I would not recommend Dr. Walker based on my experience throughout pregnancy and postpartum care.
From the start, there was a lack of attention to detail. She asked the same basic questions--like my last period and both mine and my partner's birth weights--at multiple appointments, as if she hadn't reviewed my chart. It made me feel like just another patient to rush through, not someone she was truly caring for.
When I said I only had six weeks of maternity leave, she offered a C-section so I could get eight weeks--with no medical reason. She wasn't joking. It felt dismissive and showed a lack of empathy. She compared it to her own situation decades ago.
When I asked about monitoring blood sugar at home instead of doing the glucose tolerance test, she said it wasn't an option. After I bought the supplies and started tracking, she said, "Oh, I could've ordered those." It was frustrating and unhelpful.
During a brief nutrition discussion, I mentioned eating pasteurized feta cheese. She responded that a patient once ate feta and their baby died. It was inappropriate and fear-inducing. I followed guidelines and expected clear, evidence-based support--not scare tactics.
At our second trimester ultrasound--before we knew the sex--she joked that "the baby could always change their gender later." Then she revealed the sex and only afterward asked if we wanted to know. Fortunately, we did--but the moment felt careless and flippant.
Throughout my prenatal care, she never asked how I was emotionally or if I had questions, and appointments often ended abruptly. When I said I wanted an unmedicated birth, she quickly shifted the topic to vaccines without discussion.
She used outdated terms like "date of confinement" for my due date, pressured me to go to the hospital on my due date despite not being in labor, and guilted me for declining cervical checks. At one point she said, "We wouldn't want a big baby," as a reason for early delivery--an outdated and non-evidence-based rationale.
At my six-week postpartum visit, she again brought up my decision not to go to the hospital on my due date. She said if providers asked why I delivered "so late," it would be because I ignored her advice. Even weeks later, she implied I had done something wrong for making an informed choice.
Consent was a major issue. Once, she walked in already gloved, placed her hand on my thigh, and started prepping for a cervical exam without asking. Later, even when I was open to a check, she didn't ask. These are medical procedures that require explicit consent. Her approach felt invasive and unacceptable.
She was also 40 minutes late to my delivery. Nurses asked me to wait before pushing so we could hold off for her arrival. No laboring person should be told to delay pushing for a late doctor.
At my postpartum checkup, she asked if I was "capable of turning a computer on and off" before clearing me for work. I didn't feel comfortable asking for more time off. She also offered unsolicited advice about circumcision, which felt unnecessary and out of place.
Overall, I felt dismissed, disrespected, and unsupported during one of the most vulnerable times of my life. Her lack of empathy and disregard for informed consent has shaken my trust in medical care.
I'm sharing this to help others make informed decisions and to encourage more trauma-informed, respectful, patient-centered care. No one should feel this way during pregnancy or postpartum. read more
