Stuart J Fischbein, MD

I wish I could say 1000 great things about our experience with Dr. Fischbein but unfortunately the experience 4 months later still leaves a bad taste in my mouth & a pain in my heart… We met up with Dr. Fishbein early in our pregnancy after my wife & I found out we were pregnant with twins — it was my dream to have a home birth experience but knew with my insurance provider there was no such chance. We researched other options & talked to other OBs & decided to take a chance and schedule a consult with him. Not everything online about this doctors past practice is positive & we were a little hesitant but our choices were very slim especially after learning one of our twins was breech –Our first meeting went well & we felt comfortable in his presence & my pregnancy was moving along beautifully. It wasn’t until my 3^rd trimester that things were stirred up (literally) when the Dr. made arrangements to go to Africa for charity work & decided to tell us a month before my due date that his plane was scheduled to leave on my due date — he asked if we had a «plan B»? I seriously wanted to be happy for him but instead my body went into shock– I felt it was necessary to try & slowly start to induce labor in hopes to have my babies before our VERY EXPENSIVE Doctor packed his bags & left us to just figure things out… Per our contract, I thought this would’ve never happened. I mean, we saw him early enough, he promised us his calendar was clear to take us as patients, but everything seemed to go downhill from there. He started to make house visits as we moved closer to his departure date (it really wasn’t about my due date anymore). His bedside manner was horrible– he talked about his dating/​personal life & preferences & made sexist comments that made my partner & I uncomfortable at times. He was obviously very comfortable but very unprofessional– I truly don’t think he would of had the same content of conversation with a heterosexual couple– We just wanted it all to be over & for our babies to be born peacefully at home so we continued with HIS plan. As we started induction methods at home I started having preterm labor every night for a week but my babies were not ready yet. At 39.5 weeks into my pregnancy & 2 days before my Ob was scheduled to leave the country I was losing hope. We did a final checkup with a midwife present because at this point I didn’t feel safe with just him. His group of Midwives are Amazing BTW & if it wasn’t for them I would of probably lost it! That night I went into labor — it was difficult as expected, natural in every way possible with a full house filled with warmth & love. But the clock was ticking & my doctor was still scheduled to board a plane in less than 24 hours. I had to have these babies ASAP– as things escalated in the pushing stage of labor the Dr. Became very aggressive, rude & condescending — yelled at me at times for not breathing correctly. Violently pushing down on my stomach while I was trying to breathe my breech baby down. but she wasn’t ready. I began to lose faith in him & his now negative energy & my body was not performing In his presence. I shut down & The midwives had to intervene, the doctor was asked to leave the room several times as my babies heart rates were dropping. After 25 hours of labor, 6 hours of straight pushing & 12 hours before his boarding time we decided to head to the hospital for my dreaded C-​Section. I just wanted my babies out safely at this point. My body was so exhausted — he honorably called the hospital ahead of time to alert them that I was coming, followed us there. Made sure we were checked in & that was that … His team did try & follow-​up but the trauma was so paralyzingly that we decided to not return their attempts. To this day I am still extremely thankful for the wonderful women & midwives on his team but would not EVER consider him for future deliveries.

Best OBGYN hands down. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my maternity care and delivery with Dr Fischbein. He is extremely caring, knowledgable and professional. He specializes in breech, twins and VBAC. Since I have had 2 previous c-​sections I was having a hard time finding anyone to let me try a VBAC, but he was completely confident that I could do it.
His prenatal appointments lasted 30 – 60 minutes and I always brought my 2 young boys with me. Even though they were a little crazy at times he was so patient with them. We talked about everything from physical side affects of the pregnancy to how I was feeling emotionally, and talked through every test and procedure from ultrasounds to group B strep to the hep B vaccine – he really allowed me to have complete control over my medical care and delivery.
During labor he was very relaxed and hands off, calm and confident, he believed in me and my body. He let me catch my baby which was an incredible experience. The birth simply could not have gone better. He came by the house a few days later to check on me and baby.

Absolutely the best. I saw Dr. Stu for prenatal care alongside the midwives at The Sanctuary. I was with twins and concurrently seeing a «high risk» doctor, just to be on the safe side. The «High Risk» doctor thought he was giving me good news when he told me that I would be scheduled for a C section at 38 weeks. I had already been assured by the midwives and Dr. Stu that all was well with my babies, so I dropped the «high risk» doctor and proceeded solely with Stu. Mind you, one of the babies was breech. But alas, Dr. Stu is an expert in the field and my perfect babies were born at 40 weeks, (7lbs and 8lbs) vaginally, one breech, at home and this may be TMI, but there was no episiotomy necessary and no stitches because there was no tearing. A twin, breech, vaginal birth and no tearing!?! I love Dr. Stu!

