Hellobee Boards

I agree that doctors aren't always right and subject to bias... but then again, who isn't? There are many situations where I'd trust a good and relatively unbiased doctor over my friends and peers!

That said, I'm similar to you in that even when I trust a doctor, I try to do my own research too!

Until I started doing some reading and research on pregnancy and childbirth I was trusting of doctors. Adding a child to the mix made me more concerned. I am now a skeptic until I trust someone. I went to an office with several midwives and obs while I was pregnant. I asked a lot of questions about my options and why they recommended certain things. I built trust with the midwives when they listened to my concerns and answered my questions. It was the same way with my pediatrician. I had some concerns that the first pediatrician we went to didn't address. I switched to someone who listened to me and took the time to explain things so I understood them. I like it when I'm given the information and options and allowed to make decisions for myself.

@MegWag: I think there's been a cultural shift where doctors are no longer blindly listened to, but are seen as just one more source of information. I think there was a Scrubs episode about this!

As an aside though, what exactly is the "medical establishment"? It sounds ominous.

I think it depends on the doctor. My dad's a doctor and I like to think he's trustworthy!

But I now know not to trust my neurologist ... she flat out said she didn't want me taking a certain med and only gave it to me because I asked for it. But couldn't she have just said no! If it's not good for me, she shouldn't have let me have it.

For the most part I am a truster but I definitely do a little of my own research as well.

I don't blindly trust anyone, but I generally trust doctors. I try to do my own research, but its hard to tell sometimes what's really from an unbiased source online, and its sometimes hard to sift through the tons of "journal" articles available online that are not peer reviewed or really have been academically tested/reviewed. I don't pretend that because I can WebMD or Google an issue that that somehow replaces 4 years of college, 3 years of medical school, years of residency and then medical practice. So, I generally trust that the doctors I see, especially with years or decades of experience or specialists with advanced education of training know better than I what's going on.

Well, seeing that I had my child with midwives and at their birth center.... I think it's safe to say I take what doctors say with a grain of salt

@Mrs. Bee: Yup! I am embarrassed for all the "book learning" advice I spewed to patients' moms before I became a mom! To all those moms... I am sorry!

@brownie: Aww brownie, we had that too and it was awful! I wish I had been able to help you through it. Many, many docs don't know much about it or think about it when a baby is having crying problems!

HELL no. I used to - I used to actually LIKE doctors - but then I went through 3 years of medical hell due to a vaccine reaction (daily seizures averaging 6 hours a day, paranoid/violent episodes, cluster headaches, constant vomiting, memory loss. 20 point IQ drop, toxic epidermal necrolysis, that sort of thing), where the solution was found - after I'd lost my military career - via urine test in 5 minutes by a guy willing to do "consultations" for anyone who the standard medical community couldn't help. Pee tests are the ONLY testing he does, yet he solves problems a dozen doctors couldn't fathom (and I'm not his only "miracle" case like that.) Three years of constant pain, and they could've found the answer on day one with a pee test.

Between the way my body reacts to stuff and the way doctors treat reactions to meds, I now fear and hate doctors. The degree to which I fear and hate them is irrational, but... cluster headaches are the worst pain humans can live through. The memory of that pain and knowing there was a simple way around them, but the doctors just brushed me off, dragged their feet, made me go through those things every three days for over a year with nothing to dull the pain - it makes me livid. I still have an actual desire to physically harm my doctor from that timeframe (not that I would ever willfully harm another human - he just makes me WANT to.)

I generally trust my Drs but then I make sure that I go with Drs that i do trust and respect. I can imagine as a Dr that there is nothing worse than having patients come in all day telling them that they know better because they spent 15 minutes on wikipedia "researching" their condition.

I think in terms of pregnancy and childbirth it helps to do some reading from a variety of sources from the get go. That way when things come up you can discuss them with your Dr at the time. Maybe the medical system is different in the US but I haven't heard of anyone here being forced/coerced into interventions. Any interventions have been discussed with the mum and it has been the parent's decision. Most hospital births tend to be midwife based anyway - the OB is there for complications and when bub is actually ready to appear.

@mamadopt: Oh I wish you could have helped. It feels like a very lonely journey at times. He was diagnosed with reflux at 1 week old which helped but didn't solve the problems. At 3 months I did an elimination diet (on my own) and he got better so no soy or dairy for him. We are now working with a gastro who is helping but he is now 9 months old.

I trust my OB, due to certain circumstances my birth plan went out the window. I found I was much happier with his recommendations than I would have been with my original birth plan. He does these things every single day after all, I do not.