The Center for Women at Mount Auburn Hospital

Had my first pre natal appointment today with Judy Mullins and she is the sweetest most caring individual ever! The whole experience was fantastic. My husband was stuck at work and got to the appointment fairly late but she was very nice about it and excitedly had him hear the heart beat again even though we’d heard it before he came in. I had wanted Arlene pressmen because of all the raves on Unilocal but she was solid booked. But I am glad that happened because I wouldn’t have found Judy!

If you are pregnant and plan on having your appointments here, they do not have an ultrasound machine in this office. You have to go across the hospital to make an appointment that is not guaranteed within the same hour OR the same day! I thought the most important part having these types of appointments to check on baby was for the mother to see the baby on the screen. Every ultra sound is done by a different person each time. So when it’s my special time of getting to know the sex of the baby, it will be with a stranger. How special. Also, front desk people are very rood!

Let’s be honest, no woman on the face of this earth enjoys having her hoo-​hoo prodded and probed. (that’s what she said…)
Somehow, the Center for Women at Mt. Auburn is able to turn this dreaded experience into a fairly positive one. My NP is Arlene Pressman and she is absolutely wonderful. She follows up after every test and provides a level of service that I’ve never experienced elsewhere.
Due to insurance issues, I needed to have a test done outside of the Mt. Auburn system. As expected with anything related to insurance, it was a very cumbersome ordeal and any other provider would have given up, but Arlene went above and beyond in coordinating the entire process.
I have worked in hospital administration for years and the quality of patient care here is praiseworthy.

A former co-​worker referred me to Arlene after I had moved to Boston. When I called her next available appointment was pretty far out, so I asked if there was anyone else that might be able to see me in a sooner. The receptionist suggested Elaine Landes. I booked my appointment and saw her about a week later.
Elaine is fantastic. She’s been my «girl doctor», actually NP for the last few years and I have felt extremely comfortable in her care. Thankfully, I’ve been healthy the whole time, so I haven’t needed her for much more than annual physicals. She has a wonderful manner in the way that she interacts with people. Even though I see her once a year, she remembers that I am avid traveler (as is she) and we tend to spend a few minutes (regardless of how busy the day might be) talking about our travels and where we’re off to next.
The office staff has been helpful with setting up appointments and handling billing with ease (never had a problem with insurance). As promised, when any test results are set to be mailed they arrive as expected in a timely manner. In the last few years, they’ve recently changed location within Mt. Auburn Hospital and the new space is much larger.
The hospital itself is located within a relatively short walk to Harvard Square, but a few buses run by it as well. There is a parking garage with ample space, and also several two hour spots on Mt. Auburn St. In a nutshell, there are several ways to get to/​fro.

After reading several positive reviews on Unilocal and attending the ‘Meet the midwives’ session my husband and I decided to go for a midwife at Mt. Auburn for my prenatal care. I was in my second trimester when I switched for another Cambridge hospital to Mt. Auburn midwives. My first midwife was Leila Foreman. I found her pleasant in the first meeting but she seemed preoccupied. That happened during my second meeting as well. I gave her a call one morning to discuss some symptoms. She felt i was getting paranoid for no reason and snapped at me. She said she had to rush in for a delivery and i should stop worrying. That almost left me in tears. After five minutes Leila called back and apologized. I appreciated that but i was clear that i didn’t want her as my midwife. I then switched to the Arlington centre and consulted Megan MaCinness. She was professional and cordial.
The worst part about my experience was during delivery (January 25^th 2014). When i was in the labor room i felt the nurses were indifferent and rude. I was ok with that and didn’t really bother till the nurses became extremely rude and unprofessional when my heart rate had shot up abnormally and I had started sweating. One of the nurses, Elizabeth, was very rude and demanded that I tell what was happening to me. While its understandable that the staff would want to know about the patient’s condition but Elizabeth was very rude and bossy. She refused to give me any ice cubes etc when I requested her. I was shocked at her attitude. The midwife at that time was Adrienne and she was quiet. I begged the staff to get me water or ice cubes as I was feeling parched and suffocated. Elizabeth continued to be nasty and was very dominating.
When I was ready to push I requested Adrienne, the midwife, if Elizabeth could be replaced with another nurse. Adrienne went out of the labor room and discussed the matter with the nurses. She came back and we were ready to push when a nurse named Maria walked in and shouted at me. She said if I keep asking for a change of nurses I won’t have anyone to help me push. My husband, my mom and I were shocked. Adrienne was there but didn’t say anything. My husband then spoke with her and got another nurse. I felt I was at the mercy of these bullying nurses. Even the pushing experience was not good. The overall experience wasn’t good at all.
The head of Mt. Auburn midwifery practice, Margi Coggins, knows about my case as I had given her a detailed account of my experience. I am writing this review with the hope that no mamma goes through a similar experience. I hope that Margi and her team have taken the necessary steps to avoid such instances in future. Unfortunately I don’t recommend Mt. Auburn to any of my pregnant friends or other women I know in Cambridge. I feel MAMA is overhyped.
If you have chosen to go with MAMAH I sincerely hope you have a good experience. I really hope no one remotely goes through what I did at Mt.Auburn. Goodluck !

