Ever wonder if your doctor or specialist follows their own advice? Sunnybrook experts get candid with the approaches they take in their personal lives.
Dr. Noor Ladhani is Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) Specialist in Sunnybrook’s DAN Women & Babies Program. MFMs are part of a team providing high-quality care during labor and childbirth.
You really are living your work right now.
Yes, I’m a pregnant obstetrician! My first daughter is almost 3, so this will be my second child.
Is it hard changing your hat from caregiver to patient?
No, I just let my amazing team take care of me. I delivered my daughter at Sunnybrook and plan to do the same with this baby. I trust everybody and we have a great centre so I wouldn’t dream of delivering anywhere else.
Knowing what you know, does that make pregnancy and labour easier or harder?
It probably does both, so I try to focus on the positive. I know what people can do in pregnancy and what helps them feel “normal” and healthy – like staying active – so I try to focus on that. Of course, there are risks and sometimes things don’t go as planned.
Are you able to bond with your patients differently being pregnant?
I think it’s fun, but I try not to get too personal because everybody’s path is different. For example, even though I’m having a pregnancy where I’m able to work and be active, not everyone is on that same path.
What are your thoughts on giving personal advice?
I think if people ask for advice, then that’s fine. But unsolicited advice is always tricky. The thing we have to remember with advice is that not everything applies to everybody, and that’s why we do research studies. We also shouldn’t give advice we can’t follow ourselves.
Is there any professional advice you give to patients that you find hard to follow yourself?
We always say to have a healthy well-balanced diet, but sometimes our pregnancy appetite doesn’t allow us to follow those Health Canada nutrition guidelines completely! I do my best, but once in a while I’ll have ice cream and some salty snack foods.
Are people extra judgy during your pregnancy because you’re a doctor too?
Generally, no, but sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when I get my coffee order in the morning.
What’s the hardest part of being pregnant for you?
Just the anticipation of what this person is going to be like, when are they going to come and how our family will look afterwards.
And the best?
It’s fun to have a buddy with you all the time. I love the baby’s movement and reassurance of that.
What attracted you to this line of work?
I’m the first doctor in my family. I always had an interest in public health so after medical school I wanted to do something that was a normal part of a person’s life. That’s why obstetrics was interesting, but I also really liked the surgery and the medical specialization.
It will be quite the moment when you are delivering the babies of the babies you helped deliver.
That’s when I know it will be time to retire!
