Please think twice before choosing Heather LeMaster as your provider…read more I wish I had listened to my intuition sooner and not ignored the many red flags I encountered throughout my care. I'm writing this review for anyone considering her as their midwife -- I encourage you to truly, deeply reconsider whether she is the right fit for you. From early on, I felt invalidated and dismissed. I had chronically low blood sugar throughout my entire pregnancy, and rather than receiving the support and care I needed, Heather denied my symptoms and was dismissive of my concerns. Instead of offering evidence-based guidance, I was shamed -- for eating fruit, for eating carbs -- at a time (first trimester) when I was sick and just trying to get through each day. Her constant warnings about delivering a "sugar baby" felt more like threats than medical advice, adding to my stress and confusion. I consulted the rest of my care team, including my PCP, and Heather heavily criticized that decision, routinely telling me that they did not know what they were talking about. She also claims to practice spinning babies, but none of what we did during my pregnancy aligned with the true Spinning Babies exercises and practices that my Doula had me practicing. It was frustrating, as I initially sought out a Spinning Babies provider. In addition to that, the one time I used the 24-hour help line, no one responded to me for over 16 hours. In her practice, she relied far too heavily on forms and checklists in an online portal, and rarely showed the kind of human care and emotional support that is absolutely essential in midwifery. When things got scary and I truly needed her -- emotionally and physically -- she simply was not there in the ways that mattered most. We ended up having to transfer to a hospital instead of our planned home birth, and despite it being in the contract, Heather did not transfer with us and was not involved in the birth at all. She sent a pathetic text message after hearing from her assistant encapsulating the placenta that the birth had happened. Looking back, I realize that, despite Heather always making me feel as if it was my direct fault when something went wrong, what actually went wrong with my birth wasn't about my body or my baby -- it was about my decision to stay with a provider who made me feel unheard, unsupported, and often blamed. That choice is something I now deeply regret. One of the most hurtful moments came in early postpartum (2 weeks), when she tried to go behind my back and privately consult my husband in an attempt to pressure me into medication -- after I had explicitly told her that I was not interested. She also pressured me to start it ASAP, as it can take a month to "kick in" and I "obviously needed it." Since my experience, I've met several others in the industry who shared similar concerns about her care. Many of them were just as confused as I was by the glowing reviews she has received, given the inconsistency in her approach and lack of real support. This further confirms my decision to speak out, as I hope others will be more cautious when choosing their provider. This review isn't written lightly -- my birth was over 8 months ago. It's written from a place of hoping that someone else who feels any of those early twinges of doubt listens to themselves and chooses a care provider who will honor them, respect them, and hold space for the incredibly vulnerable journey of birth.

Heather is an amazing midwife! This was my first VBAC birth and she helped settle all my fears,…read moremade me and my boyfriend feel cared for and took the time to answer all questions I had and wake me through my pregnancy step by step! She was the voice of reason I needed during my birth and with her support as well as the support of my family my beautiful baby boy was born with no need of a hospital or repeat c-section!

I started seeing Raelyn to heal from soft tissue injuries following a car accident. She took…read moremeaningful time to discuss my condition and formulate a plan to address my pain and mobility issues. Her treatment was wonderful. It was as the first time I have ever had bodywork that lasted more than a few hours after it was over. I could still feel the effects and benefits days later. In addition to being a gifted healer, Raelyn is just an all around pleasant person, which further adds to the experience.

Raelyn is a gifted and intuitive practitioner. More of a healer than what you would expect from a…read moretypical massage therapist. She helped me recover from a lot of post covid health issues, and takes a holistic perspective on what's going on in the body. She creates a relaxing and calm environment and she's such a kind, empathic person that you feel better just being in her presence. I feel lucky to have found her and cannot recommend her strongly enough!!

