Good OB GYN Open to Natural Birthing in Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena

i went to dr. han the first time i was pregnant and had a difficult time there. first the office was like a clinic in a third world country: packed and not that clean. next, i was not allowed to see the doctor on the first visit and was told that i probably wouldn't see her until the third visit. when you are newly pregnant, you want to see the doctor. i went along with my first visit and promptly found another doctor. i must say i tried everthing to have a doctor connected with st. Joe's, as it is 5 minutes from my house,but never found one. i gave birth at cedars and had a great experience.

my experience with Dr. han is that she is EXTREMELY busy and tends to overbook herself, thus LONG wait-times for regular appointments, I was not overly impressed with her bed-side manner either, HOWEVER, in her same office are Dr.s Korostoff and Cashie. I had Dr. Korostoff and ABSOLUTELY LOVED her. She is friendly, realistic, EXCELLENT bedside manner and takes the time to really get to know her patients. As for Dr. Cashie, I've never seen her as a patient but always thought she was very pleasant and have heard from others that they just love her. Their office runs well and they are just down the block from Saint Joseph's.

Good luck!

G.,
Have you considered a home birth with a certified nurse midwife? Insurance sometimes covers it and it is reasonably priced too. By the time you pay your percentages of a hospital birth it would cost the same as paying cash for a midwife anyway. But they do accept insurance. I had a fantastic midwife that I had my baby with last July. She recommends OB/GYN's who will back her up in case you need to transfer to the hospital or if the baby is breech and can't be turned (or twins). It was an amazing experience to give birth at home with no drugs. Being fully present for such a miracle with your loved ones with you and then recuperating in your familiar surroundings is priceless. Most of my friends who had hospital births with what they thought were 'geared towards natural birth" OB/GYN's actually weren't. Too many hospital protocols and nurses changing shifts, etc. And when drugs and interventions are available - they are VERY often used when not necessary. My labor was 36 hours (12 early and 24 active). If I had gone to a hospital they would have called it 'failure to progress' and induced me. When that happens, the contractions are stronger and closer together than nature intended and makes the pain more unbearable, leading to an epidural. From there they will see the baby's heart rate elevate b/c of the stronger contractions and think it is too dangerous to deliver vaginally and they will want to do a C-section. This is the cascade that happens all too often. With my midwife, we just waited - I labored in a birthing tub, the shower, on the toilet with my husband coaching me. I got to eat and drink and was not strapped down and did not have an IV in place. My midwife helped dilate me naturally and helped my contractions by using my breast pump for nipple stimulation. She constantly checked the baby's heart rate and it was fine. Ultimately, once dilated I pushed for 1 hour and my baby was born healthy with high Agpar scores. I felt completely safe and trusting. You may want to go to an information session for a midwife. Mine has been catching babies for about 25 years. Her name is Leslie Stewart in Studio City. Her number is ###-###-####. Either way, your baby's birth will be the most profound experience. But if you truly want natural - then taking Bradley Childbirth classes and working with a midwife at home (or a birthing center) is the way to go!
Congratulations!
D.

I have actually had a hard time finding a Dr. that I like in the area. I have heard good things about Dr Shirley Chen. I have also met withDr. Iskander in Glendale - he is very nice.
I have to tell you though that I would stay far away from Dr. Han. I have my own bad experiences with her. There are also some pretty scary reviews of her that you can find on ther internet. From mom to mom I promise you there is a better dr. out there for you!
Good Luck!

I have used Dr. Han for my two pregnancies and delieveries. I live in Burbank and delievered at St. Joe's. I did Bradley classes with my first pregnancy and although I didn't make it without the epidural, she was open to whatever my husband and I wanted. We reviewed our birth plan with her and she was understanding. I would definitely recommend her to anyone. We really love her and she will continue to deliver our babies! Good luck!

I highly recommend Dr. Samantha Han as well. I had both my girls under her care and I was extremely happy. She's very no nonsense, which I like. I know this year she's moving offices closer to Providence St. Joseph's hospital (I believe across the street), I only say this because her current location/office tends to be completely packed (she's very popular).

I'd HIGHLY suggest Dr. Ronald Woodard... he is honestly the best ever!!

