What does an obstetrician do during pregnancy?

Introduction

Obstetricians are medical professionals specialising in providing care to patients before pregnancy, throughout pregnancy, during delivery, and for the first few weeks following birth (after childbirth). To ensure that both you and your baby are healthy, they will monitor and treat any pregnancy-related health concerns.

What exactly is it that an obstetrician does?

Obstetricians are the medical professionals who give standard prenatal care to expectant mothers. In addition, they will detect and treat any issues that arise throughout the pregnancy. Obstetricians are the medical professionals who deliver your baby and care for you after you give birth.

Your obstetrician is in charge of the following responsibilities:

1.          Screenings, examinations, and laboratory testing performed during pregnancy
2.          Determine your baby's size, how much they have grown, and where they are in your uterus.
3.          Identifying potential problems and congenital abnormalities in collaboration with practitioners of maternal-fetal medicine.
4.         You will monitor your pregnancy using a variety of diagnostic instruments such as ultrasounds, blood tests, urinalysis, and so on.
5.          Addressing any preexisting medical issues that could impact your pregnancy or your child's health.
6.          Management of labor and delivery, including inducement of labor, response to medical crises,        and administration of drugs.
7.      Provide postpartum care for up to six weeks following the delivery of a child.

What makes a gynecologist different from an obstetrician when treating women?

Obstetricians are the medical professionals who care for pregnant women and deliver newborns. Gynecologists are not involved in delivering infants or treating pregnant patients; instead, they focus on women's reproductive systems. It's standard practice for doctors and other medical professionals to integrate these two branches of medicine. Ob-Gyn is an abbreviation that stands for "obstetrics and gynecology."

What makes a midwife different from an obstetrician when delivering babies?

Unlike an obstetrician, a midwife did not get their education at a medical school, yet, they are qualified to give the same level of care. Midwives are women who have completed professional training and received certification to provide prenatal care and delivery assistance to expectant mothers. People who are pregnant are often allowed to have a greater degree of control over the delivery of their child when they work with a midwife. Women with a pregnancy with a low risk may choose to work with a midwife if they want to reduce the number of medical treatments they get or seek out alternative pain management strategies. Some individuals choose to have an extra support person in the form of a midwife in the delivery room alongside their obstetrician. When more care is required, midwives collaborate with obstetricians to provide it.

What are the requirements to become an obstetrician?

It would be best if you began by earning a bachelor's degree. After that, you must pass the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) to enroll in a medical education program. Earning a degree in medicine takes roughly four years of schooling on average.

After that, you will participate in a residency program for nearly four years. During your time in a residency program, you will receive expertise in diagnosing and treating pregnant patients and assisting in delivering newborns.

Some obstetricians choose to further their education by specializing in a field such as maternal-fetal medicine (MFM), which focuses on providing medical attention to expectant mothers who suffer from debilitating illnesses or other problems that put their lives in danger as said by Dr. Joe Mongelli.

You may get certified in obstetrics and gynecology via the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology after you have completed your residency (ABOG). This requires successful completion of an oral and written examination. Members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a professional association for gynecologists and obstetricians, include some obstetricians.

To practice medicine, obstetricians are required to get a license. To practice obstetrics legally, obstetricians must first get their medical license by passing an examination. These criteria, however, differ from state to state.