Andrea Eisenberg is a obstetrician-gynecologist who blogs at Secret Life of an OB/GYN.

The inspiring growth of a doctor-patient relationship

Physician
July 18, 2017

Some days, it is about crossing paths with others that bring a smile to your face. Here is one such individual.

Sitting in my office was my new patient and her husband. She was a just-pregnant Brazilian woman wearing a warm smile; he was an older, overweight, unkempt American who sat uncomfortably in the chair. I imagined he had never been to a gynecologist’s office and was perhaps unsure what to …

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The inspiring growth of a doctor-patient relationship

Caught between the ideal of breastfeeding and the reality of doing it

Physician
June 16, 2017

On a recent vacation in St. Lucia, I came across this mama nursing her babies. “Public breastfeeding. How great!” I thought. But, after posting this picture on Facebook, these were some of the responses: “Yikes! They need to be weaned!” and “they are pretty big to be still nursing.” This, of course, got my head whirling about people’s attitudes toward breastfeeding.

On the surface, …

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Caught between the ideal of breastfeeding and the reality of doing it

Seeing your gynecologist is not just for a Pap smear

Physician
May 29, 2017

Some days, I get so frustrated at work. Yes, we all have our frustrations. Maybe traffic is slow, and you get to work late. Maybe you spill your coffee on your work clothes as you walk into your office. Maybe someone calls in sick, and you are short help at work. But this is big! Like so big, it can impact the trajectory of someone’s life. They, in turn, are forced …

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Seeing your gynecologist is not just for a Pap smear

No words can convey the gratitude I have for nurses

Physician
May 10, 2017

The nurse grabs me: “You have to check my patient now! She is screaming and bearing down.”

Without letting go of my hand, she leads me into the labor room. I don’t even consider saying no, I know not to question this nurse. She has been a labor and delivery nurse nearly as long as I have been alive; she knows much more than I about everything.

The room is dark, but …

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No words can convey the gratitude I have for nurses

What is the right way to deliver bad news?

Physician
May 2, 2017

Recently, someone close to me was diagnosed with cancer. Due to a series of missed phone calls on both sides, he had not heard the results of his biopsy prior to his follow up appointment. When his young doctor walked in, he started with, “So you know you have cancer, right?” I just wanted to scream, “What the f*ck!”  It is never easy to give someone bad news, but this …

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What is the right way to deliver bad news?

If she gets pregnant, she might die. Do I help?

Physician
April 26, 2017

When I started out in practice, I worked at one of the few hospitals in the area that accepted Jehovah Witness patients. Their beliefs prohibit them from accepting blood transfusions or blood products. Many hospitals are concerned about the liability of allowing a patient who refuses necessary blood products to die. For this reason, these institutions are not welcoming to Jehovah Witnesses. This is of special concern in surgical specialties …

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If she gets pregnant, she might die. Do I help?

I failed my patient, and it’s a burden I’ll carry with me

Physician
April 12, 2017

This happened in my first couple years of practice, but I will never forget her.

I stood at the doorway of the funeral home, a 26-year-old mother lying in the open casket was off to the side. Standing out among the crowd of mourners was a tall man holding his one-year-old daughter, her curly locks of hair bouncing as he moved.

Soon after they were married, she became pregnant. They were a …

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I failed my patient, and it’s a burden I’ll carry with me

My cold hands met their match

Physician
March 27, 2017

Despite living in Michigan for over 30 years, my cold hands disclose my Southern California origin. As a physician, these cold hands have touched many lives. For my pregnant patients, they usually sigh with relief as I touch their bellies, the coolness of my hands offering them respite from the inferno growing inside them. They smile when I tell them I can feel their baby squirming and how it is …

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My cold hands met their match

Sex talks with 60 year olds

Physician
March 20, 2017

As a gynecologist, I not only witness new love but have to regularly ask about it because it can impact my patient’s health. They may need birth control, STI screening and counseling, or pre-conceptual counseling. Then there is one of my favorite group of patients: those that are “older” and entering into new relationships either for the first time or following a divorce or loss of a spouse. The balance …

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Sex talks with 60 year olds

Stop judging: Sometimes terminating a pregnancy is necessary

Physician
March 13, 2017

The women’s health has a history of being a volatile sector, especially of late. It is an area of medicine where politicians think they can have access to intimate and confidential patient-physician relationships. This is unacceptable and an invasion of privacy.

Voluntary termination of pregnancy. Voluntary interruption of pregnancy. These are the medical terms for what the layperson thinks of as an abortion.

Missed abortion. Threatened abortion. Incomplete abortion. Spontaneous abortion. Septic …

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Stop judging: Sometimes terminating a pregnancy is necessary

Patients are unique with individual needs. That is the art of medicine.

Physician
February 15, 2017

On a busy day in the office, a patient was added to my schedule for “bleeding, early pregnancy.” She was one of my partner’s patients, but he was not in the office that day. We talked for a minute, then I examined her and did an ultrasound. As I expected, she was in the process of a miscarriage. Unfortunately, I, who wasn’t her regular doctor, had to give her this …

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Patients are unique with individual needs. That is the art of medicine.

The last 2 patients of the day couldn’t be more different

Physician
February 10, 2017

The other day, the last two appointments on my schedule were “unable to get pregnant, consult” and “pregnant, desires a termination.” Even my medical assistant commented about the timing of those last two patients. Although these are not unusual issues for patients to see me about, the fact I was seeing them back to back, haunted me all day. Why? Why did life deal them these cards? Did fate make …

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The last 2 patients of the day couldn’t be more different

A gift of homemade food is the ultimate gift of love

Physician
January 25, 2017

Food. Such a universal sign of love. For me, a gift of homemade food is the ultimate gift of love. So when a patient brings me food, not like a box of chocolates, but something they have spent time considering and preparing, I know I have touched them in a unique and special way. These are a few of those special stories.

Chex mix

Every December I see her for her yearly …

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A gift of homemade food is the ultimate gift of love

A harrowing C-section, performed on a close friend

Conditions
January 4, 2017

We chat about the day, as I use a sharp knife to cut into her. We joke about my kids, as the blood is spurting. We reminisce about our friendship, as I rip open her tissue.

For most surgeons, their patients are asleep as they perform their surgery. In obstetrics, however, we want our patients awake, not only to witness their baby’s arrival, but also because it is safer. When I …

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A harrowing C-section, performed on a close friend

The loss of a pregnancy is never taken lightly

Physician
December 18, 2016

Voluntary termination of pregnancy. Voluntary interruption of pregnancy. These are the medical terms for what the layperson thinks of as an abortion.

Missed abortion. Threatened abortion. Incomplete abortion. Spontaneous abortion. Septic abortion. Inevitable abortion. These are medical terms for the failure of a pregnancy.

All these medical terms are just that: medical terms. Nomenclature to differentiate biological processes, so as doctors, we can clearly communicate what is happening with our patients. However, …

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The loss of a pregnancy is never taken lightly

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