5 Penn Tower

I got pregnant so quickly after Mr. Doodlebug and I moved to Philly that I didn't have time to really do research on ob/gyn practices. I ended up choosing the group of about 10 doctors and 2 midwives at 5 Penn Tower (that's the fifth floor of a 20-some story building that houses both a hotel and medical offices associated with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania). Since the doctors and midwives there have privileges and do rotations at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, aka HUP, I thought I would be in good hands. And, in fact, I have not felt that they have missed anything as far as the baby and my health go, but their bedside manner could use a makeover to say the least.

The idea behind the practice is that expectant mothers are to make appointments with as many of the doctors/midwives as possible during the nine months so that when she goes into labor she will know and be familiar with that person. Right then I should have been able to foresee what type of care I was going to get. I do not get to choose the doctor that delivers my baby, I have to see who I get of a group of about 12. Times sure have changed from when my mother delivered me. Her doctor attended her baby shower and was available to my mother any time of day or night, then again she lived in Vermont and not a big city. But what about Dr. Huxtable, he lived in NYC, and seemed very in tune with his patients.

When I complained once to one of the doctors that no one from the practice called me with results from various tests he said that they see 200 patients a day and wouldn't possibly be able to call each time one of them had a test done. 200 patients a day!!! Therein lies the problem. There is no personal care, they run their practice like an assembly line of baby-producing robots.

My visits are like this:
I wait in the waiting room anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes, though if I am 15 minutes late for my appointment they make me reschedule. To be fair, I only waited 45 minutes once, and usually wait about 15. Then a nurse takes me into the triage room where she weighs me and takes my blood pressure. I am then taken to one of the exam rooms where I pee into a cup and wait for a short time, usually no more than 10 minutes. The doctor or midwife comes in, asks how I'm feeling, puts the doppler mechanism on my belly and we listen to the baby's heartbeat for a few seconds. Most of the time he/she tells me that "this machine doesn't tell the heart rate, but I can tell it is within the normal range." Once one of the doctors used his watch and brain to figure out the heart rate, but the others seem unwilling or unable to do that. Then, after I was truly showing they started measuring my belly with a measuring tape at each appointment. "Any questions?" the doc/midwife will ask in a tone that tells me they're hoping I don't have any. If I don't they give me the paperwork to schedule my next appointment and promptly leave the room. If I do they answer them and then leave.

There is absolutely no attempt to inform me of anything about my particular stage of pregnancy. They are so tight-lipped on offering information or advice like; what I should be expecting in the coming weeks or days, if I experience certain symptoms that I should call them or go to an emergency room. Luckily, I do a lot of reading and have a few friends who are/were pregnant to fill me in on the wealth of knowledge my doctors don't have the time or inclination to share with me. This includes at my 37-week appointment just last week when I assumed the doctor would begin telling me what to expect during labor and when I know that I am truly having contractions etc. . . But almost nothing was said. She told me to call if my water breaks. Thanks for the advice, doc.

Mr. Doodlebug and I attended the 6-week, $100 birthing class HUP offers earlier this year and that was extremely helpful and put me more at ease with what to expect during labor and from the hospital, nurses and doctors. Had we not attended this class, I would be much less prepared for what is to come given the short shrift I get at the doctor's office.

I had one experience there with a particular doctor who ignored my concerns, both medical and emotional. I have been assured that she will not be delivering my baby even if she is on call when I go into labor.

I have my 38-week appointment this afternoon with a midwife there who I like. For the most part the two midwives take more time and show more concern for me than the ten or so doctors.

For a first-time pregnant woman there is no way I would choose this practice of doctors. I am hoping that the good reputation of HUP will make up for the experiences I've had at 5 Penn Tower when I am actually delivering the baby.