Seeking Experienced OB for VBAC

Hi Natalie!

I am about to have a VBAC, hopefully any day now. I have a wonderful doctor who has actually really pushed me to make the decision to have one. He is positive and very supportive. I know he deals with high risk situations, because I have a history of pre-term labor. His name is Dr. Sam Arnold, the web site is www.chcw.net

The office is in Woodbury, but it is worth the trip!

Goodluck!

Hey, Natalie! I'm going to second the recommendation for Fairview Riverside or University Women's Clinics. Most of the doctors switch back and forth between the two clinics, so it just depends on which one is more convenient for you. They all deliver at Fairview Riverside Hospital, which is one of the hospitals that is trying to encourage natural delivery and discourage elective or unnecessary c-sections. If you're comfortable seeing a resident, I can recommend Dr. Samantha Kehoe. If not, Dr. Rebecca French or Dr. Preston Williams are also great. I'm not sure of the phone number for Riverside, but the University clinic's number is ###-###-####. Good luck!

Hi, Natalie,

I had a successful VBAC last October at Fairview University. My Doctor was Dr. Jennifer Percy and she works out out of the Riverside Women's Clinic which is right across the street from the hospital. This clinic does "allow" VBAC's, but some of the Dr's are not as positive about it as others. Also, they practice in a group, so you may not have the same doctor deliver you as who you see for your prenatal visits.

There is another clinic on the campus of the hospital that also does VBAC's. I think they allow their CNM's to do it too. I think the clinic is called University Women's Health Specialists (or something like that).

I wish you all the best trying to find a good doctor. I think that MN is still pretty pro-vbac--at least I felt that way.

Good luck!

I'm a doula (8 yrs. in the biz) and highly recommend the midwives (who work closely with the docs so could deal with any preeclampsia issues if they turn up) at Health Partners and deliver at Regions.

I also encourage you to hire a doula and connect with ICAN.

Hi Natalie,
I work as a doula and recently had a great experience with a client who delivered her second baby at Methodist after having a C-section her first time around at Southdale. The on-call doc was Dr. Bryz-Gornia and I thought he was terrific -- VERY supportive and encouraging, and he said his wife had several successful VBACs herself. I believe he practices out of a Park Nicollet clinic, you can look him up on www.parknicollet.com to see which one. I'd also suggest you check out the International Cesarean Awareness Network at www.ican-online.org. They have local support group meetings, and some of their members might also be able to suggest some more docs that are supportive of VBACs.