Dr. John Thompson?

[Tarah813]

 

I am debating switching my OB and I have heard a few good things about Dr. Thompson, including that he will attend a VBAC. I had a c-section in Oct. 2009 and am now considering my option of VBAC.   I am not pregnant yet, but we will start trying this summer.  Any good experiences with him?  Bad experiences?  Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[DoulaHeather]

There is quite a bit of information about him in the Care Provider thread.  

I highly recommend also going to meet with Dr. James Ross.  

You need to be aware that he does induce a good number of his patients, including VBAC and VBAmC.   Do as much research as you can so you are able to make an informed decision about your care.  

[JaimeLynn918]

I asked the same thing about 2 weeks ago in this forum and got some great feedback.  I will forward one of the lengthy responses I got.  Otherwise check out the last few pages in the long thread in this group.  You'll see tons of info.

[Tarah813]

Thanks.

[rkirkeby]

I'm seeing him. He is very pro VBAC, but doesn't seem to be very pro natural childbirth. I don't think I'll have to fight him on anything, but he's kinda flippant about some of the things I want.

[JaimeLynn918]

Uh oh rkirkeby.  That concerns me.  Can you give us a few examples of some dialogue you've had with him?

[rkirkeby]

When we went over my birth plan, he was very flippant about my desire for no pain meds. He also typically wants to induce at 39 weeks for a VBAC. He said that after 39 weeks the functionality of the placenta starts to decrease & he believes that inducing is best practice. I know that is common for Dr.s who will attend a VBAC, but it's just so different from my experience with my previous OB.

While he isn't very pro natural childbirth, I do think he is the best option we have for a VBAC in the area.

[Stephs9]

I'm not sure I agree that he is the best or only chance for VBAC success in the area, but he is the only OB currently accepting VBAmC patients.

[khas3]

He was the same way with me, but when it got right down do it, he acutally never recommended an induction.  I had to beg for one.  I too wanted an all natural birth and was turned off when he seemed so "pro intervention" early in my pg, but in the end I felt an induction would be best for my situation.  I had to talk him into it though.  Even when he agreed to do it, he started it out slow and increased it very slowly to give my body a chance to kick off on it's own.  Pit was started at 1 and upped by 1 every half hour (vs starting at 2 and upping by 2 every 15 minutes!) and he shut it off once I was in a regular pattern, that was at 13 for me. 

All this to say that he talks up induction in the beginning, but he doesn't use it unless he feels it is necessary.  My friend VBA2C in March of last year and he never brought it up with her either until her blood pressure went up.  Even then, he only recommended it because he felt she was pretty close as it was and ended up going into labor on her own before they started the induction.  That was at like 39.5 weeks or so.

Anyway, he WILL let you call the shots even if he disagrees.  I refused having my water broke and he respected that decision, said it would speed the process up for me but that he was willing to wait as long as it took for my labor to progress without AROM.  He also talked a big game about an epidural, but in the end didn't push it at all.  I also refused an episiotomy which he respected as well. 

He talks a lot about interventions, but he won't push them on you.  Just know that he knows how to use these interventions APPROPRIATELY whereas other OB's use them for convenience or non-medical reasons.   Dr. Thompson won't do that, he will only use them when he feels they are REALLY necessary.  This was my experience as well as my friend's experience.  So please don't be scared off by his big talk about interventions, just know they are there if you NEED them and that he knows how to use them effectively. 

If anyone has any questions for me about my experience, I would love to answer them!!  Please feel free to PM me!! 

[kcondict]

Dr. Thompson told me the same thing about induction at 39 weeks.  At 38 weeks 5 days I had spotting and went to the hospital, turned out to be nothing.  He wanted me to either stay at the hospital that night to be monitored or stay at a hotel (because I live in Norman and he didn't want me to go into labor on the way home).  Even though he doesn't have office visits Friday he saw me first thing Friday morning.  He said I was closed super tight and starting to get soft.  (This was one day shy of 39 weeks).  He said we could induce, but he didn't think it was a good idea because my body wasn't ready and it would more than likely end in a c-section.  

I went back for my regular appointed that next Tuesday at 39 weeks 3 days.  My blood pressure was high and it turned out that I had made a ton of progress.  I was 100% effaced and at a 2.  He told me that he thought we should do the induction because my body was ready and my bp was high.  He called the hospital and told me I could either go that same day, but they were busy and I'd have to wait around, I could go the next morning, or I could even go on Thursday morning (I would have been 40 weeks on that Saturday).  

I chose the next morning.  I went into labor that night.  He told me that when I went into labor it would be fast because I was so ready.  Sure enough, got to the hospital around 2 am and had my baby in my arms by 5:15.  No inductions, no AROM, I did get an epidural but it didn't really kick in because the labor was so fast; i went from a 4 to a 10 in 30 minutes or less.

Dr. T also told me he wanted me to stay in Tulsa starting when I was 38 weeks.  When it came down to it he never mentioned it again.  I think he says a bunch of stuff because he believes it's true in theory.  In reality he does what you need to have your baby the way you should have your baby.

I wonder if he's flippant about no meds because he's seen countless women have babies and most end up with meds.  It hurts A LOT!  :)  What really hurt for me too was when he stuck his hand up inside me to feel all around my uterus to make sure that there weren't any tears.  I got an epidural but my labor was too fast for it to kick in very much, so I felt most everything.  I can't imagine if what I was feeling at that point was dulled, because it was very uncomfortable to say the least.

[DoulaHeather]

I wonder if he's flippant about no meds because he's seen countless women have babies and most end up with meds.  

Most doctors and even RNs NEVER see a natural, physiological birth during their training and practice.