Relationships - medicine
The relationship between a doctor and a patient is based on trust. Irrespective of we being in the information age, the words of a doctor in informing/alerting the patient about something has tremendous value. Being aware of disease/abnormality is the first step towards winning the battle against it. As technology in medicine advances, I look with wonder at the newer ways of prediction in practice. This helps tremendously in prevention.
Take the event of birth of a baby, for instance. There is a school of thought that asks what the doctors would do anyway - babies were born everyday for the past so many millennia without their help. People subscribing to this haven’t observed/don’t want to acknowledge the reduction in maternal/infant mortality rates due to technology and improved care. For example, my grandmother in the 1940s and 50s had 10-12 pregnancies, of which nine lived beyond their birth year. She did not spend much time on consultation with a doctor or scans etc. That was considered normal in those times. Thankfully, over the years, it is not only the privileged few who have benefited from the improved healthcare, but also everyman. However, there is a flipside to this as well. The unholy alliance between tradition (male child-complex) and technology (ultrasound) has played havoc with Indian Society. It is poetic justice that according to recent reports those “preferred” ones in those states that encouraged the practice don’t have enough brides to get married to.
Going by personal experience, I couldn’t stress the importance of sonologist during a pregnancy - not to mention the first chain in the link – the gynecologist and the last one, the paediatrician. We had some anxious times with the premature birth of our first one (for the record, the baby is a healthy five year old today, thanks in main to his paediatrician). The doctors who do the ultrasound come to know a lot of information. It is left to the patient and the gynecologist to get the best out of that professional. S/he can make a difference. Over a period of time, my wife and I have encountered people who do the scan as a chore or as a means to recover the investment on their machines. During our first pregnancy, it is a pity that there was so much information in the scan reports we had received, which neither the gynecologist nor the sonologist bothered to enlighten us about or take timely action on.
Except for our son’s excellent paediatrician, we consulted a different set of doctors after that. They made the event of having the second baby enjoyable and stress-free. The gynecologist first put us at ease by saying that whatever happened in the first pregnancy doesn’t necessarily have to repeat. But she said the risk would be present and assured us that she would work with us for things to go well. A lot of small talk went into our sessions. On the rare occasions that we would call, this professional was available on the phone without fuss. When we crossed the critical milestones, she rejoiced with us. She also put us on to a sonologist to monitor the pregnancy.
I strongly feel it is important for the doctor to connect with patient at some level, irrespective of what each one does in their daily lives. That is the least and sometimes the only thing one expects from the medical fraternity. This was the assurance we needed and that’s what we got.
We saw what it takes to run a good scanning centre - a lot of money, resources, and most importantly, competent professionals who want to make a difference with their work. As they spend their workdays in dark rooms, rather than be grim, it would be nice if they can smile a bit and engage the patient in a conversation at least with respect to the consultation in question.
We were fortunate to meet this sonologist who showed a genuine interest in our matter. She made the scans interesting by involving us in her observations. She put the smiles back on our faces when she pointed out the significant milestones that we had crossed. This professional wanted to contribute in her way to fetal medicine and I think she has been quite successful in her objectives.
We could see our gynecologist-sonologist team working together. Their relationship and understanding is critical to the well being of a mother-to-be and the unborn baby. They were two sides of a coin. Both were competent professionals, juggling between managing their homes, children, and their careers. We were glad our paths crossed.
PS: Thankfully, things went off well for us and now we have another baby boy, doing fine.
Take the event of birth of a baby, for instance. There is a school of thought that asks what the doctors would do anyway - babies were born everyday for the past so many millennia without their help. People subscribing to this haven’t observed/don’t want to acknowledge the reduction in maternal/infant mortality rates due to technology and improved care. For example, my grandmother in the 1940s and 50s had 10-12 pregnancies, of which nine lived beyond their birth year. She did not spend much time on consultation with a doctor or scans etc. That was considered normal in those times. Thankfully, over the years, it is not only the privileged few who have benefited from the improved healthcare, but also everyman. However, there is a flipside to this as well. The unholy alliance between tradition (male child-complex) and technology (ultrasound) has played havoc with Indian Society. It is poetic justice that according to recent reports those “preferred” ones in those states that encouraged the practice don’t have enough brides to get married to.
Going by personal experience, I couldn’t stress the importance of sonologist during a pregnancy - not to mention the first chain in the link – the gynecologist and the last one, the paediatrician. We had some anxious times with the premature birth of our first one (for the record, the baby is a healthy five year old today, thanks in main to his paediatrician). The doctors who do the ultrasound come to know a lot of information. It is left to the patient and the gynecologist to get the best out of that professional. S/he can make a difference. Over a period of time, my wife and I have encountered people who do the scan as a chore or as a means to recover the investment on their machines. During our first pregnancy, it is a pity that there was so much information in the scan reports we had received, which neither the gynecologist nor the sonologist bothered to enlighten us about or take timely action on.
Except for our son’s excellent paediatrician, we consulted a different set of doctors after that. They made the event of having the second baby enjoyable and stress-free. The gynecologist first put us at ease by saying that whatever happened in the first pregnancy doesn’t necessarily have to repeat. But she said the risk would be present and assured us that she would work with us for things to go well. A lot of small talk went into our sessions. On the rare occasions that we would call, this professional was available on the phone without fuss. When we crossed the critical milestones, she rejoiced with us. She also put us on to a sonologist to monitor the pregnancy.
I strongly feel it is important for the doctor to connect with patient at some level, irrespective of what each one does in their daily lives. That is the least and sometimes the only thing one expects from the medical fraternity. This was the assurance we needed and that’s what we got.
We saw what it takes to run a good scanning centre - a lot of money, resources, and most importantly, competent professionals who want to make a difference with their work. As they spend their workdays in dark rooms, rather than be grim, it would be nice if they can smile a bit and engage the patient in a conversation at least with respect to the consultation in question.
We were fortunate to meet this sonologist who showed a genuine interest in our matter. She made the scans interesting by involving us in her observations. She put the smiles back on our faces when she pointed out the significant milestones that we had crossed. This professional wanted to contribute in her way to fetal medicine and I think she has been quite successful in her objectives.
We could see our gynecologist-sonologist team working together. Their relationship and understanding is critical to the well being of a mother-to-be and the unborn baby. They were two sides of a coin. Both were competent professionals, juggling between managing their homes, children, and their careers. We were glad our paths crossed.
PS: Thankfully, things went off well for us and now we have another baby boy, doing fine.
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