Free What to expect when you're expecting by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel

philosophies are similar to yours.
An obstetrical nurse who practices locally.
The local medical society, which can give you a list of names of physicians who deliver babies, along with information on their medical training, specialties, special interests, type of practice, and board certification.
The American Medical Association (ama-assn.org) can help you search for a doctor in your area.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Physician Directory has the names of obstetrician-gynecologists and maternal-fetal specialists. Go to acog.org, or call 202-638-5577.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives if you’re looking for a CNM. Go to acnm.org or mybirthteam.com, or call 240-485-1800.
The local La Leche League, especially if you’re strongly interested in breastfeeding.
A nearby hospital with facilities that are important to you—for example, birthing rooms with whirlpool tubs, rooming-in for both baby and dad, or a neonatal intensive care unit—or a local maternity or birthing center. Ask them for the names of attending physicians.
If all else fails, check Yellow Book online or the phone book, under “Physicians.” Look for the headings “Obstetrics and Gynecology,” “Maternal-Fetal Medicine,” or “Family Practice.”
    If your health insurance company hands you a list of practitioners, try to check them out with friends, acquaintances, or another physician to find the one in the bunch that seems right for you. If that’s not possible, visit and meet with several of the candidates personally. In most cases, you should be able to find someone who is compatible. If not, finances permitting, you may want to see if you can switch plans.
Making Your Selection

    Once you’ve secured a prospective practitioner’s name, call to make an appointment for a consult. Go prepared with questions that will enable you to sense if your philosophies are in sync and if your personalities mesh comfortably. Don’t expect that you’ll agree on everything—that doesn’t happen even in the most productive of partnerships. Be observant, too, and try to read between the lines at the interview (is the doctor or midwife a good listener? A patient explainer? Does he or she seem to take your emotional concerns as seriously as your physical ones?). Now’s the time to find out this candidate’s positions on issues that you feel strongly about: unmedicated childbirth versus pain relief as needed in childbirth, breastfeeding, induction of labor, use of fetal monitoring or routine IVs, cesarean deliveries, or anything else that’s important to you. Knowledge is power—and knowing how your practitioner practices will help ensure there won’t be unpleasant surprises later.
    Almost as important as what the interview reveals about your potential practitioner is what you reveal about yourself. Speak up and let your true patient persona shine through. You’ll be able to judge from the practitioner’s response whether he or she will be comfortable with—and responsive to—you, the patient.
    You will also want to know something about the hospital or birthing center the practitioner is affiliated with. Does it provide features that are important to you—for example, plenty of LDR or LDRP rooms, breastfeeding support, a tub to labor in, the latest fetal monitoring equipment, a neonatal intensive care unit? Is there flexibility about procedures that concern you (say, routine IVs)? Are siblings allowed in the birthing rooms? Is extended family allowed during a surgical delivery?
    Before you make a final decision, think about whether your potentialpractitioner inspires trust. Pregnancy is one of the most important journeys you’ll ever make; you’ll want a copilot in whom you have complete faith.
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    Pregnant and Uncovered

    If you’re expecting and uninsured, you’re probably more concerned with figuring out how you’re going to be able to afford prenatal care than you are with who’s going to provide it. For tips that