Obviously, being a parent doesn't make one great at these jobs, but I prefer seeing people that have already been through it. I don't think head knowledge can replace practical "in the trenches" knowledge when it comes to pregnancy/childbirth/parenting.
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I started off with an OB/Gyn who hadn't had any kids a few years ago for lady problems, but I found out at my first prenatal appt that she is due in January with her 1st! I'm really thrilled that she will have just gone through it and have a great idea of what I'm going through, but even if she hadn't, I would stick with her. She's been great regardless!
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My ob isn't a mom. There's actually five in the practice and the one that isn't a mom is much nicer and sympathetic than one of the doctors that is.
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I would. I know lots of women want female OBs because a male doesn't know what it's like to be pregnant, but my philosophy with doctors is a little different. If I needed heart surgery, I wouldn't choose only a doctor who had been through it, I would choose the most-skilled doctor with the best bed side manner. That's kind of how I feel about OBs, pediatricians, etc. I want the one who I click with the best, who I have confidence in, and who has a reputation for being excellent. I get your point, though!
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My midwife is a mom but I would go to her even if she wasn't. I agree with Mrs. Blue, I'm all about skill and bedside manner. I was at a delivery the other day and the doc kept saying "I can't imagine the pain you're feeling". I've never ever heard a doc say this before... he was so calming and honest!! I loved it.
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My OB isn't a mom and she was great. Her bedside manner does take some getting used to because she is very matter of fact - but I'm not sure that is related to her having gone through it or not.
I was sort of hoping she wouldn't be available when I went into labor and that the midwife would have to deliver (I really liked the midwife at the practice). But, my OB did end up delivering me and was fantastic.
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I would but all of my Doctors right now are parents.
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I probably would, but I like that my OB has three kids...I don't actually know if my doula had any kids!
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I would have a midwife & doula that didn't have children or successful unmedicated birth but I don't think I'd want a pedi that didn't have kids. I think medicine already makes its easy for doctors to get into a textbook, one-size fits all, model of practice & I would think, hope, that having children themselves they would be reminded that that just isn't true.
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My doula didn't have kids and I was OK with that. She had attended many births and (most importantly to me) was a certified massage therapist!
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My nurse practitioners don't have kids yet. I don't care because I don't feel it's relevant to any physician I would see. I care more about the type of doctor/provider they are and how well they listen and their compassion. I don't consider people who deal with medical issues day in and day out to have just 'head knowledge', though. They deal with so much, I feel like they should have a variety of information to give you. If they're a good provider, that is!
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I would see an OB/Midwife that didn't have children--although I know that my midwives do have kids and had varying birth experiences. I don't know if my original OB had kids and it didn't matter--he was awesome!
We went with a doula who had children and had them both med-free. It was important to me that my doula had to have gone through the birthing experience--I didn't care if she had a c-section or epidural or med-free, I just wanted her to have gone through it. I felt like I could be a little more discriminatory with my doula because it was a more intimate relationship.
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I'd see an OB that didn't have kids, but my favorite were the two women who had kids. I thought it was due to they were a little older and just had a calming presence to them but some of it might have been bc they had had kids.
I do prefer to see a pediatrician that has kids. -
For an OB or midwife, it wouldn't really matter to me. I am pretty sure about half the midwives where I will be going do not have kids, some of them are pretty young, which is nice because I can relate to them.
For a doula, I really don't know. I feel like it's more important that they know all kids of things that might work, rather than the specific things that worked for they themselves in labor, you know? -
It wouldnt matter to me for an OB/midwife, but for a pediatrician I wouldnt want a non-parent
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I didn't care about parenthood for my OB (though all the practitioners in my office were moms) or my doula (who doesn't have kids- made no difference to me, and she was great!), but I like the fact that most of the pediatricians in my office have had kids. If my child is sick, I don't care if his pediatrician has child-rearing experience, all I care about is his child-diagnosing and child-treating experience. But for all the discussions about sleep issues and discipline and pacifiers and media exposure and feeding issues, and other stuff where there's rarely an empirically best solution. I would still go a childless pediatrician if I liked them a lot, but all other things equal, I appreciate it when they can draw on their own experiences (and when I feel like they can really understand some of the things that are hard to get unless you've lived them). I'd also be less likely to go with a lactation consultant who hadn't breastfed herself.
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Our pediatrician is father to 3 young kids and I love that about him. It was a priority for me to find a pediatrician who was a parent. We liked his laid-back attitude that seemed to stem from being a parent.
I'm not even sure if my OB is a mom, but I think she is. Looking back it would have been nice to prioritize the fact that she has personally gone through childbirth herself, but I love her so much that I don't really care.
If I had hired a doula I would have definitely prioritized having one who has personally gone through childbirth herself. I considered two doulas, one who hadn't and one who had, and I felt comfortable with both of them. But I ended up not using one... because I was most likely going to be induced because of my GD I didn't bother hiring one.
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It doesn't really matter to me either way. My pediatrician adopted a child halfway through our time with her. It's nice to see her having kids, but it hasn't really changed anything for us, and in fact I feel like she may be more biased now and be projecting her own experiences on us. My OB has kids, and I find her bedside manner to be so blunt and matter of the fact. I actually prefer women OBs who don't have kids since they tend to be more sympathetic, but it is not a deal breaker for me either way!
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I never thought about it as criteria. I will say that my doula having been through birth made it easier for her to explaing things to me while they were happening during my labour process, but I don't think not being through it would be a hindrance.
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No. I started off with a pediatrician who didn't have kids and didn't plan on it anytime soon. I just felt like he didn't really understand. I switched to a lady ped with kids, I like her much better.
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It has never even occurred to me to ask if my OB/GYN or pedi has kids. I think all my OBs/midwives do, though. Not sure about the pedis. There are a few doctors in that office, the one I met who I really like is really young though.
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@Mrs. Blue: Well said.
I agree.
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My ob is single with no kids. I love him!
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Both my midwife and hypnobabies instructor were childless women, which I thought was very interesting, since they were obviously interested in the process. My pediatrician is young, about my age (around 30), and just recently had his first child. He was a wonderful doctor before, and he'll probably be even better now. I can't really imagine selecting a provider based on those things.
A doula, however, certainly. I can't imagine a woman wanting to be a doula without having the personal experience to draw on. A lactation consultant, too. Those things I would not expect to find or want to hire a childless woman.
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I never asked my midwives if they were parents! I think one of them was and one wasn't, but I didn't care - they were both AMAZING!! and had been through hundreds of births of their patients.
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My OB wasn't a parent. Not sure about my pediatrician. I don't think I ever thought about asking the question.
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My pedi doesn't have kids but is fantastic and we love her!
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definitely - they didn't go through 8+ yrs of schooling for nothing.
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My MW has two children and was amazing although her backup was newly qualified with no kids and was also fantastic so I'm not bothered either way. Totally agree with pp's about the Lactation Consultant though, that's one profession where being a Mother is definitely pre-requisite!
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Our midwife has grown sons, but I don't think our pedi does (I think she's about my age--maybe a few years older). But I clicked with her right away, and we have very similar ideas about raising kids (even if hers are just in theory at the moment) and healthcare, and that was the most important part to me.
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I would! I know our midwife has children and years of experience. Our doula who also happens to be my massage therapist doesn't have kids yet, but that doesn't bother us. We absolutely love her! She's got the experience we were looking for and we just "clicked" with her when we were searching for someone.
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