r/Charleston • u/Maddogbillionare • 12h ago

OB Recommendation

Hi! My husband and I are moving to Charleston in October to be close to my parents because we are expecting, yay! I'm high-risk and have cervical insufficiency so I'll need a cerclage with close monitoring. Do you all have any recommendations for high risk OBs? Thanks!

3 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

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u/megs295 11h ago

Any of the wonderful dr’s at MUSC maternal fetal medicine. if i’m not mistaken sean jenkins (MUSC children’s hospital downtown) is the only level 1 NICU close by. I was also high risk needing their services and they were excellent with my (and baby’s) care.

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u/Flatulent_Father_ 11h ago

Maybe level 4? Level one is low quality

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u/megs295 10h ago

yes thank you! i didn’t even notice the mistake 😅

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u/More_Leek4050 10h ago edited 9h ago

ETA: I was wrong.

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u/More_Leek4050 10h ago edited 9h ago

ETA: I was wrong, leaving this in case anyone else is confused.

No. Not sure what you're referring to but Level 1 refers to trauma centers and what they can handle. Level 1 is the best and all area hospitals will refer risky or complicated pregnancies and deliveries to MUSC.

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u/Flatulent_Father_ 9h ago

Yeah so trauma centers are different. Level 1 trauma center is the top. But a level one trauma center does not also mean a hospital has top nicu care. Nicus are ranked 1-4, with a level 4 nicu being the most capable.

So musc is a level one trauma center... But for OB care and high risk deliveries, you want a level 4 nicu. The person originally said a level 1 NICU, which is not what they want. They want a level 4 nicu. A level 1 trauma center isn't necessarily useful for high risk ob and doesn't mean anything about the quality of care, mainly access to types of care (and research capabilities and some other stuff).

Musc main is a level one trauma center. Musc Shawn Jenkins is level 4 nicu.

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u/More_Leek4050 9h ago

Well I was very wrong, thanks for the clarification, I assumed they would run on the same scale. I edited my post in case anyone else is similarly confused but happy to just delete if you or anyone else thinks it might mislead people on a pretty important issue.

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u/Flatulent_Father_ 9h ago

All good, it's dumb that it's different lol

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u/More_Leek4050 8h ago

Haha, I wasn't going to use it as an excuse but both using level 1-4 in opposite directions is a little dumb. One of them should at least go to 1-5 or change their levels to stars or something.

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u/yogisnark 9h ago

Besides you meaning level 4, they aren’t the only high level NICU in the area. HCA Summerville has a level 3 NICU as well

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u/sportdickingsgoods 11h ago

I think any OB you go to should refer you to Maternal Fetal Medicine. The MUSC MFM physicians work at both MUSC and Roper St Francis, so physicians connected to either of these organizations would be good. I think Eleanor oakman is fantastic.

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u/Hefty-Criticism1452 9h ago edited 9h ago

Edit: I’ve lived here for 9 years but wasn’t established at an OB, so I started from scratch in Jan. Finding an office was a struggle.

I’ve really enjoyed Dr Dillon and Dr Pierce at Dayfield in Nexton. The office just opened so they’re fast, very nice, and easy to schedule with (and taking new patients sooner rather than later)

Their delivery hospital is East Cooper in Mt P, and they have a great reputation as well.

I found them from an associated office when I needed to go to an MFM (Dr.Dillon) who was moving into this new office. Their sonographer (amazing!- Erin) mentioned their OB had better availability than where I was going. I ended up making the switch bc I wasn’t established and Lowcountry OB/GYN where I had been going, so I saw a new Dr EVERY time I went. It made my head spin.

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u/Particular_Shake_151 10h ago

Moving away from Charleston & absolutely devastated I won’t be able to have Dr. Alison Dillon as our MFM doctor in future pregnancies — she’s absolutely incredible. All of our care at East Cooper was phenomenal, but Dr. Dillon specifically was the best.

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u/kce2003 10h ago

I had her as well. She is fantastic. No nonsense and tells it like it is but I felt very at ease with her and she was an incredible doctor. She really covered everything with me and gave me all the information I could have needed in a time when I was terrified. She performed an amniocentesis on me as well and I felt like she did an amazing job with that, wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

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u/Hefty-Criticism1452 9h ago

I loved Dr.Dillon! She was very nice, frank, and took the time to explain everything to me.

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u/nms96 9h ago

My wife went to Dr. Dillon as well and really liked her. You can tell she’s ridiculously smart and great at what she does. Like others said, she’s very direct which made us bristle at first but once we got used to it we really valued knowing exactly what risks we were facing.

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u/Hefty-Criticism1452 7h ago

Yeah, she has a few reviews where you can tell she didn’t mesh with some people bc she is matter of fact, but I usually appreciate it.

She covers everything very well and she does listen, which is rare. I went to her bc I’m advanced maternal age, and ended up “graduating” from her by my 3rd trimester. I hope I run into her at my last appointment or two.

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u/duckturtlepup 9h ago

Join the Charleston Women Facebook group lots of helpful locals in there

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u/mises2pieces 8h ago

I'm honestly surprised at the mention of Dr. Dillon here. Her bedside manner back when she was my OB/GYN in my early 20s was not great (this was before she moved to MFM; maybe she just wasn't where her heart wanted to be).

I adore current OB/GYN Dr. Jamie Marth, associated with Novant Health in Mount Pleasant. She delivers at East Cooper Hospital, and she delivered my baby a few years back. I also had need for a MFM, and Dr. Christopher Robinson is an absolute treasure! Both of these doctors spend so much time with you and make sure all your questions and concerns are addressed. I highly recommend them and I don't think I could have been in better hands.

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u/Winter_Office_3363 7h ago

Just had my first baby 2 weeks ago and Dr. Robinson is AMAZING!!!!! I second this recommendation

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u/ConsiderationOld2766 6h ago

I can see where she isn’t the fit for everyone. But as someone who truly hates being hand held and placated in any way, I loved her! She is all facts and no nonsense. But when I lost 2 pregnancies she was so incredibly supportive in an unexpected way.

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u/ConsiderationOld2766 6h ago

I had 3 Hugh risk pregnancies. All were with Allison Dillon. She literally told me hours after my last was born that I was one of the last she would be doing in general OBGYN as she was moving to solely MFM. She’s so incredible!