Need Advice on Ob/gyn of Women's Healthcare Associates

Congratulations, Claire! I just had a baby in November, 2007 and my Dr. at WHA was Dr. Simpson. I loved her. Very calm, nice, and allows you to ask all the questions you want without making you feel rushed.

Hi Claire,

I recently found a great obgyn in vancouver. She is Dr. Saner at The Women's Clinic, ###-###-####. She is the most experienced female doctor at the clinic, and she is very sharp and up ot date on the latest techniques and medical information.

After a long history of "girl" problems, I finally feel like I am in excellent hands.

--B.

I don't know if you would consider going to Tualatin but my doctor at the Women's Health Center was Dr. Stephen Girolomi and I absolutely LOVED him. He did deliver my son, with complications, and he was very attentive for months afterward. He even gave me his private cell number to call him anytime if I had questions. I have since kept him as my gynecologist because I liked him so much. You may even give him a call and he can refer you to someone at the Barnes location. Their number is ###-###-####. Good luck with your pregnancy :0)

Hi Claire,

Dr. Barrett in that office is phenomenal! She is my OB and I will use her again with my next child. She came to me as a referral from two of my co-workers who also loved her. She is very well respected in the Portland area. Good Luck!

Claire,
I was fortunate that when I went into labor with both of our boys, I got the midwife I wanted because they were on call that day. What I have found for me; my husband and brother in law agree, is that a woman doctor should take care of a woman.
With both of our boys, there were 3-4 OB's in the clinic. (They were different clinics because of insurance changes.) I requested women only and they honored that. I had the opportunity to meet all of them and within the first two seconds, I knew which doctor/midwife I liked best and clicked with.
I believe that all offices will want you to have an appointment with each OB at least once and when you go into labor, you get which ever doctor is on call for that day.(This was our experience both times.)
If you decide on a doula, at least you know that she/he will be there including the doctor.
Don't worry about who to pick. Go meet all of them and base your decision on who you click with.
I had wonderful luck with midwives because they weren't in a hurry and made me feel comfortable and important. The scene was like delivering at home only with happy people and medical equipment.
Good luck and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
-A.

The tree doctors I would recommend (I don't know if they are all at your location) are Dr. Schrisnky, Dr. Omstead, and Dr. Stewart. I saw all three during my pregnancy at different times. But any of the doctors would be great I'm sure because every one of them I came into contact with was wonderful.

Claire,

It was some time ago (12-1/2 years) that we were seen by Kate Pelosi, a certified nurse midwife who was part of that group. I don't know if she is still there, but I'd recommend her highly if she is. She practiced within a group of Ob/Gyns, so there was always coverage through a doc if we wanted it, and she had hospital priveleges at St. Vincent Providence as well.

Have a healthy pregnancy!

Have you considered a midwife? If so, the popular ones over there seem to be Helen and Catherine Pelosi, but they are all really wonderful. I used Christine on my baby and adored her! She was like working with a girlfriend - totally on my level, could and would talk and laugh about anything.

If you go with a midwife they can spend more time with you at your visits and in labor than a doctor, it's a little bit different feel, more personal I think. You can have any kind of delivery you want, and they will support you.

I don't know a ton about the Dr.s there because I was using the midwives, but I've heard good things about Timothy Stewart and Donald Bair, though I haven't met either of them. My baby was delivered in the end by Marni Kwiecen (because it was an emergency C-Section. My midwife was there with me) and she was wonderful.

Claire,
For my 1st pregnancy I saw Dr Pew @ WHA in Tualatin and Dr Girolami delivered my daughter. Both were great!
I'm now pregnant again and am seeing Dr Laura Morrison @ St V's and I LOVE her. She is honost without being scary and very complete. I have had some complications and she is real about how to approach things as well as compassionate!! I have also NEVER had to wait for an appt with her!!

Best Wishes!

Hi Claire,

Dr. Trina Brodsky has been my doctor there for over 5 years, and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a good ob-gyn. She is very laid-back, yet extremely informative and takes the time to listen to your concerns. I do have to warn you, though - she didn't actually deliver either one of my boys, as she was otherwise occupied. A co-worker of hers (Dr. Karlson) delivered my first, and a midwife delivered my second. I have heard that it's difficult to actually have your doctor assist in the birth of your child - the timing has to be just right. Best wishes, hope this info helps a little bit. R. G

Dr. Gary Hoffman, he is fabulous!

I used Dr. Shirley Fox with my second son and loved her.

There are also several midwives that practice there. Before choosing a practicioner, I talked to one of the nurses and asked what difference in care I'd see between an MD and midwife. The midwives spend approximately twice the time on their appointments, and have a much lower c-section rate, as they're more open to trying alternative techniques and "letting the body do its job". They also stay with you more during labor and help with relaxation techniques and support, whereas the MDs usually just show up when it's time to deliver the baby. I decided to go with a midwife, because I wanted to do everything possible to avoid a c-section.

