OB GYN In Concord/Walnut Creek, Delivers @ John Muir

FYI, I think that all docs in the Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek area deliver at John Muir because it is the maternity hospital. My ob/gyn was Dr. Deborah Banskter in Concord (on Bacon St., I think) but I later switched to Dr. Rosemary Delgado in Walnut Creek. Both are excellent and progressive.

I just delivered my 3rd child with Dr. Rosemary Delgado. I changed doctors during this last pregnancy because of a move too and was very please with Dr. Delgado. She's very thorough during her visits and delivers almost all of her babies. With that in mind, there may be visits where you'll have to wait longer because she delivering someone else's baby. I didn't mind because I knew my turn would be soon and I liked the idea that she would be delivering my son. I'm not sure about how quick she intervenes, because I wanted an epidural, but she is very respectful of ones wishes, and I believe that she would only go against your wishes if it were medically necessary - just my opinion. Hope that help!

I go to Dr. Christine Riley on Ygnacio Valley Rd in Walnut Creek. I did not deliver my babies here, but I go to her for gynecology issues. I don't know where she stands on how she delivers babies, but I really like her and her office. So, if you are interviewing doctors, I suggest you give her a call. ###-###-####.

Dr Stephen Wells and all of his staff are great. They have all been there a long time and care about their patients. Here is a link to his web site: http://www.stephenwellsmd.com/html/our_office.htm. I have stayed with him and his staff for 13 years. Good luck.

Timothy Leach in Walnut Creek is absolutely wonderful!! He was so supportive of me in my third pregnancy (I had another dr for the previous two). I had preterm labor and was on bed rest for 10 weeks, including 2 weeks in the hospital. He was very concerned and communicative and really let me in on the decision-making where judgement calls could be made. He really took the time to explain everything to me. My first child was born by c-section (by another OB-GYN). My second was a V-BAC and was completely natural (also not Dr Leach), but that OB-GYN was not at all supportive. It just so happened that she was not on call the night I went into labor (8 weeks early, due in part to her poor judgement) and I got my totally drug-free V-BAC and my preemie was fine, other than the usual preemie issues. Dr. Leach took my history of preterm labor seriously (I had it w/the first pregnancy too, although he ended up being full-term). He also honored my desire to do everything possible to have a full-term baby, and to have a natural, vaginal delivery. He assured me he would tell me if at any time the baby was in danger and a C-Section would be best, but was completely supportive of my desire for a V-BAC and a natural delivery.

I would recommend you meet him and talk with him. Hopefully he will work out for you too. I only wish I had gone to him during my first pregnancy. For some reason, I had it in my head that a woman doctor would be better, but that was not my experience at all. Maybe things would have worked out differently with the C-section with my first and the Prematurity with my second.

By the way, Dr. Leach did NOT use pitocin, episiotomies, or forceps, although he did break my water after about 8 hours of labor and I delivered after about a half hour (my previous labor was only 4 hours, the first was about 23 hours, followed by a C-section).

Dr. Leach delivers at John Muir and states that he will absolutely be at your delivery unless he is physically not in the geographical area. He was very communicative with me about any time he would be out of the Bay Area and someone else would be covering for him, which I appreciated. And he did in fact deliver my son.

Best of luck! It is such a tough decison to choose an OB GYN and so important to having a good experience.

I also go to OBGYN Specalists, and I delivered my son with them at John Muir. They do recommend you meet all 4 doctors before you deliver, because one of them is always on call for when you actually go into labor, but with 1 1/2 months left, it might be kinda tough! :) I will say all four of the doctors, as well as the two female NPs, are very friendly, easy going, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. I had a great experience. I opted for an epidural, but it was totally MY decision...they never pushed that option, ever.

Anyone of the doctors from MUIR OB-GYN. Dr. Nadine Hannah delivered my 1st (although she was quick to make a decision to "snip" a little to "help" me out a bit, which is better than ripping!!) and Dr. Sandy Hughes (male) delivered my other 2. He is a bit on the quiet side, but very nice and pleasant. When it comes to delivering, he definitely knows what he's doing. My 2nd was taking a looong time to get through and he just kept his patience (and helped w/ mine!) and was very optimistic that she'd come down on her own. He was very calm and just kept checking on me w/o suggesting anything. With #3, it was a different story, I pushed for 2 hours and was exhausted. We also determined that this baby was much bigger than the other two and at that time, he gave me options but was not pushy in any way. Even thought I was so against it, I'm glad I opted for a c-section at the 3rd hour because the baby ended up being 9 lbs and would have never been able to come out naturally. (I am only 5'3" and my other babies were in the low 7's). Again, there was NO pressure from him. He did an awesome job too! Overall if you have a birth plan, then I'm sure whatever doctor you choose will honor that.

Also, I LOVE their NP, Patricia Geraghty! She is always so helpful and takes that extra time to talk to you about your questions/concerns. ###-###-####.

I found a Wonederful OB in Walnut Creek. Dr Stephen Wells. He has a wonderful Staff and the best nurse practitioners. I am sorry I don't have the number my cell phone is breaking and won't let me in my contacts. He is on the web. Congrats to you and your new little one, and welcome to the area.

I go to OBGYN Specialists in Walnut Creek - ###-###-#### - 2121 Ygnacio Valley Rd, Ste E101. It is a practice made up of four women. I delivered two children with them and they always honored my requests. I highly recommend them.