I stayed here (1st floor) from 12.23rd until Dec 31st. I am about 62 years, good health, this was…read moremy very first stay in any hospital and I must say I could have not found any better hospital. Everybody was so nice, compassionate and accomadating, from Doctors to nurses and all other staff. Kris, Julia, Adam, John, Alex, Alejandro, Machael, Dr Dabestani.........were extemely nice, passionate and helpfull. I truly appreciate the care they provided, they realy cared about me. I wish everybody a Happy New Year. Babak

Reporting Dr. Kotter immediately to Scripps, and the CA Medical Board for refusal of Vascular…read moreevaluation and beach of standard care. I came to Scripps ER with an active referral from my primary care physician for surgical removal of a lipoma. My symptoms are urgent (complete numbness and tingling across my entire upper back, progressing up my neck and down both arms, along with sharp pains in my neck and head.) I informed Dr. Kotter of my concerns for both nerve and possible vessel compression. I also shared that my last two D-dimer results were significantly elevated (1,587 ng/mL FEU and 991 ng/mL FEU: * A repeat D-dimer test * A CT scan with contrast or CT angiogram to evaluate for vessel compression Both requests were declined by Dr. Kotter. Only basic bloodwork, and a non-contrast CT was ordered, which cannot adequately assess blood vessels. The logical call would be an MRI or CT for nerves and contrast-based imaging for vessels, plus a repeat D-dimer...instead of only a non-contrast CT. This decision risks missing a time-sensitive diagnosis such as vessel blockage, clot, or combined nerve and vessel compression, and represents a potential deviation from the standard of care. This is the kicker! Dr. Kotter stated there are "no important blood vessels to worry about in the back; the ones to worry about are in the front," which is medically inaccurate as the back of the neck and upper back contain vertebral arteries, deep cervical veins, and other clinically significant vessels. I also requested that these refusals and my worsening symptoms be documented in my chart with full clinical reasoning. Documentation was not completed during my visit, and I was told notes would be made & reflected in my chart by Dr. Kotter "in 24-48 hours." Dr. Kotter agreed to document her decision and clinical reasoning behind declining the tests. I left the hospital feeling my symptoms and concerns were not taken seriously and that urgent vascular and neurological risks were not fully evaluated. Thank you Ryan/Jared for being kind. Thank you to the female nurse (I'm sorry I forgot your name) that took my handwritten notes to add to my patient profile. I appreciate you.

The care and one on one was amazing. My daughter felt seen, heard and helped…read more The office was lovely, warm and spotlessly clean. The young lady who greeted us was very kind, smiled and was happy we were there.

Jen is absolutely incredible with her knowledge, compassion and care for those she interacts with!…read moreShe makes you feel supported and empowered in your choices as a parent. She is extremely generous with her time when she is working with you and generous in sharing supplies to ensure you have what you need to be able to feed your baby the way you want to be able to feed. As a first time mom, meeting with Jen was an absolute must and I cannot recommend her enough to first time and experienced mothers/families! Thank you, Jen, for the compassion and knowledge you bring to families.

I found Dorinda through her glowing reviews here on Yelp, which we found to be very accurate from…read morestart to finish of our time together. Dorinda came to our home before the birth to talk in depth and was very tuned into my pregnancy experience; she provided a lot of supportive words/sent me funny memes and videos during the last dragging weeks of pregnancy. She also sent baby resources like a list of recommended items - this consultation would be especially useful for first time parents. Once we were home from the hospital, Dorinda came over the first night and provided a burst of energy and positivity. She sat next to my bed as I fed our new (second) baby and helped me stay awake and make sure she was getting a proper, full feed. We talked everything from birth care to postpartum recovery to current events and family chat (she's a mom and parents her 2 kids in San Diego, so she's been there too!). For subsequent visits we figured out ways to maximize my healing and sleep once I could pump and Dorinda could give a bottle. It's been a game changer for recovery and mental health, especially juggling a toddler, newborn, high energy dog, busy lives and jobs during the day. During my first postpartum I struggled with baby blues, isolation, and extreme exhaustion symptoms but have had none of that this time around and am so grateful. Why we clicked with Dorinda - she's smart, caring, attuned to the whole family's needs, is a strong communicator, and fits into systems we already have developed. She cares about evidence-based parenting and safe sleep. But is just like having a friend around in your home. Highly recommend!

