The process of childbirth has always been considered physiological, but it is always necessary that an obstetrician be with the woman in labor to help the unborn child be born. Someone close to you is also required in this matter. Gynecologist-obstetrician is a difficult profession - you need to be able to emotionally accept childbirth. Previously, childbirth was called midwifery, and assistants and labor stimulants were called midwives; it was not a profession, it was something spiritual. Today this is not the case, but there is an obstetrician-gynecologist who must lead the entire process. The midwife was not only responsible for the process itself, she played a very important role in the future life of the child. She was present at all holidays, christenings, important events in his life, participated in his upbringing, as well as treatment.
Children had to visit their midwife and give her gifts. There was even a special day celebrated on January 8th. On this day, children should come to visit their midwives, treating them to delicious porridge. The day was called “Woman’s Porridge Day.”
An interesting fact is that only a woman could become such a helper, and she was born first or last among her brothers and sisters. Such children were considered special and had the ability to perform witchcraft. Another option: a mother with many children, who necessarily has healthy, beautiful, successful children. She was considered happy, hoping that she would be able to convey happiness to the children whose birth she was involved in.
Today, the concept of midwife is not used, except that this word is used to call “grandmothers”, and the process of childbirth has been given to specialists with the profession of obstetrician and gynecologist.
Such changes took place under Peter I, who ordered all midwives to undergo training.
Three types of midwives appeared:
- “midwife”, who had to study for 6 years at the Midwifery Institute;
- a rural “midwife” with three years of training at the same institute;
- “midwife” with correspondence education.
Today it has become fashionable to give birth at home, so many women are looking for a midwife to help them. If under Peter I the midwife had to receive a medical education, now this is more relevant than ever.
Who is an obstetrician and what does he do?
An obstetrician-gynecologist is a doctor who accompanies a woman throughout the entire period of pregnancy, conducts medical examinations, and prescribes treatment if necessary. He also delivers the baby, and then monitors the woman’s condition for 30-60 days. The specialist must have a higher medical education in the specialty “obstetrics and gynecology”.
An obstetrician-gynecologist treats complicated births, performs surgeries, complete examinations of pregnant women undergoing medical examination, as well as examinations of women in labor.
An obstetrician-gynecologist is often confused with a midwife. An obstetrician is a specialist with secondary medical education who helps and assists the doctor during childbirth. With good experience, she can independently perform uncomplicated childbirth.
Obstetrics - what is this discipline?
Obstetrics is a clinical discipline that deals with the study of physiological and pathological processes that affect a woman's body from the moment of conception, throughout pregnancy, during childbirth and in the period after it. In addition, this branch of science specializes in the development of modern methods for obstetric care, prevention and treatment of complications that arise during pregnancy and childbirth.
In previous years, the responsibilities of an obstetrician included caring for newborn babies. However, gradually these procedures separated and became an independent branch of medicine called neonatology.
Obstetrics should not be combined with surgery or therapy. This is a separate science that requires deep knowledge that has roots in these two disciplines, but grows with its own branches. Just as you should not confuse an obstetrician-gynecologist with just an obstetrician.
Knowledge of the basics of anatomy, physiology, gynecology, sexology, surgery, genetics - all of them are necessary in the work of an obstetrician. In addition, women during childbirth are in dire need of moral support. Therefore, human psychology is also not alien to the obstetrician.
Profession obstetrician: responsibilities
An obstetrician is a doctor's assistant. He prepares instruments for examination or surgery, can perform uncomplicated childbirth under the supervision of a doctor, assists the doctor during surgery, receives the child, examines him, weighs him and performs primary toileting.
The most important responsibility of an obstetrician is to psychologically prepare a woman for the birth of a child. In addition, the obstetrician maintains all the documentation of the mother in labor, fills out medical examination logs, an outpatient card for the pregnant woman, writes out referrals for tests, and takes smears for any infection.
How much does an obstetrician earn?
An obstetrician earns from 30 to 125 thousand rubles monthly. Specialists of the highest category receive significantly more than young doctors and, especially, paramedics. According to our estimates, the average salary of a paramedic-obstetrician is about 18,000 rubles per month.