I'm a little bummed that I saw a negative review on Parks since I'm about to see her this week... I'd be seeing Woodard this time around but he does not accept aim :(

I heard that Dr. Wu is awesome and I saw him once and he was fine... my big complaint was that I sat in the waiting room for almost 2 hours. I know he's all about natural and will do pretty much anything you want - if you don't mind waiting he's a good one.

Woodard in my exp. is the best. I was never upset with his office staff, nurses etc. I never waited more than 10 mins and that was when I was late (so it was my own fault), he ALWAYS made sure to answer my questions and never once made me feel rushed or like I was cutting into his next apt.

Good luck :)

G.,
Just FYI, St. Joe's as a hospital is pretty well known in the birth community as being "anti" natural birth. Some doulas won't work there anymore. My friend who had her baby there had a terrible experience.
Dr. Wu at Glendale Adventist was my OB. We had planned a homebirth but my daughter was breech and we had to end up with a scheduled Cesarean. I chose him because he's one of the only OB's in LA who will even attempt a vaginal breech delivery, he's pro-VBAC and he's not much of an interventionist. He's also one of the warmest, kindest, funniest doctors I've ever met - once you get to know him. He says he's delivered around 20 000 babies and his experience saved me from hemorraghing during my operation. I highly recommend him. Call his office to see if they take Cigna.
A.
PS. I also highly recommend looking into a home birth or Good Sam hospital also.

there is a birthing center in Glendale -- cant remember what its called but its close to the Glendale Hospital and they do natural births there. Good luck!

Hi--I have not used Dr. Han, but my own family doctor has recommended her for my next pregnancy too, sounds like she has a lot of fans! Definitely worth checking out.
Also St. Josephs was great with my first birth, I loved the nurses and the new wing is spacious and very comfortable. Not sure how they are with natural birth--I think maybe it's tougher to find a hospital that's really comfortable with that than a single doctor? Esp. since the doctor isn't there much during labor, it's important to find out if the nursing staff supports natural birth.

I had a really great experience at St Luke's Hospital in Pasadena but that was 9 years ago, Don't even know if it's still there, but it's worth looking into because they were very accommodating, i had a complete natural birth without even an IV. they put in a hep-lock. My Dr. practiced natural birth, but she no longer is in practice, otherwise i'd give you her name.
I do recommend that you make a birth plan and present it to your doctor so you both have an understanding of what you require of each other, and this way you will know up front if your doctor is going to support your natural birth.

Dr. Dwight is the best! He is at good Samaratine hospital and there are also midwives you need to ask to have one. Good luck.

Hi G. - congratulations on your pregnancy! :) I had my baby at Saint Joseph's in Burbank with Dr Christopher Pearson and had a VERY positive experience. I switched to him at 33 weeks because my OB at the time freaked out every time I mentioned intermittent monitoring or getting up & walking around during labor, doulas or anything to do with natural birth.

Dr Pearson was educated in England, trained with many midwives and has helped many women with natural births. He was very respectful of my wishes and has a really wonderful, caring office staff. Also the preggers patient RARELY wait - (thank goodness!). As far as the medical skill - he really knows his stuff and is an excellent surgeon. Most of the nurses I talked with at St Joe's said they would pick him as their surgeon, should they need surgery or a C-section - good to know! :)

While I agree that St Joe's focus may not be on natural birth, they were supportive of me, my doula and my husband during our birthing process. My husband went with our son and stayed with our son during bathing & weighing, etc which only lasted about an hour. This all occurred after breast feeding, snuggling and getting settled with our son. :)

Regarding Dr Han: In the past I had seen her partner as an GYN and her office is notoriously overbooked with LONG wait times and no place to sit. I have been there many times in the past with people lined up out the door and sitting on the FLOOR in the hall - no I am not kidding! Unfortunately, I also have say that her office staff was probably some of the worst I have dealt with. They were awful about returning phone calls, didn't follow through with messages and I never felt as though I could rely on them for anything. Several years ago they failed to let me know about some serious results of a PAP - I caught the mistake 7 MONTHS later when I came in to discuss trying to get pregnant. I changed to an new GYN after that. I really really hope things have improved over there because there is no excuse for that kind of service in healthcare, especially OB/GYN.
Wishing you the BEST of luck! A.

