| HOLYOKE — When Dr. Christopher Mills delivered his first baby, he called his best friend at 2 in the morning. “I was yelling at him over the phone about what had just happened, I was so excited,” said Mills, who has delivered more than 1,000 babies in the last nine years, attended hundreds of waterbirths and loves the utter joy and wonder that comes with this part of his field.
Mills recently joined Western Massachusetts OB/GYN Associates at Holyoke Medical Center, where he works with Dr. Gretchen Loebel offering a full array of obstetrical and gynecological services on the hospital’s fifth floor.
“OB/GYN, for me, has a lot of really wonderful aspects,” said Mills. “There’s the ability to provide close continuity of care. You tend to work with people who are very much invested in their own health care and who want to become, or stay, healthy because they’re involved in their pregnancy and the health of their baby. The opportunity to spend time in the operating room is also a big draw for me,” said Mills, who performs laparoscopic, hysteroscopic and vaginal surgery.
The native of New York State who lives in Keene, N.H. with his wife and two daughters spends half his time in obstetrics and the other half seeing patients for annual gynecological exams, screening for cancers, breast issues, menstrual abnormalities, and hormone replacement therapy. He has special interests in meno-pause and pelvic pain management, infertility, bleeding abnormalities and pelvic support problems (related to pelvic organ prolapse).
“The philosophy of the doctors and the labor and delivery staff here is very much in line with my own philosophy, of intervening only when absolutely necessary,” said Mills. “I think there is an unfortunate trend of obstetricians interfering in what is typically a very natural and normal birthing event, and I think sometimes, the more we try to take control of that process, the more problems we cause. My perspective on pregnancy and delivery has always been to let nature take its course.” |
