Questions for doctors (FAO Zolw)

When interviewing doctors or midwives, what questions should you ask
in order to choose the right one?

Here are my questions:

What is your C-section rate?
(National average is 25% - but some areas it's closer to 40%. The OBs
who back up my midwives have a 10% C/S rate).

How do you feel about episiotomies?
(My midwife's answer was: "I firmly believe that there are times when
they are necessary for the health and safety of the baby, and I've
been trained how to do them, and have done them on rare occasions.
But I can't remember the last time I had to do one." Some doctors have
a 70-100% rate for first time mother's)

What is your episiotomy rate?
(Beware the doctor who doesn't actually know the answer to this and
the c-section question. They can say they don't do them unless it's
necessary, but if they do it frequently....)

How do you feel about pain relief during labor? (do they feel more
comfortable with epidurals, injectible drugs, TENS, etc)

How well do you follow birth plans? How do you feel about them?

How do you feel about Bradley/Lamaze/Other childbirth training? (Some
doctors don't like Bradley mothers because they are too "pushy")

What is your natural childbirth rate? (This is more important if you
want a natural childbirth...many women do, and many women don't)

How do you feel about laboring in water, and birthing in water?

How do you feel about eating during labor?

How do you feel about IV's during labor (being hooked up is irritating
to many women)

How often do you augment labor with pitocin? (more painful labor)

When do you feel induction is necessary?

What if the baby is Breech? (Automatic c-section? Attempt to turn
the baby?)

I'm sure there are many others. My questions are more tailored to a
woman who wanted a drug and intervention-free birth, and not every
woman wants that, so the questions are likely to be different,
depending on what you are looking for.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

"Cathy Weeks" wrote in message
om...
When interviewing doctors or midwives, what questions should you ask
in order to choose the right one?

Here are my questions:

snip

These are excellent questions, Cathy. What a good list!

Donna

"[Gastaldo] has proven himself to be irrational and/or beyond
annoying...perhaps [Gastaldo] might re-think [his]...message. "
--Donna

QUESTIONS FOR DONNA

See below...

"Donna" wrote in message
...

"Cathy Weeks" wrote in message
om...
When interviewing doctors or midwives, what questions should you ask
in order to choose the right one?

Here are my questions:

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...&output=gplain
snip

These are excellent questions, Cathy. What a good list!

Donna


Donna,

I too think Cathy's questions are excellent; though I'm wondering if women
will ever think to ask their OB or CNMwife or other birth provider if they
will be closing the birth canal up to 30%. (Most OBs and CNMwives do close
the birth canal up to 30%.)

Cathy recently wrote:

"...[S]ome of what [Gastaldo] does say isn't discredit[ed], or without
scientific
plausibility or merit. Ignoring someone's posts just because some of
what they say is wrong is a bit like throwing the baby out with the
bathwater."
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...&output=gplain

Donna replied:

"I can't believe I'm getting involved in a gastaldo thread.
sigh...Ignoring someone's posts who has proven himself to be irrational
and/or
beyond annoying, is not the same thing as closing oneself off from new
ideas. There are an awful lot of *rational*, non-annoying people who hold
differing opinions. Annoying and/or irrational people are not automatically
entitled to be heard. If one ends up in a lot of killfiles, perhaps one
might re-think one's method of communication, if not the message.
"Donna (who has a rich killfile and somehow still manages to see a broad
spectrum of opinion)"
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...utput =gplain

Donna, sorry to be "irrational and/or beyond annoying" but - which part of
my message should I re-think - i.e. - which part do YOU find has been
discredited or is without scientific plausibility or merit?

Do you find the part about OBs and CNMwives knowingly closing birth canals
to have been discredited or without scientific plausibility or merit?

How about the part about OBs lying by omission thereby denying massive
numbers of babies massive numbers of free daily immunizations?

How about the part about MDs endangering vaccinated children by fraudulently
claiming IN EFFECT that vaccinations are 100% effective?

This latter was the subject of the thread where you made your sigh
pronouncement that I am "irrational and/or beyond annoying."

REGARDING this latter subject...

As I recently wrote to Brian W. Vaszily the media contact for Mercola.com...
http://mercola.com/forms/contact.htm

Brian,

You say it is your passion, your nature "to delve into issues..."
http://www.mercola.com/2003/jul/9/he...onsibility.htm

Please delve into state-sponsored mass immunologic child abuse/child
neglect.

Pharmaceutical organizations (and their MD puppets) have all 50 state
legislatures saying that, during disease outbreaks, vaccine-exempt children
are to be sent home (protected).

ODDLY, children not immunized by their vaccinations are left at school (not
protected)!

Pharmaceutical companies and their MD puppets are being allowed to claim IN
EFFECT that vaccination is 100% effective!

Parents must be informed: Vaccination is NOT immunization. Vaccinations do
not always immunize. Vaccination is ATTEMPTED immunization.

Since we don't check which children were weren't immunized by their
vaccinations, ALL children must go home during disease outbreaks.

We must stop endangering vaccinated children who were not immunized by their
vaccinations.

END excerpt of Todd's post to Brian.

Donna, since I'm apparently in your "rich" killfile, hopefully this post
will be quoted back by someone who is not in your "rich" killfile.

Hopefully you will sigh risk involving yourself in "another gastaldo
thread."

Sincerely,

Todd

Dr. Gastaldo


PS My thanks BTW to Cathy for rather boldly suggesting there might be
something valid to what I am saying. Howard the MD, Steve the DDS and
Hillary the vet all dropped their ad hominems and left - quite
intellectually dishonest - babies be damned.

Donna wrote:
"Cathy Weeks" wrote

When interviewing doctors or midwives, what questions should you ask
in order to choose the right one?

Here are my questions:

snip

These are excellent questions, Cathy. What a good list!

Yes, thank you I printed it out and will ask them all at next visit!