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At my OB office there are several dr's. With my first I saw just my normal OB, and was able to have her deliver me as well.
With my 2nd, she was on maternity leave during my last trimester, so I rotated while she was gone so that I could see/meet all of the providers. Luckily, she was back in time to deliver me again.

I (personally) would prefer to see the same OB throughout, I feel like that way they get to know me better, and my pregnancy, in case anything were to change or go wrong, vs. just looking at my chart each time. The dr. is in the delivery room such a short amount of time (for me at least, it was less than a half hour each time) that it wouldn't have really made a difference if I knew them or not.

My old OB practice has two docs that deliver at the same hospital, so they also recommended rotating. In reality I only saw one doc regularly because the other one was always booked and her hours didn't work for me. I only saw the other doc like twice, so it wasn't a total surprise to her when she got the call to attend the delivery It worked out ok though, because I really like her even if I didn't get to see her a lot.

This is how my new practice is--I think it's called a "laborist" practice--basically, whoever is on call will deliver you, so they recommend trying to see each doctor or midwife so you have met them all before delivery.

I actually really dislike this--at my old practice, there were only two doctors so while I did rotate between them, I knew them well and vice versa. I am not really that worried about delivery though, because this is my third kid and my first two were easy and fast. IMO, labor and delivery are more about the nurses you get than the OB, who is often just there to check you periodically and catch the baby.

with my first, i had a large practice of 5 OBs and i rotated through all because it was whoever was on call OR could be whatever OB was at the hospital if it was "after hours" or on the weekend. so i wasn't super attached to any of my OBs knowing that it could be a total stranger. the hospital i delivered at was known for being very natural birth friendly though, so it was most important that i deliver there. i got lucky and my fave OB was on shift when i delivered. even then, she was only there for 15-30 minutes of the whole delivery!

my second, i had an solo practice OB and honestly, it was annoying. appointments took forever because he didn't have any coverage when he was delivering until the end of my pregnancy, where i regularly saw his backup (which i didn't mind!). so he delivered my second, but then he didn't even see me for the 6 week check, which i thought was really annoying.

for the third, the highly recommended OB here (i will have delivered in 3 different cities!) is also a solo practice, but does have a NP. so i'm hoping for routine checks, i can just see her. i'm not sold on having only one doc because i really think it's about the nursing staff and the hospital and have picked my doctors based on where i wanted to deliver.

I'm rotating through a team of 9 midwives, and there is no way of knowing who will attend the birth. However, I can already tell that the midwives have been in communication with each other about me, and it gives me confidence to know that they all know who i am, even if I don't see one of them in particular. They do give the option not to rotate through, but I think I'd rather get to know them all a little then just meet someone when I am in labor.

My OB office doesn't do this as an official policy but my first pregnancy I saw a couple different OBs, midwives and NPs too. This was just for convenience in scheduling appointments. I wasn't concerned with who I was going to see in labor and it ended up being a midwife and an OB (c-sec) that I didn't know. This time I am trying to stick with the same OB and midwife bc I didn't like feeling that no one in the office really knew me. I'm assuming it will the same in the hospital that it will likely be someone random for deliver but I'm ok with that.

Hi! Thanks for sharing your experience, this is my first pregnancy (15 weeks) and I was very emotional when I found out that this was how my O.B. office worked. So far, I have seen 2 doctors and honestly there are things I appreciate about both of them and things that made me feel slighted from both of them. Still not 100% sure about how I would like to proceed, but I am thankful that one noticed I needed thyroid supplements and the other noticed we needed to keep an eye on something else. It's just that I feel that some of my concerns have been glossed over by both of them. I have an appointment with a 3rd person (a midwife) for my next visit (we will be going over test results and performing an ultrasound) and I have some particular questions for her and also some particular fears related to seeing yet another practitioner--plus, this is the first time I am seeing a midwife and I know nothing about them.

@Littlebit7: How do you voice preferences about nursing staff?

