Obstetrics

An obstetrician is a physician that deals primarily with pregnancy and childbirth. Throughout a pregnancy, they meet with their patient regularly. During these visits, they monitor the health of both the patient and the unborn baby. With high risk pregnancies, the obstetrician is in charge of consulting with the expectant mother and monitoring the pregnancy with a group of specialists. As the due date approaches, an obstetrician meets more often with the patient for ultrasounds and fulfilling any prenatal needs. When the baby is due, the obstetrician is in charge of the delivery. All obstetricians are proficient in surgical procedures, so that they can perform an emergency Caesarean Section if necessary. Once the baby is born, they must perform the first examination of the infant to ensure that any problems are caught immediately. In the days following the birth, the obstetrician makes sure that both mother and baby are recovering from the ordeal of birth.

Obstetricians typically work 50-70 hours a week. More stable schedules usually come with working in a hospital, rather than being self employed. Although hospital jobs may be more predictable, there are still unpredictable hours. Many obstetricians are called into work at any hour of the night due to the nature of their job. The number of hours and the complexity of the job lead to many obstetricians working more in other fields as they advance in their careers.

The education that is required in order to become an obstetrician takes at least twelve years to complete. The first four years I would spend obtaining a bachelors degree. During college, science and mathematics courses should be taken, but it isn’t necessary to major in a science-related field to go to medical school...

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...ossible. This allows for any potential treatments to take place, and perhaps correct the condition. Knowledge of human anatomy is also crucial for a complete understanding of how the fetus is growing, and how the fetus interacts with and affects the mother’s body. This is also needed for when the baby is delivered; especially in the case of a Caesarean Section, the obstetrician must know how to properly perform surgery without harming either mother or child. Any condition that the mother has that may affect the child can be understood with knowledge of anatomy. An understanding of genetics is needed, so that any abnormalities of the fetus can be understood more fully, especially if they are inherited. During pregnancies when there is concern that the child will inherit a disorder from one of the parents, genetics can be used to determine the risk facing the child.