I saw Helen Welch, but met all the midwives during my prenatal care. They were all wonderful. My good friend is now pregnant and based on my experience has decided to see Helen also, and coldn't be happier with her care.

I'm not saying that you should choose a midwife over an MD, but I just wanted to let you know there are options.

Oh, and I did end up having a c-section, and while I can't remember the name of the Dr. who did the surgery, I can tell you she was very tall and thin with dark hair, about in her 40s, and she was fabulous.

Well,
I have an 11mo old little girl & we had Dr. Ben Johnson for our prenatal care. He was WONDERFUL - very encouraging, professional with difficult, & sometimes embarassing, pregnancy questions & calming with my 1st pregnancy. Unfortunately, due to the timing of babies (lol), he wasn't the one on-call to deliver her....I was hoping that labor would start to coincide with him being on-call for her delivery. However, Dr. Fox was absolutely awsome in the delivery room! I'm a hygienist, & I have many patients who are seen by different Dr's up at W.H.A. & none of them have been unhappy with anyone they've seen. One of my patients is the Dr. coordinator up there, so she works closely with ALL the Dr's & midwife's & she tells me there is NO ONE there that isn't great! I know that doesn't narrow down the Dr. pool, but I really enjoyed seeing Dr. Johnson....His nurse, Jamela, is awsome too!

Hi Claire~ I went to Carol Stull at Women's Healthcare during both of my pregnancies. She is wonderful! I was comfortable with her the moment I met her. When I got pregnant the second time, I was so excited to go back and see her. I highly recommend her. Congratulations!

I see that someone below recommended Dr. Hoffman. I saw him once while Dr. Stull was gone, and he is very nice too. He was my friend's OB and she loved him.

Hi there,

I am also a patient of WHLLC and my doctor is Dr. Karlsson. She is a very good and thourough doc. I was put on bedrest at 20 weeks and she worked with me and always was caring of how i was doing and how the baby was. I didn't get the chance to have her deliver my little girl as i went into early labor and ended up having an emergency c-section while she was on vacation. I highly reccomend her, she is very knowledgeable and very caring about her patients.

If she doesn't fit your type of doc, I would also reccomend Dr Warhuse, he is the one who delivered my little girl and he did an excellent job. He was very aware of my situation and had my little girl out in under 30min! I heard from my doc after surgery and her vacation that he had asked about me and how i was doing. To me, that says alot just to even think about it. All the doctors there are pretty good both my husband and I decided that if we are still in town for our next one, we will go back to the clinic.

I hope this helps you in making a decision, and congrats on the new baby!

Dr. Gary Hoffman is a wonderful, kind, soft spoken doctor who provided me with exceptional care. He is very easy to talk to and supported the decisions I made about my pregnancy, pre-natal care and testing and birth plan. He also helped keep the sex a secret because he knew that is what I wanted...even when in a moment of weakness I asked him to tell me. I'm so glad he did. When I started to refer to my baby as a boy, he gave nothing away.

Dr. baer or dr, dion

Dr. Damon Warhus. He's wonderful and so is his nurse, Shannon. I was taken aback when I first met him because he is young, but I like him and the way I never feel rushed when I have an appointment. Dr. Laura Morrison is also very good. She is the one who actually delivered my son in January.

Hi Claire, Dr. Kwiecien is my OBGYN and she is great. She is easy to talk to and matter of fact.

Good luck.
J.

We saw Dr. Karlsson and loved her. We wanted natural/minimal intervention childbirth and she was very supportive of our choices along the way. I also saw one of the midwives, Kate Pelosi, and she was also wonderful to work with. Dr. Trina Brodsky attended our baby's birth and we had an excellent experience. I highly recommend any of these women.

Dr. Walter Gary Hoffman is wonderful. I'd absolutely recommend him!

Hi Claire,

My husband and I are expecting our little boy any day now (due April 2) and have been seeing Dr. Ben Johnson. He is very laid back and always answers all our questions. Unfortunately, he recently broke his leg so has been unable to see us these last few weeks. He is now back in the office. During his absence we saw Dr. Dion and also really liked her. This is a great office and St. Vincents was recently rated #1 in Portland Hospitals for patient satisfaction!! Good luck!

Hello,

My doctor is Trina Brodsky at Women's Healthcare Associates. She delivered my daughter 2 years ago and she is wonderful. I highly recommend her.

R.

where do you live?? we found an amazing family doctor in west linn... his name is dr. farley, the office is called west linn family health center. he is accepting only pregnant women and their families at this time. he takes care of our entire family and delivered my son last year! my daughter loves going to the doctors office for check ups! they are super friendly, i could go on and on. check them out!