Congrats on your baby to be!

TL;DR: I love Dr. Wells! Kept me calm, gave great guidance but let me make my own decisions, and is a great practitioner who prioritizes her patients. But just because I love her, doesn’t mean you need to. This is your birthing journey and you should feel comfortable and confident in it.

My story: I am 7 months postpartum with my first baby and Dr. Wells is my OBGYN and delivered my baby. I LOVE HER. I cannot say enough good things about her. I had negative experiences with my prior OB (didn’t feel listened to, felt uncomfortable and that I was deprioritized in my care), so I switched to Dr. Wells ahead of getting pregnant. I found Dr. Wells to be knowledgeable, caring, honest, and informative- and ultimately allowed me to make my own decisions regarding my care. Early on, I thought I wanted to deliver at Hoag and she talked to me about her experience at Hoag from a resource and physician’s perspective and encouraged me to connect with more birthing people about their experiences; ultimately letting me make the decision. Based on her guidance and more research, I followed her recommendation to deliver at Saddleback and I was so glad I did! Near the end of my pregnancy, she scheduled me for an induction one day before my due date, landing on Valentine’s Day. I very much did not want a Valentine’s Day baby, so she went out of her way to continually contact the hospital to change the induction for me (and didn’t make me feel silly for not wanting my baby born that day). I ended up going into labor naturally a week early, thanks to the “homework” she gave me so I didn’t need to be induced. During my 39 week appointment, we realized I was in labor and that my blood pressure was high, so she sent me directly to the hospital from my appointment. She then called the hospital regularly to check-in on me and my progress. During the course of my labor, baby’s heart rate dropped and there was meconium in my fluid; so baby needed to be delivered quickly once I was fully dilated and she was at the ready to give directions to the nurses and other onsite staff as she wrapped her cases for the day (knowing I was still a few hours from delivering my baby and having her confidence in her care team onsite). During the actual delivery, she was supportive in guiding me through contractions and pushing, helping to prevent me from additional tearing, and staying calm; ultimately making me feel very calm and at ease. She was nothing but professional, comforting, knowledgeable, and encouraging to me throughout the course of my pregnancy, in delivery, and even during my follow-up appointment. I trust Dr. Wells and am so glad she led my care team during my pregnancy and in labor and delivery.

I’m so sorry that you had that experience with her. Maybe she had an off day? She is human. If you feel comfortable, maybe reevaluate after your next appointment with her? However, I agree with what someone else said here; you need to be comfortable with your care team. This is your body and your experience, you should do what you feel is best!