I saw one OB regularly until about week 34, then they had me rotate through the other 4 OBs in the practice so I could meet them first in case they were on call for delivery. I loved my OB and was dreading having a "stranger" on the big day. Of course that's what ended up happening, but the OB who delivered my son was ah-mazing as was the nursing staff. Everything worked out despite all my worrying Congrats, and good luck!

I switched to a sole practitioner partway through my pregnancy and was very glad to have that continuity at delivery.

My OB office has 6 OBs and a midwife. I only saw my OB throughout both my pregnancies and the on call doctor delivered both times.

I agree with a few others, the nurses provide most of the support during labor. I only saw the doctor at the very end. With my first I pushed for 3 hours, mostly with just the nurses. OB came in at the 2.5 hour mark to give me some options as I was getting too exhausted.

With my second the on call OB didn't even make it in time because things happened so fast. Luckily the hospitalist was able to rush in and deliver the baby. The OB made it in time to deliver the placenta and stitch me up.

Same practice for both pregnancies, but different experiences. For my first, I rotated through the midwives until I was forced to see one of the physicians because of higher risks. Then I saw that particular physician for the rest of my pregnancy. It was then an entirely DIFFERENT midwife that I had never met that delivered me.

For my second pregnancy, I just saw the same midwife throughout my whole pregnancy. She wanted me to see a physician at least once at the end, but I ended up going into labor before that appointment. It was again, a different midwife that I hadn't met before who delivered me.

My practice only has 2 doctors (plus a midwife and nurse practitioner). They "make" you rotate through them. Even though I was a scheduled c-section it was good...since DS2 decided to come un-scheduled (and was born with the other doctor. Lol

I love my ob and went to the same practice for both pregnancies. She's part of a small-ish group: there are 4 doctors and 1 midwife, and at least 1 of them is always on call. Patients mostly see one doctor, but starting near the end rotate in order to meet everyone since your ob may not be on call when you go into labor. With lo1, my ob was on call when I was admitted, but I had a 36 hour labor and so was delivered by the midwife who was on call for the second half of that time. For lo2, I had a scheduled induction and my ob was with me the whole time (save a few hours at the beginning when I was being admitted).

I loved it because I definitely had a personal relationship with my doctor and very much trusted her and felt she knew my preferences, but also felt comfortable with the other people who I may have been delivered by (and the midwife who delivered lo1 was outstanding!).

I have a close friend who delivered at the same hospital but via a different practice; she had a single ob who wasn't on-call during her delivery so she was delivered by someone she'd never met. She wasn't happy with her birth experience--she ending up having a c-section and felt like it might have turned out differently if it had been her own ob, who didn't even check in on her for awhile during her recovery.

I saw a large practice with both midwives and doctors. I chose a midwife birth early on, so I saw mostly the midwives for appointments, but I rotated through the different midwives. I also met some of the doctors, so in the event I would need a c-section I would have been comfortable with them. I was really glad I rotated through the midwives, because I was in labor for 48 hours, so I cycled through three of them between labor, delivery, and postpartum. I really liked the chance to meet them all, and I really thought they each brought different strengths to my care. Wouldn't change a thing!

@Littlebit7: Thanks for the tips (and the congratulations!) I will definitely take that into consideration--especially if I have an evening birth! You poor woman! I hope everything goes as you like it this time around.

The hospital where I delivered uses the "laborist' model- the doctor on call delivers you, period, so unless you schedule a C with YOUR doctor, you have no way of necessarily getting them. The practice my doc is in, plus one other, share the duties (all female doctors). They don't have you rotate doctors for visits because many that could be on call aren't even in your practice. The doc who did my C was in the other practice, and she was still amazing. And it was her, and her colleagues, who came to check me daily in the hospital, and I had never met any of them (my doctor stopped by to say hi/meet DS, but not to formally examine me.)

Also, since it's a large teaching hospital, the times I went to OB triage (for weird pains and then early labor), I just saw the resident on call, never one of the doctors.

@summerfruit: Glad to hear you've had a good experience so far--I hope you continue to enjoy it When are you due?