He delivered my first. He's a good doctor. He gets accolades for being "natural birth" friendly, but he's really just mom friendly. He listens and tries to work hard for you to get what you need in terms of your individual birth. He once told me that as hard as he was working for my drug free birth, he would work for a mom who decided to schedule an elective c section. He said when it comes down to it, he'd educate her on what he felt was safest for her and then respect her choices. So don't confuse the low intervention for "no monitoring." I had a glitch with my first pregnancy (amniotic shelf) that freaked me the F out, and he was so, so, so calming about it, even though it meant some extra monitoring. then I had some issues with the birth itself (lots of bleeding - more than there should have been) and he was calming about that (although he did ask me to come in). I did end up with a completely drug free birth but I feel confident I would have been supported no matter what choices I'd made.

This is more relevant to those who want drug free birth: I didn't deliver my second with him because I was not crazy about sibley and also because of some weird things that happened with my actual delivery (he really kind of pushed the "sitting back" position hard). I tore like hell with my first, a small baby, because I think of that position. So my criticism of him is that he's FANTASTIC for being low-intervention, but you really need to have confidence in your own body because, unlike my experience with my midwife, he didn't really know how to minimize tearing or help me position myself for the easiest drug free birth. At one point he mentioned an episiotomy when I think I clearly should just not have been on my ass trying to push something out of me!

All that said, if you had a doula or someone able to encourage you to move around or know how to minimize tearing. And also, he may have evolved his "pushing stage" management since my first birth, more than 5 years ago.

He delivered my child as the on call OB 3 years ago and he amazing. I had a long hard labor that in the end required the use of forceps. He was incredibly competent and kind. We had a great outcome because of him.

Anonymous wrote:This is all helpful, thank you. I have had several miscarriages and not as concerned with birth plan as much As being able to be carefully monitored throughout the pregnancy and taking a conservative and active approach. An wondering for those who have seen him, do you think his approach would work for such a situation? His location is not convenient as I would prefer closer to downtown but trying to figure out my options and if someone better, thanks again.

I've had several losses and recently had a consultation with him as we are starting to try again and wanted a new doc. He was amenable to any style care we wanted - hands-on, hands-off or anywhere in between. We liked him a lot and plan to go with him if/when we are fortunate enough to be pregnant again. (He is very convenient for us; we live about a mile away.)

This is all helpful, thank you. I have had several miscarriages and not as concerned with birth plan as much As being able to be carefully monitored throughout the pregnancy and taking a conservative and active approach. An wondering for those who have seen him, do you think his approach would work for such a situation? His location is not convenient as I would prefer closer to downtown but trying to figure out my options and if someone better, thanks again.

Dr Desouza delivered my daughter a few weeks ago and I cannot recommend him highly enough. He was wonderful throughout all of my prenatal appointments and is someone who will work with you to develop a birth plan that you are 100% comfortable with. Most importantly, he came through BIG TIME when my delivery didn't go according to my perfect plan. My baby was face up and because of that delivery wasn't progressing quickly enough. In those crucial moments, Dr Desouza was impeccable and delivered my daughter safely. He is definitely the Dr you want in the room if things don't go according to plan.

I interviewed him as a possible OB after a friend told me he was great and would support any kind of birth that leads to healthy mom / healthy baby. I had a positive impression but found his location a bit inconvenient so I selected another doctor (Dr. Bridges) who I was very happy with. Another friend told me she found Dr. DeSouza's level of involvement (which she found somewhat minimalist) was easier as a second time mom than a first time mom, but I don't know if this is true from first-hand experience.

Excellent! Delivered both of my children. Calm, supportive and willing to ditch "the book" when other options for YOUR pregnancy make more sense. Can be socially awkward but don't let that be off putting. When it comes down to business, I had full confidence in him. He is readily accessible with questions and will call you back within a reasonable time. When it appeared that I was going into early labor and he was going to be at a conference, he gave me his cell phone number.

Dr. Footer is his back up and I did consult with him once (re: early labor concerns) when I initially could not get in touch with Desouza. They had very different approaches to the situation and was ultimately glad that labor held off until I could consult with Desouza.

He offers quick ultrasounds at every appointment which I found comforting to see baby each time. The nurse, Michelle, is great too! Appointments are easy to come by and almost always on time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

svogel wrote:I had my first child with him 6 months ago and I loved him! He and his staff provide great prenatal care and he committed to helping you have the birth you want if medically possible. We wanted to have an unmedicated birth and he was supportive of it (as well as using a doula, avoiding interventions etc). He can be a bit socially awkward, but more in a nerdy way, and not a jerky way.

Thank you! Can you tell me if dr desouza does the ultrasounds himself throughout your pregnancy or does he have someone on staff handle that?

He does them himself except for the nuchal, the 20 week, and any that are indicated because of risk factors, which you do at GW or WRA. But he does his own quick ultrasounds at every visit, which is nice.

+1. His office is just him, one nurse, one receptionist, and one billing specialist. I did my 20-week and amnio at GW.

Anonymous wrote:

svogel wrote:I had my first child with him 6 months ago and I loved him! He and his staff provide great prenatal care and he committed to helping you have the birth you want if medically possible. We wanted to have an unmedicated birth and he was supportive of it (as well as using a doula, avoiding interventions etc). He can be a bit socially awkward, but more in a nerdy way, and not a jerky way.

Thank you! Can you tell me if dr desouza does the ultrasounds himself throughout your pregnancy or does he have someone on staff handle that?

He does them himself except for the nuchal, the 20 week, and any that are indicated because of risk factors, which you do at GW or WRA. But he does his own quick ultrasounds at every visit, which is nice.

svogel wrote:I had my first child with him 6 months ago and I loved him! He and his staff provide great prenatal care and he committed to helping you have the birth you want if medically possible. We wanted to have an unmedicated birth and he was supportive of it (as well as using a doula, avoiding interventions etc). He can be a bit socially awkward, but more in a nerdy way, and not a jerky way.

Thank you! Can you tell me if dr desouza does the ultrasounds himself throughout your pregnancy or does he have someone on staff handle that?

He's great but Footer is his back up and has the highest CS rate at Sibley.

I agree, he has a calming manner. He prefers to let nature take its course during L&D when and if possible, and is supportive and low-key.

He was not my OB but was on call for Dr Footer and deliveredy first baby. I did go to one office visit with him so I'd at least recognize him if he delivered me. He has a very calming tone, maybe that's the social awkwardness/nerdiness PP speaks of. I was happy with my experience with him.

I had my first child with him 6 months ago and I loved him! He and his staff provide great prenatal care and he committed to helping you have the birth you want if medically possible. We wanted to have an unmedicated birth and he was supportive of it (as well as using a doula, avoiding interventions etc). He can be a bit socially awkward, but more in a nerdy way, and not a jerky way.

Anyone have any feedback on him, good or bad?