10 Questions to Ask your Doctor
It is important to find the right doctor who can accompany you on this life-changing journey. Finding someone who is not only medically knowledgable but also makes you feel comfortable and understood is not easy, but there are ways you can probe whether or not you and your potential doctor have matching perspectives. Below are ten questions you can ask your prospective doctor to help you find your match:
Will you or your assistants attend my birth?
How often will I have check-ups with you?
How do you want me to reach you if I have any questions or concerns?
If my baby is not head-down, do you still support vaginal birth? (E.g. How experienced are you with breech births?)
Do you have any routine interventions during labour and/or birth?
Do you recommend an epidural? If yes, when (at what stage) do you usually administer it?
I have had a C-section before, do you support VBAC (=Vaginal Birth After C-Section)?
At which hospitals do you deliver? What is your relationship with them?
If I go past my due date, what are your recommendations for the next steps? How long are you going to wait before starting labour or delivery?
What’s your view on having a doula?
These questions should give you an understanding of whether or not your preferred way of giving birth is aligned with the medical practice of a particular doctor. They will also give you an idea of whether or not the doctor is experienced in different types of births, whether he/she respects your wishes when it comes to the way you want to deliver and whether he/she has preferred medical ways of delivering, such as for example delivering by C-Section, which is very common in Turkey (more than half of all births are via C-Section).