The highest wages are in federal multidisciplinary perinatal centers, equipped with modern equipment, performing high-tech medical procedures, surgical interventions, and conducting scientific and educational activities.
How to get a profession
To obtain the specialty of obstetrician-gynecologist, you need a higher medical education at the Faculty of General Medicine. After receiving a bachelor's degree, another 2 years of residency training in obstetrics and gynecology are required. Only after this are you sent to practice in maternity hospitals under the guidance of the head of the department.
Every 5 years it is necessary to undergo certification in order to obtain permission to further work in the profession.
A future obstetrician can graduate from medical college. You can enroll in studies after 9 or 11 grades of a general education school. The main subjects of study will be biology and chemistry. After receiving a college diploma, you can get a job in a maternity hospital as a nursing assistant.
Gradually, gaining experience and being present at childbirth, the specialist will be trusted with various manipulations.
Professional knowledge
- Sanitary and hygienic standards, requirements.
- Medical records management.
- Technique for collecting biological material.
- Standard procedures and actions during childbirth.
- Fundamentals of sanitary educational work.
- Gynecology and obstetrics, pediatrics, pharmacy, basic psychology.
- Rules for prenatal and postnatal care for women and newborns.
- Rules for the reception and examination of patients.
- Knowledge of a foreign language and a driver’s license are not required, but desirable for midwives applying for a vacancy in a reputable medical center.
Pros and cons of the profession
The profession will always be in demand, because children are born every day, and in order to be born they need help. It is possible to work as an obstetrician if a person has a calling, as well as a love for medicine and children. Then the moral aspect of the profession will bring you satisfaction - with your help, a new person was born.
The disadvantages of the profession include:
- low salary;
- lack of career growth;
- continuous training and professional development.
Important personal qualities
An obstetrician must be a morally stable person who is ready for difficulties. The work cannot be called calm, because every day this specialist is responsible for the lives of adults and little people. The character of an obstetrician must necessarily combine the following traits:
- patience,
- accuracy,
- self-organization,
- integrity,
- attentiveness,
- conscientiousness,
- self-control
- sense of tact,
- insight,
- initiative.
You need well-developed critical and logical thinking, correct speech, and the ability to objectively assess the situation. Obstetricians often have to make big decisions, so a quick response is important.
Where to work
- You can work in maternity hospitals, where each employee has a scheduled work schedule and night shifts.
- Having sufficient experience, you can give birth at home.
- In addition, if you have the talent to convey the necessary information and train young specialists, you can become a teacher.
- You won't be able to build a career. Maximum career growth in this profession stops at the senior obstetrician, who will be responsible for all middle and junior medical staff in the obstetric department.
- You can enroll in a medical university and get a higher education by becoming a gynecologist.
What personal qualities should an obstetrician have?
The work of an obstetrician , like the work of any other medical professional, is to provide qualified medical care. Therefore, representatives of this profession must, first of all, be distinguished by their love of humanity, responsibility and confidence in their own strengths and knowledge. In addition, the specifics of the professional activity of an obstetrician require him to have such personal qualities as:
- accuracy;
- pedantry;
- tolerance;
- ability to empathize;
- stress resistance;
- patience;
- communication skills;
- goodwill;
- responsiveness;
- self-organization;
- attentiveness;
- the ability to react adequately in extreme situations;
- well-developed sensory, logical and long-term memory;
- analytical way of thinking.
As we mentioned above, the activity of an obstetrician requires extensive knowledge in a variety of areas. In particular, this specialist must know the basics of psychology, pharmacology, genetics and sexology, communication ethics and sociology, as well as understand the operation of ultrasound equipment and other equipment for diagnosis and treatment.
Employment type
Working in their specialty, part-time employment is out of the question, since these specialists have a shift work schedule. In the maternity hospital, all staff shifts are scheduled with night shifts.
You can earn extra money as an obstetrician, delivering births at home, but you need to understand the degree of responsibility for such actions. It is necessary to create special sterility where it is planned to receive the child.
If complications develop, for example, bleeding, it should be possible to transport the woman in labor along with the baby to a specialized institution in a very short time.
