I just found out that I am pregnant with #2!! With my first, we went to a Midwife at St. Lukes. But we've moved and live really close to Shawnee Mission Medical, so we'd like to deliver there. Any recommendations on a good Doctor or Midwife that is willing to do a VBAC there? (My 1st daughter was breech). I would like to go as naturally as possible this time around, if the cards line up right. :)
Thanks in advance!!
Hi J.,
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Melanie Martin is a doctor at SMMC. My second baby was a VBAC and she was the doctor on call who delivered him. She was great. I am actually expecting #3 in February and we are planning on another VBAC. Their # is ###-###-####. Good Luck!
My doctor is Mark Finkelston ###-###-####) and his office is just outside of SMMC in the Antioch Hills Med Bldg (75th and Antioch). I love him! He's totally aweseome and very thorough. He is really nice, has a great staff and is always on call. He runs an office of just himself and it's so great b/c you get such personal service all the time! Plus you can make appointments so easily and there are always options to fit your schedule. When I schedule my yearly exam I just have to call a week before hand and I still get in! Some people worry about small practices b/c there aren't other opinions, but honestly, he's the best doctor I've ever seen and I'm more worried about care, compassion and honesty, and he's got it. Anyway, I make him sound like a celebrity...LOL! I just wanted you to know why I liked him and wasn't just throwing out his name b/c I went there! Congrats!
Oh and he will do a VBAC...he offered me on with my second, my first was breech also, but I declined.
You have a very low chance of getting a VBAC at any hospital, particularly at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. I have heard horror stories about delivery there, especially for those wanting a natural birth. Your best hospital bet is Research Medical Center with Sheila and Kim in Midwest Midwifery, but even that is relatively low. If you really want one, find someone with low Csection rates. Most OB's won't even know theirs, and that is obviously a bad sign. An even better chance for a VBAC is if you watch The Business of Being Born by Rikki Lake, read The Silent Knife, and Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth, and then choose a home birth. Good luck.
Shawnee Mission is NOT famous for natural birth experiences. Go take a tour. Ask the director what their epidural rate is. When I checked them out, it was 93%, which means that most nurses there have never even SEEN a woman give birth w/o drugs. And good luck on the VBAC. I think SM doesn't allow them at all. I would stick with the midwives if you want a shot at that. Best of luck.......
The doctors at Women's Health Associates deliver at SMMC and do VBACs. I haven't had a VBAC, but a friend of mine has had two successful VBACs with their doctors. I usually see Dr. Wittek, but I like all of the doctors there.
http://www.womenshealthkc.com/