Dr. Stuart Fischbein is simply the best-it’s as simple as that. He delivered my first born son in the comforts of my own home without any complications this past May. It was the most peaceful, life-​changing experience and I owe it all to Dr. Fischbein for his care and expertise. He is such a warm-​hearted, caring expert in his field and I felt beyond comfortable being in his care all throughout my pregnancy and through the delivery. I highly recommend him to anyone wanting a home birth with the security of having a highly trained doctor at your side. He specializes in breech, twins and VBAC but I had just a normal pregnancy with my first and just wanted the added security to be in very skilled hands. He was amazing! He will always hold a special place in my heart for helping to bring my incredible son into the world in the most beautiful and peaceful way possible!
–EP

On June 14^th, I had the most amazing home birth with Dr. Stuart J Fischbein. I was blown away by his expertise, professionalism, care, and his ability to grant our family space to be themselves during the delivery. We are a very active, hands on family, that cherishes our children. We have 13 year old and a very busy 2 year old. When I went into labor there was a lot of activity going on. I wanted the kids not to be worried or bothered when my active labored started and requested they be allowed to just be themselves and go about the house and play outside as normal. After the successful home birth, both my husband and I wished I had our other children at home with Dr. Stu. When we had our two year old we had to leave our oldest at home with a friend, which disconnected us as a family and I was thinking about him the whole time. Plus the hospital was pushing pitocin on me to speed up the labor, which wasn’t needed. I began to feel like I was on the clock at the hospital. Where as at home, I was only supported, loved, and nurtured while in labor. I have never expierenced an OB that really takes his time to explain the birth process and puts what I want for my birth experience first. He was not concerned about the time, his schedule, or anything else that would interfere with the natural process. Dr. Fischbein was just present and has so much experience, both in home births and over 20 years at Cedar Sinai, that it made me feel really relaxed and totally comfortable. I can’t say enough great things about Dr. Fischbein. He is an exception!!!

I tend to gravitate towards doctors outside of my «insurance network» and it’s because I am rewarded with gems like Dr. Fischbein. I switched to Dr. Fischbein when my beloved Dr. Irwin Frankel stopped delivering babies in the middle of my 2^nd pregnancy and he sadly passed a few months later. I decided late in the pregnancy to switch to a homebirth and had Fischbein deliver my baby in the comfort of my home. I still return to him for my regular care because he is the best OBGYN one could have. You are never rushed, he spends lots of time with you, cares about you as a person and really knows his stuff. And god forbid you ever need anything urgently he will be there ASAP! If you need another specialist he will get you into see them ASAP. He’ll call you to check in if you’re having an issue. As a side note, if you are pregnant, you’ll be happy to know that it is true that the staff that does the blood draw is really good in his office. Dr. Rothbart is also in the same practice and he takes insurance and delivers in hospitals and is also wonderful. And even though he doesnt take insurance they will still bill the insurance for you so you get reimbursed at the out of network rates. Best money I spend!!!

Dr. Fischbein delivered my daughter 11 years ago and he was amazing. I had a vaginal birth no complications — It couldn’t have gone any smoother. He is very knowledgable and truly the best doctor in this field. He really takes the time with all his patients and he goes above and beyond. He is one of the only doctors left that is truly capable of delivering babies safely and making the whole experience wonderful and peaceful.

Dr. Fischbein is a down-​to-​earth, funny, caring man and an EXTREMELY experienced physician. He has been delivering babies long enough to know how to deliver breeches, VBACs, twins, etc. safely if you meet his list of criteria. When I was told that my baby was breech at 34 weeks and did not turn despite weeks of trying everything under the sun, we thought our hopes of a vaginal delivery were over. Enter Dr. Fischbein. Here is one of the only remaining doctors in this country who actually knows how to deliver this type of presentation. While the UK is actually advocating vaginal delivery of certain breech babies (with an experienced physician), the US is very slow to follow due to antiquated regulations that have nothing to do with reality and everything to do with insurance. I have done A TON of research on this topic and would never have considered this option if I felt it was not truly safe. With Dr. Fischbein in the room, I knew it was. I cannot thank him enough. I had a short and sweet labor and delivery and I owe him a huge thanks for supporting me through it. All the best Dr. F!

Two times I have found myself pregnant and desperately lacking competent support for my birth choices. My second child, a VBAC, was born at home, but not before I learned (the hard way) of stringent regulations placed on out of hospital birth workers in our country by doubtful doctors. Thankfully, physicians like Dr. Fischbein, who believe in a woman’s right to informed consent and refusal, in the process of birth, and in the safety of home birth exist. It was not until he agreed to back my selected midwives that I was ‘allowed’ to birth in the way I desired. My son was born beautifully and without incident in my home, and I went on to have another home birth nearly two years later.
When I became pregnant again a year later, my family naturally planned another home birth. Upon the discovery that I was carrying twins, we were once more cast into the fray of medical limitation under the assumption that all twin pregnancies are high risk and my chance for a vaginal birth was slim at best. With the understanding that this was definitely a situation needing special attention, I received concurrent care with my insurance OBs and a different team of midwives who had recently begun to attend births with none other than the good Dr. Fischbein. And when, at the end of my pregnancy, it became certain that both of our girls were presenting breech, the Big Decision was made to follow through with our home birth plans. With the gentle care of able midwives and the Dr.‘s vast expertise with twin and breech deliveries, our little ones were born triumphantly and safely in the peace of our home.
I am forever grateful that these opportunities were possible, and I fully believe they might not have been if not for Dr. Fischbein’s confidence in my ability to birth naturally, normally, and without restriction. He is truly a pioneer of the obstetric world and I sincerely hope his efforts revolutionize the way birth, and especially VBAC, is viewed by the medical population.