I wish I'd been wiser about picking an OBGYN. I wish I'd know I was pregnant a lot sooner, leaving…read moreme with more time to pick a wise, caring, and knowledgable person who tried to impart that same knowledge onto me. I wish this person hadn't made me so aware at the lack of concern some doctors have for patients they deem ignorant and of poor backgrounds. From day ONE this OBGYN made sure to make this experience a stressful one. From day ONE she was already writing me down for a c-section. I kept attending every appointment and making sure I did as I was told so that my child was healthy and to avoid a c-section she seemed bent on making me feel that I'd needed. I kept every appointment until the last month, when her staff made appointments FOR ME that I couldn't make because they were MADE FOR ME on times and days I had NO ONE to take me. I was rudely told that I had to accommodate the doctor's availability, as if my time meant nothing. On the last month, the staff and doctor HOUNDED me to attend an appointment I never made. They kept saying that I was missing appointments and that it was imperative that I make it. I only rescheduled that last appointment I NEVER MADE, and it was only because the doctor told me flat out, that if I didn't make it, I'd have a stillborn. That cut deep, especially since this doctor was aware that, when I was 17, I did have a stillborn son. There was absolutely NO REASON to use this scare tactic on me! All throughout my pregnancy my child and I were completely healthy. All tests and ultrasounds pointed out at health and everything going according to plan. There was absolutely NO REASON to tell me anything of the sort. I ended up getting so stressed out from this harassment that day, that my fiance and daughter ended up calling paramedics because I couldn't eat and my sugar dropped, making me feel ill. I became so stressed out thinking the worst, that I ended up going to the E.R. on New Year's Eve because her nasty words echoed in my head. I began fearing that this child would die. I went to the E.R. and was given a clean bill of health that day. My child and I were great, and I would be able to give birth vaginally. I felt better after that, and I decided not to go back, but the harassment persisted. I later found out that the reason she found it IMPERATIVE for me to attend the date THEY WANTED, was because the good doctor had vacation days on the week after it was imperative I go. I'd like to know why it was never imperative for this doctor to take my calls of questions and concerns, instead of ALWAYS telling me to go to the E.R if Iwas so worried? I'd love to know why I had to go without real care for the two months she was dealing with her own personal problems? I know that everyone has life events which can hinder their ability to give their work 100%, but I was never given options to see a colleague or a standby when she was unavailable at her office. I had a life growing inside of me, and I was responsible for that life. If anyone reading this is wondering why I didn't switch doctors, I'd like to add that I TRIED. I asked for my medical records but was told that they could ONLY be released to the next doctor I decided to see. I was told that my records couldn't be released to me, and because I wasn't aware of the law, I believed it! I stuck to this awful person out of ignorance, and she and her staff took advantage of that ignorance. It wasn't until AFTER I was made aware of the law preventing my medical records from being held hostage by manipulative doctors and staff that the persistent calls and feigned concern began. I told them that it was illegal for them to have denied me my records, and they claimed they were just "following protocol". I was never made aware of any protocol, only TOLD that I couldn't have them. During this call, the person in the office got so irritated that she began screaming at me, telling me I was getting defensive, when clearly it was her having the issues. I had multiple people witness this call, and even recorded part of it. Needless to say, I refused any further contact with any of these people. I knew that in order to be given okay care, I had to become my own health advocate, so I decided to give birth somewhere I thought might have a better outcome than the one I thought I'd have under that type of "care". I was wrong, but one can't always have it their way. This year, the medical community did it's job on opening my eyes to just how shady medical care can be if you're not paying close attention and informing yourself. Through their lack of concern and misuse of degrees and titles, they pushed me onto my possible career path. Thank you! Thank you for sucking so much that you moved me toward becoming informed and also to helping women to never having to go through what I went through this year.