Anesthesiologist: pain control
Each duty team must include an anesthesiologist and a nurse in the anesthesiology and resuscitation department. They come to the maternity ward if a woman wants to give birth with pain relief. First, the doctor asks the woman about her state of health, examines her, studies the results of examinations, and finds out whether she is allergic to any medications. All this is necessary in order to choose the right type of anesthesia and prevent unwanted reactions.
Then the anesthesiologist decides which type of labor anesthesia is best to use (in each case individually). The doctor is assisted by a nurse anesthetist: she draws medicine into a syringe, injects it into a vein, and measures blood pressure. After anesthetizing labor (epidural anesthesia is most often done), the anesthesiologist is constantly with the woman. He monitors how the anesthesia affects the woman in labor (whether the contractions are sufficiently anesthetized), decides when to add medicine, and when to stop the anesthesia.
When should you contact an obstetrician?
You need to visit an obstetrician as soon as you plan to conceive a child or after confirming the fact of pregnancy. The schedule of visits to a medical specialist of this classification is determined individually. This will allow timely diagnosis or prevention of the development of threats during pregnancy.
List of problems and symptoms when you should contact an obstetrician-gynecologist:
- menstruation did not begin upon reaching 15 years of age;
- menstruation is accompanied by severe pain;
- the duration of menstruation exceeds 7 days, menstruation is characterized by heavy bleeding, bleeding was noted during another period;
- if you experience itching in the vagina, pain in the abdomen (especially the lower part), as well as discharge with an unpleasant odor;
- there is pain during intercourse, accompanied by signs of respiratory disease;
- menstruation stopped with regular sexual activity;
- the last three menstruation were absent while abstaining from intimacy;
- burning during urination;
- changes were found in the genital area - abrasions, roughness, convex growths, etc.
How is the appointment going?
It should be noted that in most cases, the appointment should take place together with an obstetrician-gynecologist. During the initial examination, the obstetrician fills out the pregnant woman’s personal medical record and issues a referral to visit specialized doctors - endocrinologist, cardiologist, dentist, otolaryngologist, ophthalmologist. A referral for laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods is also issued.
A routine examination when visiting your obstetrician may include the following:
- measurement of blood pressure, physical indicators of the mother;
- abdominal circumference measurement;
- diagnosing fetal position.
If during a physical examination predisposing factors to pathology are discovered, a referral is issued for the appropriate additional examination.
What tests need to be taken
The obstetrician may prescribe the following laboratory research methods:
- tests for sexually transmitted diseases;
- general blood test and detailed biochemical;
- general urine analysis;
- tests for the presence of antibodies to viruses and bacteria in the blood;
- hormonal studies;
- genetic research.
If necessary, the doctor can refer the patient for ultrasound diagnostics.
How to prepare for your appointment
If a visit to the obstetrician is planned, you should prepare for it in advance:
- two days before visiting a medical specialist, you should completely stop drinking alcohol;
- if laboratory tests are expected, the rules for their collection should be followed;
- If a visit to the obstetrician is planned before conceiving a child, it is advisable to visit the doctor together with your partner.
On average, during the entire period of pregnancy, the expectant mother should make 10–12 visits. This indicator occurs if the pregnancy proceeds without pathologies.
How to choose an obstetrician-gynecologist
In the national health care system, it is like this: a woman planning a pregnancy or already pregnant is registered with the obstetrician who “serves” the area to which her place of permanent registration belongs. But since reviews of obstetricians, both good and bad, are difficult to hide from the public, most women try to bypass bureaucratic obstacles and look for a doctor “on their own.”
And here the already mentioned reviews about obstetricians play a big role. A doctor with many years of practice, internship experience abroad or in a good hospital, as well as one who has a good reputation among the staff and former mothers in labor, should inspire trust.
Historical reference
The profession of obstetrician is one of the oldest medical professions. Now the first assistant to a woman in labor is called an obstetrician, but before there was no such concept at all. In Kievan Rus, a woman who delivered a child was called a midwife or midwife.
Ancient obstetricians did not have special education, and acquired the ability and skills to deliver childbirth gradually. This explains the quite frequent cases of death of a newborn or mother in those days. The Russian doctor P.Z. put an end to the history of non-professional obstetricians. Kondoidi, who became the first founder of obstetric schools in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Since 1757, the profession of obstetrician has acquired a new meaning and reached a new level of development.
