Your health is a responsibility shared by you and your doctor. It is your doctor's responsibility to help you stay well and to treat you when you are ill. It is your responsibility to keep in touch with your body and to be alert to any changes in your body and its functions that may signal something is wrong. Your doctor can help you do this by performing exams on a routine basis.

An obstetrician-gynecologist (ob-gyn) has special education, training, and skills in women's health. As a specialist in women's health, your ob-gyn can devise a care plan designed for your needs. He or she can teach you how to maintain your health and prevent disease, to detect problems that only a doctor or certain tests can find, and, should you become ill, to provide care for you.

Finding a Primary-Care Physician
In the past, most American families had a doctor who looked after all their healthcare needs-everything from delivering babies to setting broken bones and treating both minor and serious illnesses. As medicine has become more specialized and society has become more mobile, this has changed. Today, many people no longer have a family doctor-instead, they seek a physician's services only when they are ill.

A primary-care physician is a doctor who assumes overall responsibility for a patient's medical care. A primary family doctor does not necessarily treat every medical problem. He or she does, however, determine if a patient should be referred to a specialist, such as a gynecologist, cardiologist, or surgeon who can administer the needed care. We work closely with many excellent primary care physicians and can help you find the right one for you and your family. At this time, however, our physicians do not serve as primary care physicians.

If you need a primary care physician, check out those who work closely with us by searching the Lowell General Hospital.

Your Obstetrician-Gynecologist's Role in Your Care
Obstetrics is the care of a woman from the preconception period (when a woman is planning to become pregnant), to very early pregnancy, through labor and childbirth, and after a baby is born. Gynecology covers a woman's general health care, from menarche/puberty through menopause, including issues of sexuality, nutrition, hormones, etc.

Our physicians will provide you with expertise when you have gynecologic problems or are pregnant. All of our health practitioners are available for routine exams as well as for complex gynecologic and obstetric problems.

For your health information

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