Private Practice OBGYN or midwife or doula?
Does anyone have any recommendations for an OBGYN who would let me pay out of pocket for a one-time appointment or consultation (almost as a "walk-in" client)? I am newly pregnant and this is my first pregnancy. My current medical insurance is Kaiser and that is not changing anytime soon. So far, I have felt very brushed off by Kaiser and I can not see my doctor until I am almost 10 weeks pregnant. I would love to talk to an OB before that as I have lots of questions! I have messaged my Kaiser OB, but she has not been very responsive. For example, after I messaged her about my positive pregnancy test, it took 7 days to get a response. In that time, I tried multiple times to get to the OBGYN department via phone, and I continued to be routed to the "advice line" with nurses who are not specialists in OB. They gave me the normal tips "no tobacco/alcohol" etc, but were unable to answer my specific questions about my current workout routine, travel plans, caffeine consumption, etc... and I got different advice depending on who I talked to. I had an "intake phone call" with a nurse yesterday and it was very disappointing to say the least, and there was no room for real prenatal education or questions. I would be willing to pay out of pocket for an appointment with a private practice OBGYN or maybe even a midwife or doula. Looking on yelp, I am not sure if any allow these kind of appointments without confirming to be their patient through the entire birth process. Does anyone have any advice or did anyone else feel weirdly ignored by Kaiser during your first trimester? I usually am happy with Kaiser and I understand that doctors are extremely busy, but I am just feeling so anxious with the lack of communication and not being able to ask a real doctor questions.
Parent Replies
Try switching to a midwife at Kaiser. I was happier with the midwife than with the OB, but both took time to answer all my questions *once I saw them in person.*
I agree with you the member services/advice line is awful. I wish I could just call the office and get in touch with my care provider! That’s the thing I hate about Kaiser.
I can recommend my MD physician who is an internal medicine doctor but who is the mother of five children and has “caught” many babies -- she’s a midwife at heart. She’s truly an amazing person: Alexandra Johnson at greeting health in Berkeley. I can’t Google it now but you should be able to find it and if not let me know!
she’s truly an amazing person: Alexandra Johnson at greeting health in Berkeley. I can’t Google it now but you should be able to find it and if not let me know!
And tell her Tandy sent you!
I have an amazing recommendation for a CNM midwife, Cynthia Banks. She does home births but has an office you go to for the routine checkups. I went to her when I was about 3 weeks pregnant with my first baby in 2019. She is absolutely incredible and you can pay out of pocket. Also, Congrats!
Congratulations! It's an exciting time. I had my 2 kids through Kaiser and it was a GREAT experience. You will find that as you get further along in your pregnancy the care will be more often - and if you don't like your OB you can always try another - there are probably great reviews on this site. You are correct that you won't meet with anyone for a while, because things happen, and because they are super busy but also because there's not much they need to do for you before then. You say you feel anxious, and I think that's the point. Do you have any girlfriends/relatives you can talk to about the process? You really likely do not need to talk to a medical professional unless you are at higher risk for complications, your body knows what to do so you need to learn to trust your instincts - this extends well into parenthood. This is a great first step towards doing so. It will all be ok! Reading really good books like "What to expect when you're expecting' was a great help to me, and talking to other women is comforting. I joined a 1st time pregnancy group and that was also a wonderful experience. Working out is fine, caffeine is fine, travel is fine! All will be well! I wish you a happy healthy pregnancy and baby - try not to stress and just eat and drink healthy, and get good rest.
First piece of advice: choose a new OB/Gyn at Kaiser. I’ve been a KP member for nearly 50 yrs and can attest that there are great docs and mediocre ones. Get a great one, and one who understands that communication is vital. Get some recommendations. My daughter is newly pregnant and is having a good experience with her KP doc. Seven days to respond to patient is a breach of duty.
If you file a complaint with member services, you will be doing yourself and others a service. KP takes “reviews” about docs seriously.
Thank you all! Appreciate all the responses!