I had an amazing experience at Mount Auburn. My primary midwife was Leila Forman. She was caring and attentive throughout my appointments. Listened to my preferences and allowed me to ‘go with the flow’ of my pregnancy and labor. She was not the only midwife who cared for me though. Julia, Laura and every other midwife I met there was thorough and able to educate me as I went through the process. They appeared to be up to date on research and care through labor and delivery.
I had a baby that didn’t want to come out, he was taking his sweet time and although intervention was recommended they allowed me to do alternative methods of getting labor started (acupuncture, sex, walking, primrose, etc…) Then when my water broke they allowed me to take the time to labor at home after checking my fluid levels and discussing risks of infection. I felt educated but able to make my own decision.
We had a lovely labor, they were welcoming of my doula and when (to everyone’s shock) I was ready to push at shift change there was no hesitation. The other midwife (who had not been covering me through the night) hopped right in and delivered my son for me.
They are getting very popular for a good reason. I can completely understand the frustration with potentially dealing with a full labor floor, but I would take that over care that is going to want to intervene too early and not trust the body in the process of labor.

They are getting way too popular and even though they say you shouldn’t worry about it, they do have to divert people because they are full when it’s your delivery time. It’s horrible when you are there and they tell you that they are full and you will be taken to a different hospital. And nobody even sent a letter of apology.
Nor did they tell me on the phone before I went in that they are full. And they were

I met with Judy and oh my goodness, she is the nicest, sweetest, most patient lady. She is AWESOME! Ask for her if you go there. The whole experience was as good as the gyno can get! She didn’t rush me, even though I wanted to chat her ear off about health topics in the news I had read recently. And I had my oh-​so-​active toddler with me and no one in the office seemed to mind in the least!

Awesome, friendly and fantastic staff!

Unlike most people, I am super on top of going to the gyno. It’s the one doctor I go to annually. I recently moved to Boston and just kind of picked a doctor out of the phone book (not literally, because, well, who does that anymore?). I ended up at the Center for Women and my appointment was with Judy Mullins. SHE. IS. AWESOME. First of all, my appointment was during «Midwifery Week» so we got free cookies in celebration. Awesome! She is beyond friendly and patient and just nice and awesome. She keeps notes about stuff other than my medical history so when I come back and year later she asks me about work and things other than my uterus. Quick and painless. Highly recommend!

Everyone knows that an annual gynecological exam is about as pleasurable as a root canal. No one ever leave the gynecologist thinking «wow, that was a fun exam, can’t wait for next year.»
That said, my experience with Arlene at Mt Auburn’s Center for Women was as close as one could get to a painless annual exam. I loved that Arlene came in to chat with me about my medical history before asking me to strip down and put on the flimsy gown; I loved that Arlene told me about *every* possible contraceptive option (including a few things I wasn’t even familiar with); I loved that the exam was thorough but that the uncomfortable parts were quick and painless; and I loved that Arlene was so friendly and warm.
If a pap smear and pelvic exam are necessary evils, I’m glad Arlene is at Mount Auburn. She just makes it as easy as possible.

I’ve been a patient of The Center for all of my years here in Boston (4, if you’re wondering). I’ve seen Arlene and Elaine and I love them both.
I’ve only ever gone for my annuals and one other time for some down there questions, and they’ve always been accomodating in making the appointments.
When I was an egg donor, I asked Arlene 300 questions about it and she took the time at the end of my exam to sit down and answer all of them thoroughly. This last time I went, I had a question for Elaine and she too gave me an AWESOMELY helpful answer and even got another staff member involved and brought out visual aids. I couldn’t have been happier considering an hour before that I was in the waiting room fuming.
You see, my appointment was scheduled for 3pm. I checked in 10 minutes early, but wasn’t called back to the exam room umtil 345pm. And that was after I had to get up and inquire at the desk as to what the hell the holdup was. That was definitely the lowest point in my years at the Center.
But I will always go back and should I end up having babies on this coast, I’ll head there for care.

I am writing about the Center for Women in response to the horrifying review of Dr. Greene that Brittany wrote a couple of days ago (
).
I think I have been so fortunate, at least in recent memory, with my «down there» doctors that I forget how bad it can be.
I had my first child at the Mt Auburn, almost six years ago, with this group who are made up of several women doctors, an equal number of midwifes and a wonderful nurse practitioner (who I always request for all of my annual appointments because she is so very awesome!)
The practice is accessible, and open. You have a question, you call them, they do their very best to answer it, or direct you to someone who can. You need to see them, they get you in there. And they always greet you with a smile.
It’s a great place to have a baby, the Mt. Auburn, because it is a small, private hospital, and not a baby-​factory like some of the places downtown, but even if you are the «furthest thing from pregnant» it’s a very good place to just do regularly scheduled maintenance.
I am so very sorry, Brittany, that you had such a wretched experience, and greatly relieved to read that you have found a replacement gyn, but for those who haven’t (girls, I’m talking to you, of course) give the wonderful women at the center a jingle. Ask for Arlene, and tell her I sent you.