Anyone Have Any Experience with Dr. Ayanna Walden at Cedars Sinai?

No experience with her, but I have heard Jason Rothbart (also at Cedars is good). He is going to be my back up doctor, as I am having a home water birth with a midwife. He is who would see me in the unlikely event that I have to transfer to Cedars during labor (10 min away).
I have not yet met him--but my amazing midwife, Shelly Girard, recommends him.
Better yet, explore homebirth--no bright lights, smelly hospital cleaners, being induced before you are ready! I am also a first time mom, giving birth to a boy around Thanksgiving.
Best of Luck--and trust your intuition on the doctor--switch!

I think if you're not comfortable with your doctor, or even having these concerns that she is blowing you off, find another doctor! Doctors should be there for you in every way. There are lots of other doctors out there that would appreciate you and love your business.

Dr. Walden is my OB and delivered my daughter last December. I had nothing but good experiences with her. It may be that she is really busy or that, because she's delivered almost 800 babies (really!), she knows that everything will be fine. Either way, you need to feel comfortable.

I would set up a time to talk to her via phone when she can focus on you and your issues. I'm sure once you tell her how you are feeling, everything will work out. She was great with me. Good luck and congratulations!!

Dr. Tony Chin was our doctor at Cedars and he was wonderful.

Hi, A..

Dr. Walden is my OB/GYN and she delivered my daughter in July 2007.

I had nothing but a great experience with her. I thought she was thorough, assuring and caring. I went into every prenatal visit with a list of questions and she answered every single one and put me at ease. She encouraged me to have a birth plan which was followed as closely as it could be, meaning, it actually went out the window because my labor had to be induced, something I was against, but I really had no choice in the matter because I wasn't having any contractions and had very little amniotic fluid left.

If you feel she may be dismissing you, since I do not know of the specifics, most likely she is trying to let you know that what you are concerned of is not something to be worried about. I read so much information and would go into each visit with a plethora of concerns and worries, but she assured me each time that they were either not an issue at that time or were not something that should concern me because I had a very healthy, uneventful pregnancy.

You should have a worry-free pregnancy and your doctor wouldn't gloss over something if there was an actual problem with your pregnancy.

If you are concerned about what things will be like during labor, yes, it is true that Dr. Walden will not be there throughout. However, she was absolutely fantastic when she delivered my baby.

What helped alleviate my worries (at least to a small degree) about labor was taking a lamaze class through Cedars-Sinai with Bernadette McDonnell. Let's face it, with a first time pregnancy, you are nervous and scared about a lot of things. The best thing you can do is go in with as much knowledge as you can. Even with that in hand, there are things that are out of our control, like my labor having to be induced.

My labor and delivery weren't exactly how I imagined it would go, however, I trusted Dr. Walden and I still delivered naturally, as I had wanted, and she was so helpful with a lot of guidance during those last pushes before my daughter, Zoe, popped out.

I felt it was my resposibility to get the most out of each and every visit. I encourage you to go in with your questions and not take it so personally if you feel you're getting dismissed. I would even recommend you talking to her about feeling that way. I guarantee that she isn't dismissing your concerns, but merely letting you know that what you are concerned about is something you shouldn't be spending so much time worrying over.

If you're concerned mostly about what occurs during labor, I would definitely recommend a lamaze class and/or a doula. I didn't feel I needed a doula because my partner and my best friend both did lamaze classes with me. If someone fell asleep snoring in class, as my partner did, at least I knew there was someone else who knew what was up.

Feel free to send me a message if you want to know any other specifics about my experience with Dr. Walden.

Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy!

E.

She delivered my baby. I thought she was wonderful!!!

Can you ask your doctor to suggest a doula who she likes to work with who can stay with you and assist throughout the labor? Your doctor is not going to be with you except for bits of the labor -- so you wind up going through most of it with a variety of staff that you have never met. It's a pretty intimate time to be meeting strangers. There are shift changes, etc. -- so you have to continue to meet strangers as your labor progresses. This can be turn into a nightmare, especially if you don't jive with some of them. Take someone with you who can coach and advocate for you from start to finish. This should not be your husband. He should be there to love and support you -- but it is too enormous a task to expect him to coach and advocate through your extreme emotions and pain. He has never seen what he is about to see and he will be going through his own emotional ride. A doula can take care of both of you. Best of luck! Welcome.