We need more Dr. Wonderfuls

Over at Navelgazing Midwife she talks a bit about a "Dr. Wonderful" in California (aka, Dr. Robert Biter). Those on the birth circuit have probably been following the latest about Dr. Biter. I'm not going to comment about the particular situations that have been going on with Dr. Biter. Instead, I want to talk about the whole concept of a "Dr. Wonderful".

With all of the negativity that permeates on the blogosphere and elsewhere with doctor bashing, we need to focus on the more positives out there. I'm sure we all have run across a "Dr. Wonderful" in our time. Perhaps he/she isn't the extreme of a "Dr. Wonderful", but they are wonderful nonetheless.

Believe it or not, I work with a few doctors that could be considered close to, if not at, the "Dr. Wonderful" status. I call them midwives in disguise. Why? Because first and foremost, they empathize and listen actively to the women and families that they care for, both in and out of the hospital environment.

There is "Dr. Magic Hands" who can successfully perform an external cephalic version with very high success rates. I literally turned my back for 2 seconds one time, when at the bedside for a version once. When I turned back again, he smiled, looked at me and said "done". WAH?!? Done?!? Yep. That was quite the easy version too. Not all go quite as quickly or as successfully. "Dr. Magic Hands" could do my external cephalic version ANY day. (Not that I will ever have another baby, but I'm sure you know what I mean.)

There is my favorite, very mildly mannered and soft spoken "Dr. Midwife". He has the patience of a saint. This man should have been a midwife - he definitely has his entire heart and soul into serving the women and families who come to him for care. I could tell you dozens of fantastic stories about this man. The hypnobirth mom who labored all day, stalled at an advanced dilitation, and he never once put her on the time clock, or even talked about a c-section for failure to progress. She went on to birth her baby over an intact perineum many hours later.

Or the cord prolapse, where "Dr. Midwife" literally calmed down every single person in the OR, made everyone take 5 seconds to breathe in and out, calm down, focus, and then proceed. Successful stat c-section with excellent apgars of a sudden and unexpected cord prolapse.

Or the woman who, because of her religious beliefs, would not allow a male provider to perform sensitive examinations or see/touch her genitalia. We simply traded places for exams (he acted as the nurse at the head of the bed, while I was performing the exams), and I pretty much delivered the baby, except for the very end of the birth when we traded places quickly for him to catch the rest of the baby (this was pre-agreed to by the patient and her husband as an acceptable solution to their gender beliefs regarding medical care and birth).

Or his general calm demeanor and sensitive nature. His belief that women can and do VBAC successfully. His positive comments to women in labor. His laid back management of labor/birth. Liberal fluid and food intake in labor. I really, truly could go on and on. This is a physician I would LOVE to collaborate with when I am a CNM!

Tell me about some positive stories of your own "Dr. Wonderful"s. We need more positive stories out there.