Moving to San Jose Area Mid-pregnancy, Need OB-GYN Referrals

Dr. Suzanne Bovone, located in Good Samaritan. She is wonderful, educated and down-to-earth. Also having a baby in Good Samaritan Hospital is a wonderful experience! Good luck!

I LOVE my OB-GYN. She's located right by Good Samaritan Hospital. Her name is Suzanne Bovone and she's with San Jose Medical Group. I have a lot of friends that go to her as well.

###-###-####
2585 Samaritan Drive
San Jose, CA 95124

Dr Narrisse Kendrich - www.womenscareforlife.com

Dr Violetta Faryno is amazing ###-###-#### in San Jose across from O'Connor hospital near Valley Fair Mall. I have many friends that go to her and they are so thrilled. Hope you enjoy the San Jose Area. Take Care M.

Hi B.!

Congratulations and welcome to the Southbay! I work in the birth community and have all kinds of info about the docs here. Before I answer your question, though, it would really depend on what is important to you about your birth experience. It may seem early to think about it, but trust me, it's not. It will go by very fast and there are lots of options out there, so now is the time to get educated. (Do you prefer to do it naturally? Want the epidural but want to avoid surgery? Do you prefer a scheduled c-sec? Do you not care as long as the baby is healthy? Is getting breastfeeding off to a good start your highest priority? Etc, etc....)

Start with www.motherfriendly.org. It's the website for the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services who exist to promote evidence-based maternity care (meaning *sound* scientific evidence that proves a practice or procedure is in the best interest of mom and baby- as opposed to the doc or hospital). I also recommend The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, and Birthing From Within by Pam England to help you figure out what feels right to you.

Personally, after all I've seen attending births, doing research, teaching birth classes, and being active in the local birth community, I recommend women who are in the 90% of low-risk mothers should see a midwife, not an OB. OBs are great if you have problems, but the real experts in *normal* birth are midwives. OBs are trained in pathology, which most pregnancies and births are without. Research actually shows midwives have better outcomes than drs do. Good news is that in this area, you have a variety of options for midwives and many of them deliver in the hospital.

A great option for finding out more about who would be a good match for you are Blossom Birth Services in Palo Alto, a non-profit resource center offering pre and postnatal classes, events, speakers, and more. I am the program coordinator there and we host a free "Pregnancy Lunch Lounge" the first Friday of every month from 12-1:30. It's a great opportunity to meet with other expectant moms and compare notes. www.blossombirth.org

Another great option is Bay Area Birth Information (BABI), also a non-profit. I am active with BABI, too. We do not have a physical location, but offer events, etc. to help educate the public about their options in maternity care. Our big annual event is "Meet BABI" coming up on May 10 at the Campbell Community Center. www.bayareabirthinfo.org.

I am happy to talk to you about any of this stuff in more depth than what I can do online and to give you the low-down on a lot of the docs and midwives in the area- send me an email and we can set up a time to talk if you think that would be helpful. You are in a great community to give birth!

Love, J. ____@____.com

Congratulations! I don't have a OBGYN referral (I have Kaiser) for you but as you will soon see, your OB will represent only a mere fraction of your "birthing team". For birthing classes, yoga, lactation support, doula references, (and I am sure Kristen, the woman with who you would enroll in classes would be able to give you a *great* referral for an OB) go to Harmony in Campbell (not too far from Cupertino) . A connection to Harmony will ensure empowerment all throughout your pregnancy (and post-partum)
Harmony: http://www.harmonybirth.com/

Advice on choosing a good OB: make sure they share your same philosophy about feeding (breast feeding or otherwise) AND birthing. Ask what their C-Section rate is... this is extremely important to know whether your goal is a vaginal birth or a c-section ~ The Birth Book by Dr. Sears has a great checklist for choosing a good OB.

If you ever need a Chiropractor, pre-natal massage, or acupuncture and post-partum care go to the Artemis Healing Center in Los Gatos (also very close to Cupertino) http://artemishealingcenter.com/

Best of luck to you, the Bay Area is a fabulous place to give birth, I was so amazed with all the resources available to me here that may not be available in other places in the country ~ this will be a great move for you and your little one!

I moved to Mountain View, CA during my second trimester. I was nervous because I really loved my OBGYN who delivered my first two kids. I was very fortunate to find Dr. Azad (www.doctorazad.com). She was great. Made me feel at home, was there for my delivery. I heard from the nurses that she has the lowest cesarean rate of any of the doctors there. She only signs out to female doctors, but lucky for me she was there for my delivery.

Updated

I moved to Mountain View, CA during my second trimester. I was nervous because I really loved my OBGYN who delivered my first two kids. I was very fortunate to find Dr. Azad (www.doctorazad.com). She was great. Made me feel at home, was there for my delivery. I heard from the nurses that she has the lowest cesarean rate of any of the doctors there. She only signs out to female doctors, but lucky for me she was there for my delivery. I would recommend her to anyone.

