Valley Forge OB/GYN - Phoenixville — Local services in Phoenixville

My appointment was rescheduled from 2:30 to 3pm which was fine with me. I checked in at 3:01 and the receptionist was nice and thanked me for completing my paperwork beforehand. The nurse who took me back was nice. I did not see the doctor until 3:34. Dr. Vanessa Cañas seemed nice at first but there was no warmth or grace to her when I had concerns or questions. She was polite with a slight edge. I didn’t like it. After asking me if I needed a birth control prescription she then began telling me that I would need to go off of the pill to test my hormones next year. I had some questions about that and her demeanor was not one of care and concern. It was more like she was irked that I was questioning her. Then immediately before performing the exam she forewarned me that some health insurance companies do not cover annual Pap smears because the recommendation is every 1-3 years. I let her know that I would then leave and be back after I found out that information. My grandmother had cervical cancer and that is a fear of mine, so I have always had a yearly Pap smear. I also told her that my mother had just died of a uterine mass, which she had no reaction to other than to inform and educate me that a Pap smear did not test for any uterine abnormalities. Dr Cañas seemed put out that I might not continue my appointment if the Pap smear was not covered. I saw no reason to have more than one pelvic exam in a year and to come back after I checked with my health insurance for just the Pap smear was not something I wanted to do. Instead of being sympathetic, Dr. Cañas explained tersely that I would still be billed for a visit because she had already had a conversation with me and was about to perform the exams. If a service that is regularly done at a yearly exam might not be covered, the time to mention that is during the scheduling of the appointment so that this situation I ended up in could be avoided. I had the idea to call my health insurance and find out if the Pap smear was covered and the doctor and chaperone left while I made the call. The very nice representative I spoke with was able to confirm the Pap smear would be covered as part of my routine annual exam. Again, I could have done this before I was in a room with a gown on and a paper drape covering my lady parts. When Dr. Cañas returned she preformed the exams and during the painful collection she said “curl those toes” when I was curling my toes. That was weird and super gross. The speculum was cold, the sample collection was aggressive, and I will be looking for...

I don't recommend this practice for maternity care. This practice ONLY delivers at Phoenixville hospital and my experience delivering there was really bad because of 1) my cervix wasn't checked right away. I told them I had fast labors and was ignored. No one checked on me for at least an hour and the baby was delivered within 10-15 mins of the OBGYN finally checking my cervix. They denied I was having regular contractions. How do you give birth within an hour and not have regular contractions? Keep in mind I was the only person in maternity triage.

When I talked to patient advocate at the hospital, she said it's normal for only one doctor to be on call in maternity. That's a little scary and something people definitely should be aware of if delivering here. There should at least be a certified midwife on duty as well as an OB. What do they do if they need a provider, and the OB is in a c section? It was necessary in my case because I almost gave birth in the hallway on the way to delivery room and dumped the baby on its head. Also, your chance of getting an epidural will be lower here as they need a cervix check for that and the triage nurse wasn't competent enough to know for sure where I was. I could tell she was confused, and she said the doctor will need to check but the doctor was busy. Go to a bigger hospital like Einstein where they keep more staff, please.

Also, I didn't feel I bonded with any of the doctors here. They want you to see a different provider each visit. Visits were rushed and I feel they push too many ultrasounds. I had to drive all the way there just to pick up paper prescriptions for physical therapy and bloodwork and they could have easily emailed me the prescription instead of having me drive 40 minutes while being pregnant and uncomfortable. The nurse who handles anything pregnancy related only works at the Phoenixville location so if you go to Limerick be aware of that. If you're set on delivering with Axia, go with the Collegeville location as they deliver at Einstein.

Someone from Axia corporate reached out to me briefly and said she would call me back or come visit me at the hospital and of course this person never followed up. They just care about reviews...

If you go here, TRUST YOUR INSTINCT AND ASK FOR SECOND OPINIONS!

It's unfortunate that this practice is so close to home, because I would rather drive ANYwhere but here. I initially had no intention of visiting this practice after researching reviews. However, some problems early in pregnancy prompted me to get in for an early appointment and give it a chance.

I was seen a good handful of times in the time period of a month. None of the doctors I saw EVER came in with my file or previous notes. None of the doctors were ever comparing/reviewing my history to what was happening at that moment.

I was prompted to sign papers to schedule a d&c after being told my pregnancy had ended. The doctor did not review my blood work results and those had not been shared with me. At the time I was being pushed to schedule the D&c "immediately", I repeatedly asked for my blood draw results, learning that my levels suggested that my pregnancy was proceeding normally. I was told that the dr "should have" seen those.

I called the dr later, having a d&c scheduled for the following day, for reassurance on his reasoning. He didn't have any, except that he didn't see the baby's heartbeat on these low-grade portable ultrasound machines at 6.5 weeks. I asked him if the baby was measuring small and he said it measured 6.5 weeks. He told me I could go get a private scan if it made me feel better.

Well, I DID! And, I am now almost 27 weeks pregnant with a perfectly healthy baby. I understand it was early, but these doctors do not really study your record or history, and they sure do not take the measures or precautions of following up on such a major diagnosis/decision before pushing surgery.

I am very disappointed. And, they had no trouble at all threatening me to collections for the $100 I owed them for the "ultrasound" that misdiagnosed the "missed abortion" that I...