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View Full Version : how far away is your OB's office...?



brgnmom
06-29-2010, 01:48 AM
...and how far would you be willing to drive to see your OB? I'm switching OB providers in July and found out that my new OB's office is about 10 miles away from our place (20-25 minutes driving on local roads, in order to avoid LA highway traffic). And it would take about 20-30 minutes to drive there from my son's school this fall. Do you think this is too far away? I've heard many good things about my OB and I know I'm switching providers kind of late during my pregnancy (I wish I didn't have to but I need to b/c my former OB is in another state on the opposite coast).

Just curious how far you're willing to drive to see your OB provider. :) Thanks!

fumofu
06-29-2010, 02:47 AM
I'm about 10 minutes away from my OB right now, but we're in the process of moving, where he'll be 25 minutes away, up to 35 in traffic. He's also a pediatrician; right now we plan on seeing him when LO is born. I'll be a SAHM, so the commute is not a problem. When I reenter the workforce, we may consider finding someone closer.

MoJo
06-29-2010, 04:17 AM
40 minutes from my home; 10 minutes from where I work. (During the 1st pg, I was always driving from work; during the 2nd, from home.)

I'm very happy with my OB & CNMs & didn't give a single thought to trying to find someone closer for the 2nd pg.

Momit
06-29-2010, 05:38 AM
Mine was about 30 minutes away. I first chose her when I only needed a gyn (and not the ob part), and she was 5 minutes from my office. Then I got pregnant and changed jobs and she was 30 minutes from home and the new job. I really liked her and never felt like it was too far.

WatchingThemGrow
06-29-2010, 06:41 AM
Mine's very close, but I have to drive through campus, park in a deck, and walk across a bridge, so it takes about 20 min. to get TO the office even though it is no more than 2 miles away. With valet, it's faster.

KrisM
06-29-2010, 07:36 AM
My current one is about a 30 minute drive and then another 10 to get to the office, since it's in the hospital.

When I had DD, I used an OB only 10 minutes away and that was nice, but he was always so late it just really didn't matter! With DS1, I was about 40 minutes from home, but only 20 from work.

Of the 3 I used to have babies, I like the overall office of where I am now the best, so I'm staying even though it's a drive.

DietCokeLover
06-29-2010, 07:59 AM
My ob is over an hour away. I live in the middle of nowhere though and have to travel an hour to get anywhere.

ehlana06
06-29-2010, 08:44 AM
My OB is about 35 minutes away. I refuse to have anything to do with our local hospital and/or doctors. Everytime I have gone there they have done more harm than good to me. I drive to the next town for all of our family's doctoring needs. Plus my OB is known to be one of the best in our area. :)

SnuggleBuggles
06-29-2010, 09:05 AM
My midwives were about 25 minutes away, a bit less if no traffic (rare). 100% worth it to have the midwives and birthing center.

Beth

boltfam
06-29-2010, 09:14 AM
My OB is about 35 min. away. It's a little inconvenient but I really like him, so I'm willing to make the drive.

ewpmsw
06-29-2010, 10:16 AM
My midwives' practice is with an Ob practice at a hospital 30 minutes/18 miles away. I always add 15 minutes for finding a parking space, but it's worth it.

luckytwenty
06-29-2010, 10:28 AM
My current OB is five minutes from my house, but the first OB I went to 8 years ago was a 40 minute drive, though right across the street from my office. I liked him so much better than the OB I started out with, who was near my house but a real jerk. The only time the distance ever was an issue was the day my water broke, and driving to a hospital 40 minutes away in rush hour morning traffic kind of sucked--but the baby arrived 14 hours later anyway. :-P

brgnmom
06-29-2010, 11:05 AM
thank you all for your replies! They really help place my concerns in perspective. I'll be meeting my new OB soon in early July, and she has received great reviews and I'm hoping that it all goes well. I do have two other OB recommendations, and the offices are closer -- but I don't think that my health insurance covers them.

My former OB in Boston was great and her office was just a 15-minute drive away, but once I got there, I had to wait sometimes more than an hour just to see her. The administrative staff didn't keep patients informed when there would be a long wait or if the appointment needed to be rescheduled until the patient arrived at the office -- and that was a turn-off. I still stuck with my former OB because she delivered my DS.

swissair81
06-29-2010, 02:01 PM
30 minutes from my house. The hospital I'm delivering at is 30-40 minutes away. I switched just to use my particular OB (and it would kind of be a bummer if he wasn't there.) Even worse, my OB's wife is due a month before me & he's taking 3 weeks off at the beginning of August. He will be coming back when I am 38.5 weeks. It's the first time I am actually hoping to not be so early. DS was born at 38 weeks & 6 days, so it could happen, right? In the meantime, I'm getting to know his 2 partners REALLY well.

newg
06-29-2010, 02:18 PM
the high-rish OB's office I go to is in a hospital downtown.....so I usually give myself an hour to get there, find a parking space, walk through the hospital and check in.
My normal gyno's office is about 30 min. away.

bostonsmama
06-29-2010, 02:28 PM
We drive 15 miles each way, and without bad traffic it avgs 20-25 minutes (plus parking garage hunting time). We have a bridge and tunnel to go through, and it's a draw bridge w/ regular openings, so if we get stuck, it can make it 45min-1hr. Luckily we only see my OB every 4 weeks now. In the beginning it was & at the end it'll be weekly, but she's worth her weight in gold. I'm high risk, so I didn't really have the option of a midwife closer in town.

Roni
06-29-2010, 07:59 PM
Mine is about 30 minutes away, although I noticed that it took a little less time than that this morning. They recently put in a new access road that makes it a little quicker. The hospital is across the street, and that is the closest hospital to me. With dd #1 (before we moved), my OB and hospital were more like 40-45 minutes away. There were closer hospitals to me, but that was where I wanted to go.

JTsMom
06-30-2010, 02:34 PM
An hour and a half. Do I win? ;) Totally worth it too.

Tanya
07-05-2010, 02:35 PM
The hospital I'll deliver at and my midwives/OB are 45-60 minutes away. I'm pregnant with twins this time and they aren't concerned about it.

I was nervous about it the first time, but other than having back labor and hating the car ride, it was fine. Water broke at 6:30am, had baby at 1:30pm.

For my second, my water broke right after a prenatal exam, so I was 5 minutes from the hospital. Baby came 17 hours later and I ended up with pitocin to get things moving.

One advantage for me going where I go is that my parents live near my OB, so I can drop off a kid or two if I need/want to.

catsnkid
07-05-2010, 06:00 PM
Mine is 20 minutes away, 10 minutes from my work, 5 minutes from hubbies. There are three hospitals all about 20 minutes away, I didn't care as long as I didn't go to one of them- the other two are pretty much comparable and affiliated with each other. I actually work 5 minutes away from one of them, but delivered at the other.