I've had two good doctors in Los Gatos area. One is Dr. Zena Levine, a few others referred her as well. However, she didn't give me "warm fuzzy" feelings during our visits. Although she was nice and did excellent job with my daughter. but her office staff was VERY wonderful and I got along with them great.

But for my second pregnancy, I went to Los Olivos group and used Dr. Riemnitz. She was so sweet and always had a smile for me. I've kept her ever since.

Martin Silverman. O.B., Gyn. ###-###-####
15151 National Ave.
Los Gatos, CA 95032

Absolutely love him and his practice, Los Olivos http://www.losolivos-obgyn.com

B.,
I had a wondeful OBGYN. Dr. Zena Levine, shes in los gatos.
You might want to search her website and call to see if she's taking new patients www.zenalevine.com/ I had a higher risk pregency due to my age and having several fibroid tumors, but she took great care of me. The staff is wonderful too.

Best of luck to you...

Hi B.,

Congratulations on your first baby! And your move to the Bay Area. I had my first baby end of last September, and also asked around before selecting an OB. I and some of my friends go to Los Olivos. I asked the advise of a retired doctor from Stanford University, and he said Los Olivos is great. Which it is. I see Dr. Kunzel, but know from friends they are all great doctors there. Also, if you are looking for a good Pediatrician, Ramblc is just around the corner and also gets high reviews. We see Dr. Trager. I love my daughter's doctor. You can ask him questions via email and he responds within 24 hours. He is wonderful. I also heard all are good at this center. Here are the websites. Good luck with the move. I moved when I was 7 months pregnant. It's tough!

http://www.losolivos-obgyn.com/
http://www.ramblc.com/

Hi B.,

I would highly recommend my OBGYN in Mountain View, Altos Oaks Medical Group. They are in the El Camino Hospital building. I used Lin Lee who is a Mid Wives along with Dr Ken Weber (the other Dr Weber is his father). Very nice people with a very mother friendly practice.

PS there is a very good resource center for parents called Blossom Birth in Palo Alto. I found just about everything I needed there.

Good luck!

Dr Katherine Sutherland is great, located at El Camino Hospital/Orchard Pavilion in Mountain View, with the Womens Physicians group. She works with 3 other female OBGYNs as well as a NP. They do not accept insurance so you have to deal with paying up front and then getting reimbursed by your insurance, which for me is not a big deal. During your pregnancy, you rotate visits so you get to know all the doctors. http://www.elcaminoobgyn.com/

Hi B.,

Congrats on the pregnancy!

I highly recommend Dr. Jaki from the Camino Medical Group. She was an excellent obgyn and I was impressed with her on all counts. If she is not available for new patients, I know other women who have been happy with other doctors within her Group. Below is the website for the Camino Medical Group Practice.

http://caminomedical.org/obgyn/

Regardless, good luck with the pregnancy and the best of luck moving!

Cheers,
K.

I've been with my OB/GYN for almost a year. First it was for a gyn problem, she was so patient and nice. She'd return my phone calls and even sometimes save me a visit by communicating by phone. Now that I'm pregnant, it's great to already know her. I'm totally nervous! First baby and all. But she's proven to be the perfect doctor, she took 30 min at my first visit to tell me all the stuff I can and can't do. I'm very greatful to have found her. Dr. Azad (www.doctorazad.com) . Shes in Mountain View and only delivers at that El Camino Hospital.

I belong to the Palo Alto Medical Clinic and the OB-GYN groups are wonderful. My doctor is in Portola Valley at the Portola Valley Women's Health. Dr. McCarrick. He is the most wonderful man. Don't be afraid to go to him. He is the most gentle and AWESOME doctor ever. All of the group is great. I'd call for sure. Where will you deliver? There are other clinics within the Palo Alto Medical Group depending on where you live. Happy and Safe delivery.
R.

I love the Center for Women in Campbell. They have incredible OB's. Dr. Mary Totman is my doctor and delivered my two sons. I had health issues during pregnancy and she was always so calming and reassuring with a gentle voice and smile. I just can't say enough about this woman. Her partner is also top notch.
http://www.marytotmanmd.com/

Welcome to San Jose! I've had two babies via c-section with Dr. Violetta Faryno, and went to her for years prior to having children. She is a very thorough doctor. I really, really believe in her abilities. I find her medical style to be very cautious, which suits my personality, but may or may not suit yours. At the same time her personality is very down to earth and easy going. She delivers only at O'Connor on Forest Ave. in San Jose (near Santa Clara border). Her number is ###-###-####.

Hi B.,

I can not recommend Dr. Zena Levine (http://www.zenalevine.com/) highly enough! I have a 6 month old baby boy and she was absublutley amazing durning my pregnancy. Her entire office staff are so considerate and caring and they ALWAYS make time for you.

Good Luck with your move and your new arrival!
L.