Kaiser Permanente Ob/Gyn, Sara Mark, M.D.

Very caring physician. Her experience with patients shows as well. Wait time is very little, she rarely runs late. have been going to her for years. I recommend her without any reservations

Fresh out of her residency and the only OB/​GYN with an open docket at the time, Dr. Mark was assigned as my physician for the birth of our first child.
I endured a very difficult pregnancy, which Dr. Mark demonstrated zero compassion for nor any desire to cure, while I was working 80 hour weeks chronically ill.
I’d lost 20 pounds and had what turned out (later) to be severe constant IBS-​D, one time having to pull off a highway to pass out on the way home from the office, all of which was relayed to the doctor and I asked if there was anything she could do for me. She said something along of the lines of — you’re pregnant, it’s morning sickness, it’s normal.
The only time I was actually «treated» was by an experienced N.P. who filled in for her one day, saw that I was clutching a box of Wheat Thins and I’d had to have my husband dress me I was so sick. The N.P., a mature mother herself, expressed an interest, prescribed anti-​nausea medications, and VOILA, I was able to survive my days.
I was in a high-​profile position, which required a 60+ hour week in my own division in addition to 20 more monitoring others’ technical cutovers — often overnight — in off-​site locations in Northern California. When I was reaching term, I asked if I could have a medical dismissal for those night shifts. She said no, there was no medical basis for it, and she’d had fellow medical residents who were pregnant working night shifts and the same number of hours with no complaints.
I had to go to a different physician in the E.R. to get one — no questions asked.
She did not attend the birth, which has become typical these days, but looked at me cock-​eyed when I asked if she was planning to be out of town the week of our due date, finally saying,“Nooo…but I’m not going to be there, you know. That’s not how Kaiser works.“
I ended up having an emergency C-​section due to our daughter’s heart rate dropping.
Post-​natal, she didn’t even follow up to see when our daughter was born or express any interest. She didn’t even reference the medical notes or offer to follow up with the doctor who had performed the procedure to see if they’d cut through vs. pulled apart my abdominal muscles or if they’d used single or double layer suturing (the latter takes longer to heal but makes a VBAC safer for a subsequent birth with a lower risk of uterine rupture).
I have nerve damage and numbness and my abdomen is sort of ‘split’ making core exercises uncomfortable and sometimes impossible, often causing reducible hernias.
While experiencing continued health problems including weight issues, I asked for some tests for thyroid levels I’d been told by a nutritionist to get, and she again refused saying I was normal and they were unwarranted.
That was the last straw, and I asked to change to Dr. Zurnacian, head of the department, who had discharged us from the L&D. He took me in, even with a closed docket, and by the way, is a wonderful, empathetic ‘lady doctor’ despite not having any of the parts himself.
I would like to think that Dr. Mark has gained some bedside manner since becoming a mother herself and with more years of primary care under her belt. At the time, I had no one to compare her to, and knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t wish this dismissive condescending clinician on any new mother.
I remember thinking she needed to have gone into gynecology only or perhaps pure research.
Do NOT subject your pregnancy to this person. Find a doctor who has children of his/​her own, and who understands the significance of the process before, during, and after birth and will partner with you.
This ended up being my one and only pregnancy, and I will regret the «care» our child and I received for the rest of my life.