“There is a bond that can form between a provider when he or she sees a woman throughout a pregnancy, delivery and the postpartum period. Both the provider and the patient feel it.”
I saw a 2-month old baby, Rafael, with his mother, Raquel, in October. This was her first baby, and I started asking Raquel about herself and her baby because, I explained, I had not seen them previously. She corrected me, saying that yes, I actually had seen her before. Raquel told me that she had been talking with her mother. Her mother once lived in Milwaukee but had since moved back to her native Jalisco. Raquel’s mother had also been a patient at Sixteenth Street. She remembered the physicians and asked Raquel who she would be seeing. When Raquel told her that it would be me, Dr. Carroll, her mother was delighted. Her mother told her that I had been at Raquel’s own birth in 1996. Raquel’s mother even had a picture of me after Raquel’s birth, though I was apparently so gowned up that I was unrecognizable.
After reminiscing, we went ahead with the baby’s well child check. Raquel is lovely. She is clearly a marvelous mother. There is a bond that can form between a provider when he or she sees a woman throughout a pregnancy, delivery and the postpartum period. Both the provider and the patient feel it.
I had the same thing happen recently with a patient whom I saw for 12 weeks of treatment for latent TB. She brought her daughters along with her for each visit. Last week, I saw her for her diabetes after not having seen her for a couple of months. Along came the daughters with her, and I think we were all just delighted to hang out together again.
Raquel’s story illustrates Sixteenth Street’s continuity of provision of health care here in the Chavez neighborhood. Our care crosses generations. Raquel’s mother assured her I would do a good job with Raquel. I felt honored. I made sure, and will continue to make sure, I do just that.