don_tspamme wrote:
...for the doctor who is delivering your baby to only show up when you
are at the pushing stage?

Yes. It is also no uncommon for your doctor not to
deliver your baby. In the 2002 Listening to Mothers survey,
it said that 19 percent of women didn't know the person who
attended the delivery and another 10 percent were attended
by someone they had met only briefly.

If continuity of care is important to you, midwives
are more likely to be there for the delivery and to be with
you for more of the labor. A homebirth with a small practice
is pretty much the ultimate in continuity of care. It's also
a question you can (and should) ask of prospective caregivers.

Best wishes,
Ericka