Tiffany
No, that's not true. My obstetrician (male) asked me if I wanted to opt for epidural during discussion of the birth plan. When I said I wanted to try w/o, he was encouraging, but still told me that I can still opt for it later should the pain be intolerable. As for chking dilation, he was gentle lah...about same as doing a normal vaginal exam. Anyway, when you're in labor, sometimes it will be the mid wife/nurses doing all these too. The ob can't be there all the time when you're going through labor.