Looking for a pediatrician and OB in SF

[cam's mama]

Hi! I am looking for a pediatrician in San Francisco that is open to selective vaccinations on a non-traditional schedule. Does anyone have one that they love and can recommend?

Also, in anticipation of a second pregnancy we are looking for a new OB in SF. We delivered with Bayspring last time which was too big a practice for us. We are looking for a hospital birth with a small Ob practice VERY commited to natural childbirth.

We would appreciate referrals and any information you can share about your experience with them. Thanks so much.

Deb

[oceanbaby]

Hi - I responded to your post about a pediatrician under the Vaccination forum.

Regarding OB's: I ended up using the only one I knew of that fit your criteria, which was also my criteria. Dr. Yuan-Da Fan. He is in downtown SF. Sole practice, very supportive of natural birth. He was awesome. Let me do whatever I wanted, and stuck up for me with the nurses. My Bradley teacher said he was the only OB in the area that she would recommend.

In case you missed my last reply, the ped I recommend is Dr. Daphne Miller in Noe Valley.

[cam's mama]

Thank you for both your referrals. I really appreciate them.

Take care - Deb

[cam's mama]

Hi Ocean Baby,

I'm interested in your referral. I have never had a male OB before and have always shyed away from them. It sounds like you felt very comfortable with him and the fact that your Bradley teacher said he was good definitely matters to me. Can you tell me a little more about his style both during prenatals and during birth? Then I'll set up an appt to meet him myself.

Thanks, Deb

[oceanbaby]

His style is very straightforward, matter of fact. The prenatals were never rushed, but he's also not real, how do you say, mushy gushy, you know? My greatest concern in choosing an OB was one that I could trust if something out of the ordinary came up during the birth. I did not want to become another c-section statistic. If I was told I needed a c-section, I wanted to make sure it was because it was a potentially life threatening situation, not just because I was laboring longer than he liked. In fact, a situation did arise, and I didn't even know about it until after the birth. I was pushing for 3 hours, and apparently there was an indication of some sort of distress, because the nurses were showing my mom where the "swat team" button was - the button that you push to call in a team of baby doctors in case something is wrong. Ds's head was finally out, and I heard Dr. Fan ask for scissors. I popped my head up and said "I don't want an episiotomy!" I was shocked because he and I had discussed this specifically. Of course, I wasn't thinking clearly enough to realize that the head was already out. But anyway, he calmly told me that he wasn't going to cut an episiotomy, but that the cord was wrapped too tightly around the baby's neck for the rest of the body to be born, so he had to cut the cord. I was disappointed, as our plan was to not cut the cord until it stopped pulsing. Anyway, when they lifted ds up, he was totally blue, limp, and not breathing. They told my mom to push the buttom, and sure enough the team arrived, and with dh at their side, took ds to the warmer across the room and had to give him oxygen to get him started. He was totally fine, and besides giving everyone a scare, it was all ok. Anyway, the point of this story is that throughout it all Dr. Fan was totally calm, and never said anything scary to me to make me nervous.

I also liked that he had no standing orders at the hospital, as many Drs do. Not getting an IV was never an issue. When the nurse wanted to break down the squatting bars so he could see better, he told her to leave them up, that he could deliver through them. When he and I discussed me writing up a birthing plan, he told me that I was more than welcome to do so, but that it wasn't necessary because he was going to be supportive of whatever I wanted to do. And he was true to his word. I did what I wanted and he never gave me any flak about it. I liked that his waiting room was never full of people, because it meant to me that he would not be pressured to get back to the office, and therefore be inclined to speed up my delivery with unncessary interventions. And even though my delivery did end up going very long, he was always very reassuring, confident, and supportive.

When I first met him, I was a little concerned about his thick accent, that I wouldn't be able to understand his instructions during labor and delivery, but it was absolutely not a problem. And it's not like he's a super natural birth advocate or anything. He's just totally comfortable with each woman doing whatever they want during their birth - if you want drugs, fine by him. If you don't want any interventions, fine by him. He's not on some power trip, which is the impression I got from other Drs. I switched to him when I was about 5 months pregnant, and was glad I did.

I have never had an issue with having a male OBGYN, and had had male gynecologists in the past. My sister could never be comfortable with a male GYN. So it really depends on your comfort level.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate him an 8. If you are really educated about pregnancy and birth, have strong ideas about how you want to labor/deliver, and just want someone competent and supportive who won't give you any flak, then he's the best one that I know of. However, if you're looking for someone to really give you a ton of info, walk you through everything, and spend a lot of time on the non-medical stuff, then you might be a little disappointed. But I do plan on using him again if I am still in the area.

Good luck!

[cam's mama]

Hi! I wasn't sure you would come back to the post and I'm so glad you did. I appreciate all your info, it was exactly what I needed and Dr. Fan sounds like an interesting possibility. I will look into him when the time comes.

Thanks for taking the time to share.

Deb

[imagine]

Deb,

I agree with oceanbaby about Dr. Miller. I see her and my 2 year old son does also. But, I would like to add someone else to your list to consider. Dr. Winchell Quock is a pediatrician located near 8th and Geary. He accepts many different insurances (a plus over Dr. Miller). He is completely ok with a parent choosing to not vaccinate (or selective, or delay). He never pressured us (he was our first pediatrician), only gave us his opinion and left it that. Dr. Miller put more pressure on us than Dr. Quock did. He is also supportive of all the 'AP' parenting styles (though his breastfeeding knowledge is not as great as it could be, he is supportive nonetheless). It doesn't necessarily matter what your Dr's parenting style is but it can be a bit uncomfortable if it comes up and they are of a differnent mind (I can say that it has come up with Dr. Miller and she is of a different mind then I).

As for OB's, I don't know Dr. Fan but he sounds like he might be a great choice. If you are at all interested you should also check out the birth center here in SF that is run by a certified nurse midwife. She also takes most PPO's. If you are healthy and low-risk and really want to avoid the hospital interventions this may be an option for you. I gave birth there and think it is important for women to know that this option exists. The phone number is 552-6600 and they are located at 6th and Bryant.

Good luck to you!
PS. I am a Bradley instructor also, and I have to say that there is not a single OB that my previous students have gone to that I could recommend as of yet. So Dr. Fan might be one of the only good choices in SF.