This paper explores male and female obstetricians' attitudes towards their patients in childbirth. Individual interviews were conducted with 50 obstetricians usin a semi structured questionnaire. Across gender and level-oftraining there were few differences in descriptions of easy patients. The few differences that did emerge reveal that attending physicians see patients as less difficult to handle than do residents and that female residents place more emphasis on compliance and control than do male residents. The results of the study are discussed in terms of sex-role stereotypes, the medical school socialization process and the medical model of health care.