How to Become a Labor and Delivery Doctor

Did you know that approximately 80% of obstetric and gynecologist doctors are women? This is in marked contrast to 50 years ago when the vast majority of delivery doctor specialists were all men.

Many young people dream of growing up to become a doctor who delivers babies. After all, this is one of the most profound moments of any mother’s life. Being a childbirth doctor can be very challenging and also very rewarding. But just exactly what kind of training do you need before you become a labor doctor?

In this article, we will walk you through everything you need to know about what it means to be an OBGYN and deliver babies in the modern healthcare system.

What is a Labor and Delivery Doctor?

Labor and delivery doctors are also known as obstetricians. This is an older term referring to doctors who specialize in the management of women before, during, and after childbirth.

Some labor and delivery doctors only focus on the actual delivery, whereas others will see pregnant patients from conception all the way up through delivery and beyond.

Ultimately, you have some say over what type of practice you want to create. Many labor and delivery doctors also do general women’s health and other types of surgeries.

In emergencies, doctors need to know how to use critical care ultrasound to diagnose their patients. This is an advanced skill that requires specialized training.

How Can I Become an Obstetrician?

To become an obstetrician, you’ll need to complete undergraduate coursework including many premed classes. These include a lot of courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. You’ll also need to standardized testing to get into medical school.

After you have been accepted into medical school, you will complete four years of training. The first two years generally focus on learning about different types of systems in the body. The second two years involve hospital-based rotations in which you will sample the kind of work that many different types of doctors do. You’ll have a few months on the labor and delivery service during this time.

After that, you’ll go to an obstetrics and gynecology residency for four years. During this time, you’ll learn about the primary management of women in all sorts of health situations, including childbirth.

After this, you will be allowed to practice as an independent obstetrician, delivering babies as your career.

Becoming a Delivery Doctor

At the end of the day, becoming a delivery doctor is an extremely rewarding profession. You get to hand over a baby to his or her mother for the first time. This is often the beginning of a lifelong relationship built on love.

If you want to experience this joy every day, you’ll need to go to medical school and residency before you are allowed to practice independently.

If you enjoyed this article about how to become an obstetrician, please check out the other articles on our blog!