Helpful Literature?

For starters, I want to make it quite clear that I have the utmost respect and admiration for medical professionals. The majority of my extended family and friends are doctors and nurses, and I am in awe of the healing gifts with which God has blessed them. (Don't get me started on how insurance companies are slowly suffocating their fields with disrespect and red tape.) I was also a medical assistant for a few years at my father's pediatric practice, so patient care (both sides) is not a foreign concept to me.

The fact is, quoted by my doctor amongst many others, the vast majority of post 2nd-trimester pregnancies (98%) end in a healthy baby and healthy mom. Because of this great news (and it really is awesome, when you think about it), I have a feeling that obstetrics is fairly run-of-the-mill (as far as procedures go) most of the time, injected with 2% adrenaline. The stats are in favor of the doctors', nurses', and med assistants' tendency towards apathy regarding 98% of pregnancy aches and pains because of the awesomeness of God's Creation towards furthering future generations!

Nick and I had a normal non-stress test today, our dozenth one or so. At the end of the visit, the new med assistant nervously asked, "Have you been given your postpartum literature?" Well, this sounded fancy, albeit strange coming from someone other than the doctor...as I would assume he would have gone over it with us himself at our other weekly visit. She rustled through a few files in the bottom drawer of a cabinet and emerged with four xeroxed sheets, stapled, with the heading "Labor & Delivery Instructions." She handed them to us, saying "These are some important things to remember. You're all set! Have a good day!" I swear to you, I thought she was joking. As we looked it over in the car, we were horrified to realize that they were serious. The black copied hair marks, faded lines from an overused toner cartridge, and body text in all caps with a smattering of typos all stood as monuments to that 98% apathy rate.The pages included when we needed to call them because I might be in labor, and 3 pages of after-birth instructions, including an informative 5 lines on breastfeeding help, which I'm sure is all anyone needs, right? Where was the REAL information? Where was the sit-down discussion asking if we had any questions? Where was the spellchecker? Let's just say, it's a good thing Nick and I have already devoured 5 pregnancy/delivery books and have taken 4 weeks of a childbirthing class, (none of which we found out about through this practice) or I might be just a little concerned at this point.

Now, please don't misunderstand me, I don't expect me or my child to receive special treatment for any reason. I am fully aware that I am merely another baby growing machine with a swollen uterus, and should one of the 5 doctors in this high-end big-city practice happen to be there to catch my kid, they get paid for it by our insurance company. I am their best-case-scenario patient...I am realistic, healthy, self-motivated, educated, and no-nonsense. I am not worried about labor and delivery, or even postpartum stuff. But what about the women who aren't? Compassion, empathy, and sympathy go a long way, not to mention a little time.

There's no doubt I have trust issues with the medical sector, and this comes from having been raised by two of the best D.O.'s east of the Mississippi, and being blessed to know some of the most loving, caring, and amazing nurses as a mother- and sisters-in-law. I've been ruined; I know how good the medical field can be, because I've been surrounded by the best. But that's no excuse for everyone else to hit apathetic mediocrity and be ok with it, is it?