You could not pick a better doula than Dorinda. Before our baby was born, she continually checked…read morein on us to see how we were doing and gave words of encouragement along the way. She gifted a sweet little book to our 4 year old when she came for a house visit to get the lay of the land and make sure everything was in order for when baby came home. She took the time to get to know why we were interested in a doula. I had told her I was traumatized from having a baby in 2020 during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and had no help (even from family). I also suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety and had no idea, which made the postpartum journey harder as I tried to figure out sleeping, breastfeeding, etc. Any mom will tell you that with their first child, you are afraid to sleep because you want to make sure your baby is breathing or that you wake at any noise your baby makes. With all this in mind, Dorinda was sensitive and incredibly reassuring in helping me figure out breastfeeding, getting my supply up, and making me not have to worry at all about anything BUT sleep! I saw how she held him, soothed him, changed his diaper and fed him all before I went up for bed. Throughout our journey, she checked in almost daily asking about how he slept, how I slept, and kept giving encouragement as I tried to figure out and get ahead of my postpartum depression and anxiety medications. I always joke with my husband that if we ever had a third, we would hire Dorinda again. (I wish we hard her for our first!) We absolutely love Dorinda. You'll get the peace of mind you're searching for whatever that may be to you!

We loved having Emily with us for our daughter's first 6 weeks…read more She came in and took over when i most needed help. From reorganizing to helping prepare for the next steps and some light cleaning, she was everything any new parent would ask for when coming home with a newborn. We recommend babies by the beach 100%!

Emily is an amazing doula and I recommend her highly. She is extremely knowledgable -- I learned…read moreso much from her. She taught me how to bathe my baby, wear my baby in a wrap, soothe my baby and several other "tricks." And, I was totally blown away by her breastfeeding knowledge. She helped me decipher my baby's behavior and figure out what I needed to do to soothe her. Emily would respond to my texts with invaluable advice in the moment when I was struggling with milk supply. I honestly can't say enough about how helpful she was. In addition, she's extremely efficient and helps around the house too. Oh, and she provides incredible printed resources for new moms as well. I am very grateful I found her.

She Care About My Health Need's As A Woman That's Every Important To Me And To Help Me Stay Healthy!read more

I have bad experiences from 2020 to now 2022. I have never…read moreexperienced such bad management by a doctors office. One of the first times I went to see Dr. Nguyen was in June of 2020 before Covid "understaffing" was a thing. I was scheduled in the afternoon to get my birth control removed and waited over 30 mins to be seen. Once I was sent to the patient room I had to wait another 25 minutes for the doctor to actually show up and start the procedure. Even the doctor knew it was taking a while because she told her staff not to schedule my procedure and some other patient around the same time. I really thought that was a one time thing just like a scheduling fluke. I was assigned to her as my OB/GYN in April 2022 for my first pregnancy. Every appointment I've had from April to August I've had to wait 20 minutes at the minimum to be seen. Yet I'm expected to get there early ? Anytime I call with a question and put on hold for 5 to 10 minutes which is ridiculous because that's how long some of my work breaks are so I wasted my break just to not be talked to on the phone. They say they take lunch every day from 12:30 to 1:30 however when I've called at 12 no one answers the phone and I receive a message saying to call back during normal business hours so why say that's when your lunches if that's not when it is ? I sent an email asking about bad stomach pain I was having in august and never received a response. One of My last appointments I had to go out to the two girls in the front and ask them is the doctor going to come in soon just to be seen by the nurse practitioner and have her use a Doppler and ask if the baby is moving . That's it for waiting over half an hour? I work Monday through Friday and have to reschedule and there's never open appointments at a reasonable time. Well now there's one less patient and I will be calling the hospital i plan to deliver at to make sure it's not Dr Nicole Bc I don't want her to be apart of my pregnancy let alone get paid for it anymore. Find a way to make your patients a priority and stop over booking and being so money hungry.

