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Home › Articles › Professionals and Policies › Male or Female OB/GYN?

Male or Female OB/GYN?

What to Consider When Making This Decision

By Teri Brown

Pages:  1  2  3  

Because so many women are using doulas as their support, they want the cool professionalism a male doctor may bring. These women tend to surround themselves with supportive women of their own choosing during the birth and seek out a male doctor for an element of detachment. Of course, these are just generalities. Many male doctors are warm, understanding and supportive while many female doctors are serious and detached.

"The real issue is not the sex of the doctor but your ability to relate, confide [in] and trust your doctor in all, if not many, areas of obstetrics," Dr. Nardone says. "Other things to consider are their expertise in certain fields that might be important to you and the extent of their experience."

Sember agrees. "I think that women sometimes make a decision based on sex, when instead they should make decisions also based on experience, attitude and bedside manner," she says. "There are female doctors that are not wonderful, just as there are male doctors that are not wonderful. Doctors are people first, with their own personalities, and I think it is important to pay attention to those."

Would You Prefer a Male or Female OB/GYN?

These questions may help you decide which you would prefer:

  • Is your general health practitioner a male or a female? That might clue you in to which OB/GYN you might feel more comfortable with.
  • Are you going to have a doula or a midwife there? Oftentimes, if you are going to have a number of women there for support, you may want to have a male doctor who is there for medical purposes only.
  • Pregnancy requires numerous pelvic exams. Are you comfortable having a male doctor do the exams? If not, you may want to go with a female doctor.


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