Single Biggest Piece of Advice from an OB Gyn

An excerpt from Fertility & Beyond: Join the Conversation

By Melanie Collins, MD, Ob Gyn

Here’s an important advice from an OB Gyn. Feeling comfortable with your physician is so important. You should feel like you can come in and share any and all of your concerns and fears. If you need a good cry, you should be able to do that too! You may also want to consider speaking to a counselor who is familiar with and/or specializes in patients with infertility. Friends and family can be sympathetic, but it’s often not the most successful route in seeking support. It’s helpful to speak with an experienced professional.

A little advice for the friends or loved ones of fertility patients: Please don’t become those well-meaning people that say horrible things!!! Just be there for them and listen to them. You can’t fix it. They can tell you what they need or how they’re feeling, and you can respond accordingly. In that way, don’t minimize feelings or try to make everything positive. It’s ok to say, “I feel I want to help you. But I don’t know what I can do.” And maybe that person who’s going through the fertility process can let you know how you can be helpful. Sometimes, just being there and listening is enough.

About Melanie Collins, MD, Ob/Gyn

Background:

Dr. Melanie Collins attended medical school and completed her residency at the University of Texas at Houston, where she spent ten years. In her last year, she was greatly impacted by her work at MD Anderson with women who were pregnant and had cancer, breast cancer predominantly.

She moved to Austin, TX in 1996 and was one of the founding members of the Renaissance Women’s Group, which was located in the same office building as several prominent fertility specialists in the community.

The two practices began referring patients to one another and have maintained that relationship for over two decades, continuing to share information and remain current with the latest research in the field of fertility.

When the doctors started freezing eggs in Austin, it was quite a big leap in what was previously possible, which got her excited about the options it provided for her patients. With the trend of delaying childbearing as women extend their education, or to establish themselves in their professional careers, women have more viable choices.

Dr. Collins’ practice has grown over the years. She remains abreast of research and information surrounding infertility, so she can best counsel her patients.

Her primary goal is to establish patient relationships for the long term. She’s even now delivered babies for the second generation in a family! She focuses on educating patients through all cycles of life and how various phases impact their body and well-being (from basic coaching on how a woman’s cycle works, to handling fertility and beyond, and through menopause). 

Contact Information

Website: http://www.rwgdocs.com