Dr. Nancy Herta / MMP - Lansing, MI

[Ninetales]

I may be looking at going through an OB for my next pregnancy and so far the only one I would even consider is Nancy Herta.  However, my sister went through the practice she works for and told me that you have to see all the doctors in the practice.  I am not remotely interested in or really ok with this.  There are certain things that are dealbreakers for me to even go to an OB and I worry enough about having to fight for my choices with one doctor, let alone four or more.

Does anyone know if this is true or not?  Do they make exceptions?

While I'm at it I'd like any information anyone has about the practice in general and about Dr. Herta.  Is she actually supportive of natural birth and moms having an active role in their own care?  Even about more off the wall things like delayed cord clamping, minimal ultrasounds, and postprandial GD screening?

[~Kristina~]

In my experience with ob practices in general, if there is more than 1 dr, you have to have a prenatal with all or most of them before the birth.  :(  I didn't like it when I went through a large practice.  So for #3 I found a 2 ob practice.  That way I could have my 1 prenatal with the other dr and then the rest with my primary ob.

[Ninetales]

This is the only doctor I would trust around here unless I hear something else.  As someone who wants to go natural and wants a VBAC my options are limited.  :(

If I can talk to someone who has been through this practice hopefully I will find out that the other doctors defer to the patient's primary one without confrontation.

[elle7715]

I see her and that practice but unfortunately I can't answer your question. Herta is my primary and other than her I haven't seen anyone but the nurse practicioners so far. One was nice and one was...not. My next appointment is with Herta again but I'm fairly certain they want you to see each doctor at least once. That was standard with the OB practice I went to previously as well. The reasoning is that they don't know which doctor will be on-call when you go into labor. In special cases some OBs will agree to be on-call for a specific patient (as in, don't call me unless so-and-so is in labor) but I don't know if Herta is one of them. All I know is that Greenhouse birth center recommended her and only her to me. I can ask her more details at my next appointment, my last one pretty much centered around my uncooperative thyroid so I didn't get to ask her much. I'm planning a home birth so hopefully I won't need to worry about who is on call. But just in case I go into labor too soon or need to transfer I wanted an OB that was recommended. I have an appointment in 2 weeks and can ask her specifics then. You could call the office but I'm pretty sure they will tell you they want you to see everyone once.

[blessedmum]

I deliver my babies at greenhouse but see nancy throughout my pregnancy because of risk factors.  She is great to work with( through the greenhouse).  If you go directly to her office though it is another story.  You will have to see other other docs& they are not naturally minded & neither is the NP there.  The hospital is just like any other hospital and I had a very bad experience there.  They have a very high CC rate from what I have heard. That said, I love Nancy & she is great if you aren't delivering at the hospital or have no other choice besides a hospital birth.  The greenhouse does do vbacs. You could talk to GBC to see if you would be a candidate to do dual care with them and Nancy.

Hope this helps

[Ninetales]

I actually went through the Greenhouse with my daughter but I transferred after a long labor and had a section.  I would love to go to them again but I just cannot afford it.  Insurance didn't cover any of it and the cost ended up pretty much ruining our finances for a long time, and then the hospital co-pays on top of that.  I can't afford the birth center costs for one but the idea of paying two bills again makes me hyperventilate.

I had an ok experience with Sparrow.  They knew I was a Greenhouse patient so most everyone avoided me anyway.  The nurse I had for labor was really nice and Dr. Herta did my surgery.  I will not go to Ingham after things that happened when my granny was dying, so I'm pretty much stuck as far as that goes.

I don't mind so much seeing other doctors for the routine stuff like heartbeat and measurement.  But I really don't want to have to argue and explain and deal with a whole bunch of people over every little thing I want to do.  I'm not a confrontational person and I'm afraid I may not be strong enough.  Their reasoning annoys me.  I don't care if I end up with someone else at the birth.  I doubt one or two visits with someone is enough to make me comfortable, and I'd probably stay home as long as possible anyway.

[Sanveann]

I've had all three of my babies with MMP OB and was extremely happy with the practice. Dr. Takyi delivered my first, Dr. Herta (my primary) my second and Dr. Maney my third.

From my understanding, you DO have to see all of the OBs during your prenatals. I never asked to do it differently, because that didn't bother me. I liked all of the OBs and never felt pushed into anything that I didn't want to do. (That said, I am not uber-crunchy; I did med-free births all three times, but I do not have massive concerns about ultrasounds, antibiotics for GBS, etc.) I didn't ask about delayed cord clamping with Dr. Herta, because it was not a big deal to me, but I know some of the other OBs in the practice have concerns about it (at least Dr. Wichert, when he was there, did).

There were a lot of things I liked about the practice besides just the OBs. The nurses are great. I was always welcome to bring my other kids. When I had concerns (I had first trimester bleeding with all three of my kids), the on-call doctor always got back to me right away. The office staff was friendly and efficient.

If you're interested, I posted my newest baby's birth story (in July) on my blog: http://sleepless-in-suburbia.blogspot.com/2011/07/natalies-birth-story.html ... Dr. Maney was the attending.