Pregnancy. That dramatic period that makes a woman’s body go to hell and back, a price paid for bringing forth a new human being. That period of anxiety where one moment you are well; in the next you need an ambulance. That process characterised by anxiety, web searches, consultations with experts and pseudo-experts, and the like.
As women navigate that roller-coaster, a knowledgeable person becomes a necessity, and that is where obstetricians and gynaecologists come in.
Obstetricians are experts in matters of pregnancy and birth while gynaecologists are masters of women’s reproductive health in general. Some experts combine the two fields and become obstetricians-gynaecologists, or OB-GYNs in common parlance.
Once they form a bond with a woman, these experts forge friendships that can go on for the rest of their lives. What follows are WhatsApp images sent in panic, phone calls at odd hours, “visit the clinic immediately” calls, to name but a few.
For Ms Claire Munde, a journalist and a mother of two, the need for a dedicated OB-GYN came during her first pregnancy. Her visits to a general hospital brought her face-to-face with a system stretched thin and consultations that were impersonal and emotionally exhausting.
“You’d spend hours in line for a first-come-first-served appointment, only to be rushed through a five-minute consultation. On my third visit, after enduring a three-hour wait while nauseated and constipated, the doctor told me to ‘hurry up’ as I tried to explain my symptoms,” she recalls in her 2025 book Bounce Back Babe.
“Instead of offering support, I was curtly told to ‘force yourself to eat leafy greens’ or risk haemorrhoids,” adds Ms Munde, who has children aged four and two.
In an interview with Nation Lifestyle , Ms Munde said she would go to a hospital having recorded her recent observations in a diary and expecting answers, only to end up disappointed.
“I’d go there with my list of things, of symptoms I’ve faced, ready to ask ‘I went through this. Is it okay? Is this normal?’ and whatnot. But it’s like they had it in mind that ‘it’s five minutes we’re giving you. And after five minutes, be gone,’” said Ms Munde, who is also a communications specialist, emcee and corporate panel moderator.
Sylvia Moraa Muthii, a mother of three who is a music teacher, and who is expecting her fourth child, has maintained the same gynaecologist who saw her through her first pregnancy in 2013.
Photo credit: Pool
The day she was told to hurry up, she says, was the turning point.
Her experience is not unique. In Kenya and across the globe, many women describe antenatal care as fragmented, hurried, and transactional. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has previously explained the need to treat pregnant women with care, saying health workers need to clearly explain procedures, reduce waiting times, and actively listen to their patients’ concerns.
At the height of Ms Munde’s disappointment with the care she was receiving, she was advised to get in touch with a personal OB-GYN, which was possible thanks to her insurance cover.
“I didn’t know him,” she said. “It was a referral from a friend of mine.”
“My first consultation involved only a brief 20-minute wait, and I finally felt seen and heard,” she writes in her book, regretting her decision not to get a dedicated OB-GYN on board so as to save her insurance cover.
For the first time, she experienced what continuity of care meant. Appointments were kept. Consultations were unhurried. All her questions, however trivial, were answered without condescension.
“I was like, ‘So, it’s not that OB-GYNs are just unbothered people,’” she told Nation Lifestyle.
“Since then, I’ve relied on the same OB-GYN for my pregnancies and couldn’t be happier,” she writes in her book. “For anyone navigating this journey, I highly recommend ‘shopping’ for a personal OB-GYN (and later, paediatrician) to ensure consistent, compassionate care. It makes all the difference.”
Her book, which is a pre-and post-pregnancy manual for mothers, advocates for shopping for an OB-GYN and sticking with them.
“If you’re clear about when you want to begin your pregnancy journey, don’t walk it alone. Start shopping for a personal OB-GYN if you don’t already have one,” she writes. “I use the term ‘shopping’ because pregnancy is a sensitive journey, and it’s crucial to find an OB-GYN you feel comfortable with throughout each stage. While finances are an important consideration, it’s worth prioritising a personal OB-GYN over general physicians whenever possible.”
Ms Munde told Nation Lifestyle: “Referral does not always work because I could click with you but somebody else might not. So, it’s good to get a referral, but it is not a guarantee that you will click with the person. Go see the referral and if you click, well and good. If not, you keep on shopping until you get the right person.”
“There are also preferences,” she added. “Some people prefer a woman; others prefer a man.”
Mrs Sylvia Moraa Muthii, a music teacher in Nairobi, also got her OB-GYN through referral. She told Nation Lifestyle that her three children born in 2013, 2018 and 2024, plus her current pregnancy that is at six months, have been entrusted in the hands of one expert.
Claire Munde, a mother of two who is a journalist, author and corporate emcee, has stuck with the same gynaecologist since her first delivery.
Photo credit: Pool
“He’s really walked with me. We really bonded and he is that gyna [short for gynaecologist] that you can call anytime, especially when I’m pregnant, and he responds immediately,” says Mrs Muthii.
