Recommendations for OB/GYN & Hospital to Deliver in SF Valley?

I've had 5 babies at Henry mayo and loved every experience. Nurses were all incredible, my OB-Dr. Marlon Brooks is the absolute BEST. I would never go anywhere else--unless I knew that I would need a PICU(since HM doesn't have one)but I am surprised that you have heard that it is not a great hospital. I would really suggest doing a tour before you make a decision to drive 20 minutes (with traffic much more) away!!

I had all my kids at Northridge Hospital and I love it there. They have a NICU and it is great. My twins were 11 weeks early and in the NICU for 3 months. Some hospitals don't have a NICU so if there was an emergency with your baby they would be transferred to Northridge. After my twins came home we had to switch their medical group. We had to take them to 4 different hospitals in the last 5 months due to surgeries and illness and we still love Northridge the best. The other hospitals had a great medical staff, but the facilities were not as nice and up to date as Northridge Hospital. I heard that St. Joseph's in Burbank is very nice too. And God forbid that your children have any problems, take them to Children's Hospital in LA. We love it there too! Contact the maternity department of any hospital you are interested in and ask for a tour. Good Luck!

St. Joseph is great, they have a new matrenity ward, the staff is great. I had my two little ones there. My OBG in Burbank is Dr. Pearson and I love him. Congratulations and good luck!

J.,

The maternity ward at henry mayo rocks... I have had several family members who have brought babies into this world with the help of our wonderful hospital and staff.... I seriously would rethink commuting to the valley... with the backed up traffic along both the 5 and the 14 and depending on when your due date is you could very well be stuck in traffic and end up at Henry anyways.

JMO,
b

J.,
You might have already chosen your OB/GYN, but just in case you haven't, try Dr. Kohn. He's in Tarzana and I delivered at the Tarzana Hospital even though I live in Newhall. He also delivers his patients at Northridge. He is phenomenal, patient, kind, informative, and very ZEN-like. His low-key personality came in handy during delivery since I had no idea what to expect. We had a bit of a complication but you would have never known by looking at his face. My husband and I recommend him to all of our friends who are expecting.

Good Luck.
Asela

I gave birth to two kids at Henry Mayo and I had the best experience ever. I have 4 kids and the last two were the best. I do have a friend and she did not have a good experience. It depends on your doctor. I had Facey doctors for the last birth. I would recomment Pat News though. I think that she works with the Valencia Center for Women's health. She is a wonderful woman. Or if you want to go to further, I hear that Glendale is good.

Hi J.,

Congratulation on your pregnancy! I also live in SCV and my hopital is St. Josephs in Burbank. I love that hospital. They have a great maternity ward and nursery. Also, they have a NICU which is comforting (just in case). Henry Mayo doesn't have a NICU and I've also heard bad things about that hospital. My daughter was born at St. Josephs and was in the NICU for a month. All the staff was wonderful. My current OB is Dr. Kristi McKenzie (female)###-###-####. So far I like her and her staff. Nurse practitioner is very, very nice. The office is very busy. They are currently looking for another Dr. for the office. The office is right across the street from St. Joseph Hospital which I like very much. My last Dr. office was Dr. Jehuda Renan (male)###-###-####. He is also good but his office is very busy, also located across the street from hospital. For me, I just want to be at St. Josephs Hospital because I feel like I got such great care there. I was hopitalized until birth for about 3 weeks and then spent a lot of time at hospital after baby was born. So I feel like I know that hoptial really well. I would highly recommend St. Josephs. Hope this was helpful to you. I wish you the best of luck !!

J.

I really like dr. Crane, who was my backup OB. I had a homebirth with a midwife, but I was very comfortable with him. Hes in Beverly Hills and I believe he delivers at Cedar's but can't remember for sure.
C.
http://sites.google.com/site/cerinplante/Home

J.,

I live in Valencia, too and delivered at St. Joe's and my OBGYN is right across the street in the new Medical building. Their NICU and Maternity staff are in my opinion the best in care, kindness and knowledge. They have an amazing lactation staff as well, who came up to my room whenever I called them.

Dr. Dawn Cashie ###-###-#### and her colleagues are amazing!! I delivered 8 weeks early, and I never had a single moment of stress or worry about how they would handle it. Also, they took me on after I had issues with my first doctor...

At any rate, my son is 2.5 and I still make the drive to see her...she's kind and considerate will listen and answer ALL your questions, no matter how silly they may seem.

I could go on forever...let me know if you want to ____@____.com for Henry Mayo, I have SO many friends who wish they had made the drive or have gone the route of driving even to UCLA for care. In the case that there are complications, they send all their preemies to St. Joe's anyway.

Best of luck!

D..