My family and I are so grateful and lucky to have been under Ceniza's care during my pregnancy,…read morebirth, and postpartum, and that she took on our family even though we were a distance away for the majority of it. During my pregnancy, I had Hyperemesis gravidarum, HG, and through all of the emotions and challenges that came with this, Ceniza showed up for me. I appreciated how, no matter how small, she took my concerns seriously and listened intently at every visit. She guided me and helped me to learn so much about my own body, experience navigating pregnancy, and navigating the challenges of new mamahood. When Ceniza arrived for my birth, I felt at ease knowing I was in good hands. I felt this same way during our postpartum visits as she checked on my baby and I, a sense of calm that I believe my baby felt too. It meant a lot to me to know what was going on through all stages of this, and it was empowering to be educated through it. Ceniza impacted our lives in a most beautiful way, and her gentleness, kindness, and graciousness are a rare gift in this world.

I promise, working with Ceniza will be the best decision you can make in protecting your family…read moreduring pregnancy and birth. I have loved my time with her! There are few providers that are as invested in client care as Ceniza is. My birth was the most intimate and intense experience of my life and I couldn't have asked for better support. We knew right away after our interview that we wanted to work with Ceniza and we started our journey at 6 weeks. We felt she was the perfect fit for our family- we shared joy, laughter, and stories during our many prenatal visits. She held space for us as we navigated the questions, tests, and fears of a first pregnancy. She respected our decisions and my body at every visit and intentionally created a relationship with my husband as well (partners are so often left out of this experience and it meant a lot that he felt as connected with Ceniza as I did). Our visits were always 45-60 minutes and we were never rushed out the door. We built trust during our prenatal care and so when she came to our birth, I had no hesitation to listen to her. My birth was swift and she helped me believe in my body and ability to birth without medication in the safety of my home. She caught my baby girl and ensured her safety. She and her team spent 5.5 hours in our home- cleaning our space, examining us, and teaching us how to navigate the first few days and recovery. I can't say enough about how beautiful it was to be cared for by her right after welcoming our daughter. Postpartum is a tricky space to navigate and Ceniza always made herself available for our questions. So often birthing individuals are neglected and providers only care for the baby but I felt like Ceniza was invested in my recovery as well. Her follow up home visits through 6 weeks meant the world to us! We will certainly miss seeing her regularly and can't wait to see her in a few months. We will absolutely work with her again whenever we have another baby. I would recommend her to anyone looking for amazing prenatal care and birth support!

Theresa and Trevor helped my baby tremendously with mobility and reducing tension. My son was born…read morefrank breech, so he already had increased muscle tension in his neck and body. Through their stretches and very gentle hands-on work, my baby became much more relaxed and was able to breastfeed better. I was a bit hesitant at first, but my lactation consultant recommended them and I couldn't be more grateful that I went. I would absolutely recommend them and I truly trusted their hands with my baby.

Dr. Theresa has been absolutely wonderful and truly exceeded our expectations. She took such…read moregentle, attentive, and compassionate care of our two-month-old, making us feel completely at ease as new parents. She took the time to listen, explain everything thoroughly, and provided thoughtful recommendations that were incredibly helpful. Her depth of knowledge, particularly around feeding and infant care, was outstanding--honestly even more helpful than what we received from our lactation nurse. We always felt supported, heard, and confident after each visit. We are so grateful for the care she provided and genuinely wish we could continue seeing her, but unfortunately we are moving away from San Diego. Any family would be lucky to have Dr. Theresa as their child's doctor.

I had a wonderful prenatal massage with Jamie. Her touch and attention to detail made me feel safe…read moreand relaxed. Her energy and communication was very soothing. I highly recommend going to see her!

growing a human being is hard work. jamie has created a space where you can rest your body and…read morerelax. she has magic hands that can sense exactly what your body needs. i'll be back even after my pregnancy.