You may be wondering if choosing a women’s healthcare specialist rather than a general doctor is a good move for you. And if you’re like many women, you may not be entirely clear about all the different medical roles there are in women’s healthcare that you may come across!
For example, here’s a list of some of those specialists:
- Gynecologist
- Obstetrician
- Reproductive Endocrinologists (treating related hormonal disorders)
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists (helping with high-risk pregnancies)
- Urogynecologists (dealing with female pelvic medicine)
- Gynecologic Oncologists (dealing with reproductive tract cancers)
- Fertility Specialists
- Menopause Specialists
- Breast Care Specialists
- Pelvic Pain Specialists
- Midwives
Your primary care doctor may, for example, refer you to a gynecologist and obstetrician. But all these specialists work together, consulting with each other when necessary to ensure you receive the best possible care as a woman.
In this post, however, we’ll talk in detail about the role of gynecologists and obstetricians and the roles they play when you attend advanced women’s health centers. There’s some overlap and we’ll point that out too.
Women’s Healthcare Specialist: the Gynecologist
Routine Examinations and Preventive Care:
This includes things you should have regularly, such as pelvic exams, Pap smears, breast exams, and screenings for sexually transmitted infections. Your gynecologist, as an women’s healthcare specialist, is experienced in – and alert for – catching any issues early to give you the best chance of resolving the problem.
Fertility and Contraception Counseling:
If you need advice on family planning and contraceptive options so that you can have children at a time of your choosing – or not at all – a gynecologist is your go-to healthcare specialist. But an obstetrician will also help with these issues. It makes sense to address future family planning at the same time if they’re already involved with you during pregnancy and postpartum care!
Diagnosis and Treatment of Gynecological Conditions:
Your gynecologist will be involved in addressing issues you may have. These night include menstrual disorders, pelvic pain, fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, or infections. If necessary, they can consult with the fertility specialists and pelvic pain specialists we mentioned up top to ensure the best outcomes for you.
Surgical Procedures:
Perhaps the role people mostly associate with gynecologists is that of performing surgeries such as hysterectomies, laparoscopies, and other procedures related to reproductive health. But as women’s healthcare specialists, they have a far wider skill set! For example…
Menopause Management:
One of the roles you might not think of as belonging to gynecology is assisting you with those annoying symptoms of menopause. The ones that can make you feel tired and irritable as you enter the perimenopause years! You might want to talk about, for example, vaginal dryness affecting your sex life. As a women’s healthcare specialist, your gynecologist can discuss how hormone therapy may help. They can also offer information about other health changes that occur during these years and how to manage them – or refer you to a menopause specialist.
General Health Guidance:
Your gynecologist is expert in any aspect of your health as a woman that has an effect on your reproductive or sexual health. This might include diet, exercise, or lifestyle choices.
Remember that, before they specialized, all gynecologists and obstetricians underwent lengthy medical training and are conversant with many issues! But let’s turn to obstetricians now.
Women’s Healthcare Specialist: the Obstetrician
Pregnancy Care:
When thinking about ObGyn care, you probably know that an obstetrician will often undertake aspects of your prenatal care and testing. This includes monitoring the health of you and the fetus growing inside you, and managing any pregnancy related condition. They can also provide birth plans. However, you may also have a midwife who will be with you during your labor and birth. They, too, can help you plan in advance for those events.
Childbirth Assistance:
An obstetrician will manage your labor and delivery, and especially be involved in cesarean deliveries.
Postpartum Care:
As part of your women’s healthcare ObGyn team, your obstetrician will follow up with care after childbirth, including physical and emotional support – especially if you’ve had a difficult or high-risk pregnancy. An example might be if you need help with postpartum hemorrhage management.
Fertility and Contraception Counseling:
Your obstetric specialist can give you advice on family planning and fertility evaluations. But see above and below, as gynecologists also do this!
Referral and Coordination of Care:
As a women’s healthcare specialist, your obstetrician can give advice about pregnancy-related and childbirth issues, coordinating among their colleagues to get you the best care for you.
Overlapping Roles of Women’s Healthcare Specialists
Many specialists in this field consult with related specialists to bring you the best health outcomes. And many are trained in both disciplines (ObGyn) and also alongside midwives, so that their role in women’s healthcare can be professionally interdisciplinary.
For example, as we’ve seen, both a gynecologist and an obstetrician can be involved in
- referral and coordination of your care as a woman,
- general health guidance on your overall health, including anything that affects your reproductive and sexual health, and
- fertility and contraception counseling.
So – when might you see one or the other? This depends on what you’re expecting them to help you with, and perhaps whether you’re already under the care of one of them.
Gynecologists are well versed in various contraceptive options and can help in selecting the one that best suits your health and lifestyle. They can help with fertility concerns you may have, such as discussing menstrual cycle irregularities, sexual health, or pre-conception health. They can also conduct initial assessments and provide guidance on how to optimize your fertility.
Obstetricians often handle cases that involve pregnancy management, including fertility treatments like IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). When planning for a pregnancy – especially if you have a known medical condition or previous pregnancy complication – an obstetrician can provide you with more targeted advice and care plans.
Find the Best ObGyn in Dallas with Stella Mattina
If you want the best women’s healthcare possible in both primary care and ObGyn in Dallas, Stella Mattina prides itself on easy-to-access, comprehensive medical services for all women. We offer appointments as early as today, accept most insurances, and tailor our services to your unique needs as a woman.
Looking for a women’s healthcare specialist to be sure your ObGyn needs are met with compassion by board-certified physicians?
Contact us today and let’s discuss your unique requirements.
Dr. Krum is currently in practice in Arlington, TX. He received his undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University, then attended UTMB Galveston for medical school, finishing in 1986, completing his residency there in 1990. Providing a full range of obstetrical and gynecological care, he specializes in the treatment of endometriosis and robotic surgery. He arranges his schedule so that same-day appointments are usually available.