hi G.,
congratulations! i have a 5 1/2 month old and my doctor was dr. grady and i delivered at arcadia methodist hospital (just east of pasadena off the 210 - right by the race track). he is very supportive of natural births and serves as a backup to many midwives. my doula worked with him many times and recommends him as well. i found dr. grady to be very knowledgeable, confident and straight forward. if you do not take ownership of your birth experience (i.e. birth plan...) he will give you routine care, however if you take the lead and take it down the natural path, he is very supportive. i took the bradley course and the instructor also recommends him highly. his staff isn't the brightest or the most efficient. the nurse is great - love her - but if you know what to expect than it's easier to deal with their shortfalls.

also, i found that the hospital you choose is just as important, if not more important than the doctor you choose if you want to go the natural route. i recommend touring the hospitals and getting a feel for them. arcadia methodist is one of the most pro-natural hospital that you can find. they have squat bars for the beds and birthing balls (i'd brought my own for sanitary reasons). just a few years ago they spent millions on remodeling the maternity ward and there are a lot of single rooms.

you can also call the hospitals and speak to the lactation consultant on staff. ask them for recommendations for dr's most supportive of a natural delivery and they will more often than not give you the straight scoop. you can also ask them about pediatricians too.

i hope this helps, it seems like you have a ton of referrals. good luck and let us know what you decided.

Marc Dwight at Good Samaritan (or anyone in his office) It is downtown LA . He is the best doctor ever! My husband and I loved him so much and were so sad after the baby was born that we did not get to see him every week. He is personable and incredibly professional and funny. Cannot say enough good things about him plus good sam has an incredible neo-natal unit with nice big birthing rooms (wood floors and beautiful views). Dr. Dwight is so supportive of natural birth, of any birthing plan you have so long as you and the baby are safe. We also took a birthing class from a woman named Amy Blane (also at Good Sam) recommended by Dr. Dwight and she was incredible. I swear we felt like they were family. Enjoy your pregnancy and good luck!

I'm 42 and in 2005 I went to her when I was 4 months pregnant (I was at a specialist until then). I was a little annoyed that we didn't discuss my amnio appt right away because the next appointment would have made it way too late. I did my own research and set up my own appointment.

For the birth we discussed a birth plan but of course everything happened differently. I had to be induced and although my body was reacting well to to potussin she came and broke my water. I had originally planned to go without drugs but after she broke my water the pain was so severe and the contractions too close together I had to have an epidural. Later I found out it wasn't necessary to break my water. But the real kicker was, she didn't make it to the delivery of my son. He was born at 6:35a and I think she got there around 8a. Needless to say I was disappointed.

After giving birth I kept getting disappointed. She was reluctant to do a breast exam because I was breastfeeding (research shows that you can still get breast cancer while breastfeeding). She was getting busier and busier and the wait at her office way too long. I finally found another doctor.

I was seeing Dr. Tamayo in Verdugo Hills. Recently I had a miscarriage while she was on vacation and her partner Dr. Parks and her office treated me with such insensitivity. They shuttled me like cattle from exam room to office and Dr. Parks didn't even pause to explain the ultrasound before she was rattling on what we would do for the next pregnancy.And although Dr. Tamayo wasn't directly responsible for that mishap, she never called me to check on me. I had to call the office 3 times to get the results of that ultrasound. Finally, I got a message from a nurse that it was ok. Talk about getting salt in the wounds.

Sorry I can't advice who to go to because I am looking as well. I hope I helped in some way.

Goodluck.

I highly recommend Dr. Porter. He's been a practicing OBGYN for 41 years and is located in Larchmont (not too far from Glendale). His waiting room is plastered with photos of babies he's delivered with many thanks from parents. The day after I gave birth he visited me in the hospital, and then he attended a wedding of a man he delivered. Several generations have gone to him - that's the best vote of confidence you can get. My husband also recommended him to a pregnant coworker and she had a wonderful experience as well.

Dr. Samuel Porter
321 North Larchmont Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90004
###-###-####

Tell him R. Hook referred you.

Here is a link for more info:
http://www.healthgrades.com/directory_search/physician/pr...

Best of luck to you!

I had a midwife and my backup OB/GYN was Dr. Ronald Wu at Glendale Adventist. I don't have experience with him at my birth, but I do know that he is very open to natural childbirth and he backs up a couple of midwives in the area. There is also a couple Doctors at Good Samaritan (downtown Los Angeles), they have birthing pools there I believe as well, but I can't remember the Doctor's names. Good Luck!!