Ms Munde, too, cherishes the fact that she never needs to go to hospital or a clinic for some consultations. Times without number, she has used just her phone.
“I would text him on WhatsApp and he’d respond. And that to me was a plus. I would not call because I didn’t know if he was in the theatre or he was in a labour room. I would text and, for the most part, he would respond very fast. That was very reassuring,” she said, recalling her pregnancy journeys. “You don’t want to reach out to a doctor and then they’re unreachable or they text you the next day.”
Mrs Muthii explains that some of the over-the-phone consultations sometimes end up in summons to the clinic. Her husband, Mr Mark Muthii Mbogo, described the OB-GYN as “very efficient”.
“He is the person who, if you make a call when you feel a certain complication or if you feel something unusual or abnormal, can sometimes advise you on the medication you can buy over the counter. He writes your prescription, which he can send via WhatsApp or such a thing, or just give you a name of a drug to buy,” said Mr Muthii, a medic.
“When a case needs a crucial observation, he will ask you to take medication for two or three days then go visit him to see if it has improved,” he added. “It really helps to have a gyna with you. It’s not easy, it’s not cheap in terms of finance, but you cannot compare how expensive a child can be with the much you will use to set the child on a smooth journey.”
Medical research supports what women like Ms Munde and Mrs Muthii have come to learn on the value of continuity of care. In the United States, for instance, various researches have shown that women who see fewer clinicians during pregnancy report higher trust and better appreciation of medics while fragmented care erodes confidence in medical decision making.
According to Dr Sundus Amena, a consultant gynaecologist of Pakistani roots, trust is central to care of a pregnant woman as it informs the decisions made.
“My long-known patients never question my decision of emergency Caesarean section. They know I decide in their best interest and this trust reduces anxiety and fear,” she told Nation Lifestyle.
“As gynaecologists, we have the privilege of holding generations of the same family in our hands. Once trusted, they stick to us for years,” Dr Amena added.
Mrs Muthii delivered her first child through Caesarean section (CS) on the advice of her gynaecologist because of the positioning of the umbilical cord.
“When the gyna realised the baby’s pulse was slowing down due to the cord which had rounded the neck, he had to rush me to the theatre for emergency CS. It was very successful and we thanked God that we received our baby boy,” said Mrs Muthii, adding that the two subsequent births happened without CS.
The feeling that one’s doctor means well for them, Dr Amena said, is crucial when handling pregnancy conditions that develop subtly, such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes.
“They don’t always appear with a predictable route. Early signs can be easily spotted by your regular gynaecologist,” said the medic, who is a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
However, having a personal OB-GYN is a far-fetched dream for many women in Kenya. According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, only 61.2 per cent of women receive quality antenatal care, with sharp disparities based on income, region, and access to skilled providers. Women in poorer households and rural areas, the survey said, are less likely to experience consistent care.
Ms Munde, admitting that not everyone can have a personal health insurance cover, said women can save towards affording such care. Equally, she said, they can make use of community health professionals.
“Everyone has a different level and that is the reality of life, right? So, wherever you are, can you make sure that you get access to information? There are community health professionals who do rounds. And by the way, they actually work,” said Ms Munde.
The relationship between a woman and her gynaecologist extends beyond pregnancy itself. Postpartum care, mental health screening, contraception counselling, and family planning can also be part of the package. Dr Amena notes that conditions like postpartum depression are often under diagnosed when care is inconsistent.
“When you know a patient well, you notice emotional changes early,” she said, adding that a doctor who knows a patient for a while also understands their threshold for pain, anxiety triggers, and how their body typically responds.
Moreover, Dr Amena noted, having a long-term consultant makes it easier to track hereditary conditions.
“If I am seeing you or your family for decades, I know your medical history and familial trends very well. So, I can predict various risk factors before time,” said the doctor.
Asked to list the qualities of a good OB-GYN, Ms Munde listed knowledgeability and availability among the top traits. Patience was another.
“Someone taking their time to explain to you what is going on with your body is a plus,” she said.
Even the ambience of the specialist’s clinic, she noted, can determine the relationship.
“When you go to the clinic, you can tell: ‘Is this somewhere that I need to keep coming?’” she said, adding that for the OB-GYN she chose, “the clinic was clean and it looked decent”.
“That was a place that I felt like, ‘Okay, I think these people know what they are doing.’ Sometimes you can go to a clinic and you’re like: ‘I don’t know what is going on here,’” said Ms Munde.
Asked to discuss the advantage of having one OB-GYN as opposed to consulting multiple specialists, Mrs Muthii noted: “It’s good to have the same gyna who knows your story, who knows how to walk with you through the journey up to the end.”
“The moment you keep changing the gynas and it gets complicated at the end, it becomes a disadvantage to the patient. I would say I have that advantage of…having a good gyna who understands when there is an emergency and attends to it,” added Mrs Muthii.
