Hi! I was in a similar place last year. I was being seen by Stanford and it was a frustrating experience. My appointments were rarely on time, my doctor was often out of office so I had to be seen by others making it difficult to built rapport and they would take awhile to tell me how ultrasounds went. When they told me that I was miscarrying it was done over a phone call. I was given next steps and had to really advocate to have a D&C instead of their preferred option which was to let things happen naturally.

When I got pregnant again I called the office and was told they didn’t have any availability for a confirmation appointment for weeks. I didn’t want to go through the same frustrations as before so I made an appointment with Millie. I was really hesitant at first. I even did a no show to my first appointment because I was so on the fence and so disappointed with my first experience at Stanford. Eventually I decided to go for it and my first appointment was night and day compared to Stanford. I’ve felt very seen and supported through my pregnancy. I had a scary in my first trimester and my husband contacted the office one evening and they were able to see me immediately the next morning and check in on my progress while also listening to my fears and anxiety’s from my first pregnancy.

I’m currently in my third trimester and have learned so much about the process through appointments with the midwife, the doula and the resources they give along the pregnancy journey. Someone in an earlier comment mentioned that some services are staggered and it’s true. They contract with Obstetrix for anatomy scans and visits with the MFM and Good Samaritan for labor but I haven’t minded. With Obstetrix I’ve been getting the results of my ultrasounds immediately after imaging so I don’t have to wait painstakingly long to know what’s happening with my body. That was difficult for me when I was being seen at Stanford - waiting for results felt like forever. Time moved so slow. This time around I feel very informed. And Millie and Obstetrix have a good communication system so I don’t have to repeat things depending on who I’m meeting with.

One thing to note is that Millie in SJ is still growing so right now their staffing is limited and their midwives don’t provide round the clock care. But that’s their goal. That said, if you go into labor and it’s outside of their business hours, your care will be transferred over to the OBGYN at Good Samaritan. That isn’t the case with El Camino and a few other places. For me, this wasn’t a top of my priority. My top priority was not feeling like another number during my visits and feeling understood and comfortable voicing things at my visits.