Understanding The Work of an Obstetrician

Getting pregnant is usually a happy moment for a couple. To ensure you deliver a healthy baby, it is important to visit an obstetrician as soon as you find out you are pregnant, especially if it is your first child. An obstetrician or OB is a specialist who can:

• Care for women during their pregnancy 
• Care for women after delivering a baby 
• Act as a gynaecologist 
• Can handle high-risk or complex pregnancies and births that may require interventions like caesareans, surgery on undelivered babies and delivery of premature babies.

It is important to note that a general practitioner or doctor with some training on obstetrics cannot handle high-risk or complex pregnancies. Therefore, if during your pregnancy you realise there is something wrong, you need to visit a qualified and licensed obstetrician.

Public Versus Private Hospital

Whether you can access a public or a private hospital depends on factors like your financial status and your locality. Here's what you need to know.

Private Hospital

In a private hospital, you have the freedom of choosing the obstetrician of your choice. You can also visit a particular obstetrician's private clinic. You should, however, note that a private hospital and obstetrician might charge a higher fee when compared to a public hospital.

Public Hospital

In a public hospital, you might not be in a position to choose an obstetrician of your preference; you will mostly have access to the obstetrician hired by the public hospital.

However, some private obstetricians do treat pregnant women in public hospitals, but for this to be possible, you need to ensure you ask the private obstetrician whether he or she can treat you while at a particular public hospital and find out whether the public hospital allows private doctors to utilise its space.

Some private obstetricians may not be in a position to access the public hospital you have easy access to, and some public hospitals may not allow doctors from outside to conduct treatment in their hospital.

Medical Insurance

When getting medical insurance, ensure that the hospitals you have access to accept payments from the insurance company you have insurance through.

You should also check the fine prints of the insurance policy to find out the specific types of ailments or treatments catered to. If you fail to check on this, you might have a hard time later trying to heal and cope with high medical bills. You might find out that various crucial and expensive treatments are not covered by the insurance cover.

For more information about obstetricians, reach out to one near you. 

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