1972-1977

City gets first woman woman's doctor

baby, out she expects things will work out. Sire's hired a woman to live with them and care for the child and the house. "Hopefully," she said, "that will work out." As it is now, she said, she and her husband's schedules won 't coincide too often. With four partners in the Surgery Clinic, he'll be on call every fourth night and every fourth weekend; with her two partners, she'll be on call every third night and every third weekend. Perhaps, she said, in another year, the Woman's Clinic will have a fourth partner, so they can coordinate their schedules.

so cliche," ·:;he said, ~.'but it's so much (un to ~iver .babies and be in happy situations; rather than deal– ing with terminal patients. It's a very pleasant situation in most cases." As Hattiesburg's first woman woman's doctor, she said, she's not sure how she'll be accepted by patients. Probably, she said, "some older women won't want to be examined by me, but the younger ones, the college-age girls, will." In Louisville, she said, there was no IJroblem with Leing accepted. In fact, she said, "it got so they requested me."

When she go-es-to-work Septembel' 1, l;li.lda McGee ,will be making hf§iory. When she sees-her first patient at the Women's Clinic of Hattiesburg, she will become the city's first woman woman's doctor. Dr . McGee.., an obstetrician– g§liecolo~t (a medicfil d~or g aelfVers babies a'nd treats women s problems that are specifically female), is a native Mississippian and a graduate of USM. She wa.§. born and raised in Coltehatta Q&wton Coun ty. ej§t-centraj Mississi i), graduated w j tb ·~~"'=il!!!.o:!!n!ll..os frofti Decatur Hi h 1:>~001 in 1 69._at!:.!:Si~IOM..~-,,_ Cetltral l!!mor C~ received a B~e UIIilology from USM in 1973 and an M.D. from the Universi– ty of Mississippi Medical School in 1977. Sbe served a residency ilLl o - ftin at the U iv · ll-Of uisville en uc Affiliated osp1 s, rn shtng tn 1981. For tne - past year, she served as a specialist with ij_ealthcar~ of Louisville, a healthfoatntenance orgmt\"zalion. Also, this past year - as she waited for her husband George to finish his residency in s~ in Louisville - she was beinlflhe type "6man she normally treats, that is, ~nanJ...She gave birth to Katie, 8~­ Ths.11 oz. , on July 7, in Louisville. Twelve days later she and her family moved to Hattiesburg. They chose the Hub City, she said, because of family ties (her in-laws live in Richburg, and her parents are only a two-hour drive to the north ) and because her husband has worked with the doctors in the Surgery Clinic of Hattiesburg, with whom he is now associated, and "knew and respected them and thought it was a good opportunity." Also, she said, as everyone knQws, Hattiesburg- ~ · a growing ~ntei:, so "it seemed to be a good spo(" Dr. MaGee said she decided to become a doctor during her third year in college after talking to a good friend who was a pre-med student. "I had originally planned to go into botany or something like that but realized there was no demand for that." After talking to her friend the pre-med student, she said, she realized that "I too could do this. He was such a good, dedicated stu– dent." She decided to specialize in ob-gyn during her third year in medical school, she said, after ,__serving her ob rotation. "It sounds

Being a woman woman's doctor, Besides, she added, " after re- she said, does have its advantages sidency, this is so much nicer." because she's been through some of During the first two or three years the same situations as her patients. of residency, she said, they worked But, she added, having been preg- 12 to 14 hours a day and were on ;.:all nant didn 't make her a "pushover." every other or every third night. She said she told her patients in "So," she said, "we've never gotten Louisville who wanted to quit work used to both of us being around at at five months (with--lw.--medical- -the-same time:- · reason ), " If I can work (while . pregnant) you can work" Dr. McGee said she has a special ' · interest in infertility. The patients Sympathy, she said, is a two-way who really want a baby are very street. "I can empathize but not conscientious, she said, and "you (always) sympathize." get to know them fairly well Her own delivery, she said, was because you see them so much normal. She had an epidural, which, (because of all the tests they have she added, she recommends highly. to have). She also added that "it's so much "It's such a wonderful feeling easier to manage labor than to be in when .you do help one get preg- labor." nant," she added.

Her husband went through labor and delivery with her, she said, and did well. The first thing he said after the delivery, .She said, was "Look at those hands." He's tall and skinny and has long fingers, she pointed out, and the baby has long fingers. Although they served a pediatric rotation, she said, they're just like other new parents-:- ner:vous. easy and certainly economical and much Setter for the babies." She added ~at she hopes to continue it until her daughter is three months old, but that it will depend on how well the breast pump works. Although she will be the first woman ob-gyn in Hattiesburg, she · said that in the last 10 years more women have gone into ob-gyn than in the past. Before that, she said, few women specialized in that area because the hours are · so rough (babies don't always arrive be– tween8 and5). Hours will still be rough for her and her doctor husband and their ~~ s ller. __She s breastfeeding Kati._e. ~~. ~o:

"Another group that's rewarding to help," she .said, "are patients who can increase their chances of getting pregnant by having tubal surgery." Of course, she said, the latest development in ob-gyn is test tube babies. Having a test tube baby, she said, is only for "very specific patients - their tubes are either absent or so damaged they can't get

pregnant. There are no other in- As a mother she is doing. what she ~!ertility problems _ their uterus

and ovftt'ie:i af'rintact and -func ~ ona~d· their httsbana~ are

...

really enjoyed .it," she sa~CI "It's fertile."

She added that she doesn't un– derstand anyone oJ?jecting to test tube bab~es on moral grounds. The cells which are not dividing normally and are not put into the ovary, she Sjlid, would probably abort spontaneously anyway. She also added that she's had several patients who were interest– ed in having a test tube baby, but that it is such a tremendous finan– cial burden that they couldn't afford it. She would guess, she said, that it would cost $10,000 to $15,000.