I was referred to Orange Coast OBGYN by one of my patients. I called to make the initial appointment and they told me they don't see anyone until 10 weeks. So we wait about a month for the appointment. Go into the room and spend about 10-15mins with Dr. Conner. She basically told us how she does her appointments and starts going on and on about all these tests we have to do. Initial bloodwork, anatomy scan at 18 weeks, and she presses us into getting genetic testing done. She mentions that 99% of her patients do it, she shows us the brochure and tells us it scans for everything from A-Z basically and when we say we will think about it, she says "you have really nice insurance so it will probably only cost you around $99 so I would do it if I were you". Being first time parents, we just decide to listen to her and do the genetic testing that supposedly would only cost us $99. Word to the wise, this test has cost us HUNDREDS of dollars. Not $99 like she said. My kid is 3 months old and I'm STILL paying it off. Very, very frustrating.
Throughout the pregnancy she would ask us every visit where we planned on giving birth, which has always been Hoag. There was never an option to give birth at Orange Coast Memorial and we never said we would think about it. But every time we saw her she made us feel like Hoag was not the way to go and that there was a chance that she wouldn't be able to deliver my baby because in her words "she can't be in two places at once" Why would she advertise on her website and be a provider for Hoag if she feels negative about the hospital and doesn't deliver there often?
Anyway, towards the end of the pregnancy, my blood pressure starts to rise and she concludes that I must be induced at 39 weeks, even though I tested negative for pre-eclampsia. She does 2 cervical checks in the last 2 appointments leading up to my induction date, BOTH of which she cannot reach my cervix. That is when I started asking about a c-section, because I knew in my gut something was wrong. She brushed me off and just kept saying to go forward with the induction and to "plan on being there for the long haul. About 24-36 hours." Again, being first time parents we trusted our doctor and listened to what she said.
Go in for the induction day, and the nurses are checking me in and they start to notice things wrong with her treatment plan. And that's when another alarm went off, I knew something was wrong. From the start of the induction to the time my son was born it was 42 hours and 3 minutes. Let that sink in.
I had a cervical ballon. Pitocin. And I never fully dilated to a 10. I pushed for 6 hours. Endless vomiting from the meds I had been on for almost 2 days. And it took the nurses calling her multiple times to persuade her to come to the hospital. She told the nurse on the phone she wouldn't be able to make it because "she had a surgery in the morning and appointments after that" and that's when I started begging for a new doctor. Being in labor for that long and pushing for that long your body is exhausted. She finally walks in and I'm begging her for a c-section. She convinced me that I needed an episiotomy and a vacuum, even though I said I did not want to be cut in two places if it ended up in c-section. This is when she got frustrated and condescendingly tells me "well everyone tears so you might as well be cut". She got frustrated and took it out on me. That is when I gave up.
An episiotomy and 3 failed vacuums, my sons heart rate started to drop, and I ended up in the OR for a c-section.
Thank you Dr. Conner for one of the most traumatic birth stories I have ever heard. For putting my body through that much pain before AND after. Because of you, I couldn't hold my son for more than 12 hours after he was born. Because of you, he was ripped from my body in the most traumatic and unnatural way possible. Because of you, I now know I should've trusted my gut and got a new doctor. Thank you for destroying an event in my life that is supposed to be magical and empowering. Instead, I was made to feel like I was disposable.
She never came to check on me in the 42 hours leading up to the birth, and she never came back in the 3 days I was there after the birth. Didn't call. Nothing. She never told me how many sutures I had, if my c-section scar had sutures or staples, never told me or my husband how to care for it or anything. She just pulled my baby from me and left. I trusted my gut and got a new doctor. Who was just as mortified as everyone else is who hears my birth story. My new OB checked everything from c-section scar, episiotomy scar, and checked my abdominal muscles for diastasis recti. She answered more questions and spent more time with me than Dr. Conner ever did.
If you are a first time parent, listen to your gut. Get yourself a doctor that actually cares about you and your baby, and spends more than 10 minutes with you. read more