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Is who you choose going to be the one who delivers your baby? I had a male OB/GYN, but a female midwife delivered, so it worked out just fine for me to have my weekly check-ups to be with a male. But I know I'd feel uncomfortable having a male deliver my baby, so that would definitely factor into it!

Could you maybe schedule a couple appointments with the nearby female doctors to see if you might like any of them well enough? Having to drive an hour for appointments and to deliver sounds unpleasant.

Congratulations!

I wouldn't feel comfortable having a doctor an hour away only b/c I've had a bad history as well...miscarriages and a complicated pregnancy. So I would try out the male close to home. I was always a little funny about seeing a male doctor until I met my current OBGYN and a few of his colleagues in the same practice. I found that he's much more sympathetic and compassionate. He's done both of my D&Cs and never dismissed any of my concerns. Try it to see, and if you don't like him, you could always switch.

@runnerd: Well, I personally haven't done that, but I would think that it would be common! My practice encouraged me to interview pediatricians before choosing one, so I would think you could do that with OBs!

I would go for the male doctor. I used to prefer women doctors, but honestly, it really doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and my OB office has 9 doctors and 2 NPs that rotate, so you end up seeing all of them. My 2 favorites are men! My very favorite who I chose to do my c section next week is awesome.

At the end, you really won't want to be driving an hour for every appointment....or at least I wouldn't!

Congrats! I would go local, no question! If your dr is 1 hr away, it's going to be a 2 hour round trip every time. It would not be very fun to do that when heavily pregnant or if you have any sort of complications.

FWIW, my Ob is male and I adore him, he is extremely professional and makes me feel very comfortable (he's also literally in the building next door to our apartment, so no transportation woes there).

I would try the male doctor first and see whether he might be a good fit for you. I'm in a rotating type of OBGYN practice and I've seen a male once and really like him. I'd be totally comfortable with him delivering my baby and I used to think I'd never be okay with having a male OBGYN.

Congrats!! I chose the practice over the person, because that was more important to me. I had a male OB with my first and he was great.

I had a male ob, and delivered an hour away!
Neither were bad.....so I would just go with whoever you feel is more sensitive to your situation.

@runnerd: Since your town is so small, are you comfortable with the hospital the local doc would deliver at? Do they have a NICU? Would you have to be transfered anyway if your pregnancy became high risk?

@runnerd: It was just nice knowing that I was 10 minutes away from my hospital and doctor should anything go wrong. And yes...when you get towards the end of pregnancy, being close is very nice. I had gestational diabetes and they had me go for non-stress tests twice/week for my last 4 weeks. I couldn't imagine driving 2 hours round trip twice a week for something like that!

My nannied LO was born in another state from where we live. Her ob was about a 1.5 hr drive away, and she drive herself there in labor! We didn't have a nearby hospital when I was born so my moms drive to her doctor was about 45 mins away. But I was a scheduled c section which makes it easier.

Honestly a 30 min drive wouldn't bother me. We may actually have about that much of a drive to ours because she is in the suburbs. Find someone you like. That is more important to me. But I wouldn't necessarily discount a male ob, I had one I really liked before I moved here. It's totally fine to meet with several before deciding. Just make sure your insurance covers the additional appointments. I think you can request consultations specific for meet and greet sort of thing.

Congratulations! I hope you find someone who works for you!

Congrats!!!

I would go with who you feel most comfortable with. If seeing the male doctor is going to bother you, just avoid it.

Personally, I chose the hospital I wanted to deliver in first, then picked the OB.. but I did this knowing there was only a 20% chance that she would even deliver me -- and sure enough, she didn't. I wanted to be in the hospital with the great practice and felt I could trust whoever delivered me. My OB was fine, I LOVED her nurse who I felt I interacted with more anyway...

My hospital was only 20 minutes away with NO traffic, but probably an hour in traffic - so our backup plan if I was laboring during rush hour was to get a room in the hotel right next to the hospital so that I could be right there -- would that be something to consider? As it was, I went into labor at 4pm, and we went to the hospital at 3am, so smooth sailing, ha.

good luck, and congrats again!

Oh! I am so very happy to see this thread. Congrats to you ... seriously, this makes me so happy.

I say figure out where you'll be delivering (home, hospital, birth center), then find a doctor that can deliver there. We wanted a home birth, so that obviously meant a midwife (and one that worked with our insurance).

Really, it's what you're most comfortable with. You don't want that piece to cause you ANY stress during pregnancy. After all, the appointments are SO fun.

I had a male urologist, and he was really great. I thought I'd be uncomfortable with him, but really, it was no different than a female OB/GYN.

Congrats!!

I'm in a VERY similar situation. We moved back to our small hometown last year and when I got preg this summer we had to decide between the limited (and not very good) local options or going 1 hour away to an awesome practice and hospital. I decided to do the hour away and so far it's been great! I'm really glad I didn't let distance factor into my decision once I realized how much I liked the doctor and facilities. Good luck!

ETA: I am a bit nervous about the length of drive when I'm in labor, but I plan to talk to my doctor about the best plan of action. As for the increase in appt. frequency toward the end I'm not worried since I'll probably want a reason to not be working for a few hours at that point

Congratulations!!

I was sure I wanted a female OB, but it ended up being a male OB who delivered M (he was on call that night). I am actually considering switching to him when we start thinking about baby #2! I wouldn't be comfortable having my dr an hour away. I had some complications that didn't show up until late 3rd trimester and I was in and out of the hospital almost every day. I was very glad to be close to home. You can always switch OBs if you go to a few appointments and aren't comfortable.

I think I agree with those who have suggested giving some thought to seeing a male OB. When I moved to my current town, I searched only for female OB/GYNs and I felt really uncomfortable with the idea of seeing a male doctor. Now that I'm pregnant, I rotate through the doctor's in the practice, and I've been surprised to find that a male doctor is actually my favorite. I'm definitely reconsidering my preferences.

And like others have said, you can always switch if it just doesn't work for you.

I would go where you feel most comfortable. My midwife/OBGYN practice is 30-35 minutes from my house (25 from work), and the hospital is 45 minutes from my house. In retrospect, a little far, but I loved the midwives. I hope the drive won't be bad when I finally go into labor! For LO#2, I think we will switch to the hospital 10 minutes from our house--they have a brand new birthing center with midwives.

Congrats! Personally I would not want my OB or midwife to be an hour away. Currently my primary care doctor is an hour away and it is a royal pain and I hardly ever see him. I could not even imagine driving 2 hours round trip for every single appointment during pregnancy. Especially if there are any complications at all. Towards the end of my last pregnancy I was going 2-3 times a week and it was difficult even with my doctor being local.
I don't have any advice about male OBGYN's. I've only ever had a female. Do you have the option for a midwife?