' of them.

[SeaPrincess]

I didn't think about changing Obstetricians because of this. I wasn't as fond of his colleague but I knew he was competent or my Ob wouldn't have chosen him to replace him.
I think you need to ask yourself a few questions before you decide what to do.
Is your obstetrician going to be there your entire pregnancy and how much do you like him and respect his opinion?
Do you know how long he is away for and do you know if he will definitely not be there for your delivery?
What is it about the offsider that you don't like?

There is a possibility your Obstetrician may have another colleague he could access, it is definitely worth asking this if you don't feel happy about the other one.
Good luck.

I agree with STBG. My OB for DS1 and DD took the first weekend of every month off, and told me when his vacation was booked at my first appt. He didn't generally take patients who were due within a certain range of his vacation anyway, but things happen - DS2 was born nearly 4 weeks early. I had one regular appt with the OB who would cover his absence while I was pregnant, and I didn't like him as much as my own OB, but there was no particular reason other than that he didn't spend the time with me that my own did at the first appt. Fortunately, my OB wasn't due to be on hols when I was due, but there were other OBs in the practice, so potentially, I suppose I could have asked for a different one.

R

[KittyKat1]

Hi OP,

I was in a similar position back at the start of my pregnacy when I rang to book in with my Ob and I was told he would be away on my due date (though only for a week, not a month like yours). Anyway as I sit here I'm now overdue and he is back TOMORROW! I only have to hold on a few more hours lol.

I'm not too keen on the replacement either but at the time I didn't know which replacement it would be (and I'm happy with most of the 'team'). For me, I decided to stick with my original Ob because he is great, there was still a good chance he would still be there for the birth (I expected to go overdue), it was more than likely that I would pick one of his team as my replacement Ob anyway and that there is always a chance he wouldn't make the birth anyway (night / weekend off / quick birth / busy with someone else).

I think in your case if you have someone else that you know you would like to go with and they are willing to take you on at this point in the pregnancy then I would really consider changing.

STBG - Just a question, when an Ob says they are back from holidays Monday, would you expect that to mean back on call from after midnight Sunday night or more like 7am Monday morning? Or are they all different? Just curious as to when I can really relax and know that he is back around!

[Phascogale]

You never know what's going to happen. With DD2 the OB was on holidays in the week before she was due but she was a week late and the only reason he caught her was because he was going to be in the hospital for ward rounds first thing. He also didn't work all weekends so there was a chance that I wouldn't have had him even if he was not on holidays depending on when I laboured.

And I guess you never know when you will go into labour. DD1 and DD2 were both about a week late. DD3 was 10 days early (completely unexpected).

I agree with STBG about maybe arranging to have one of your OB appointments with your OB's replacement. You may quite like him. But usually an OB's replacements tend to be pretty good because their reputations are tied in with the original OB's.