Genesis OBGYN Maternal-Fetal Medicine — Northwest Tucson

I came in really nervous from previous bad experiences with pelvic exams. I believe my sonographer's name was Bree. She was absolutely amazing and made me feel incredibly comfortable throughout the entire process. I loved her!!!

I had a horrible experience with one of the technicians during an echocardiogram ultrasound. I arrived at my appointment early and was handed forms to fill out while I waited to be called back. The technician came to the lobby about 10 minutes after my appointment time and immediately began walking quickly, saying, “Come on, you can finish your paperwork after. We’re already behind.” When we got to the room, she immediately said, “Lay in the bed and lift your dress up.” Everything that came out of her mouth was said in an extremely rude and unprofessional tone. However, I was there to make sure my baby’s heart was okay, so I ignored her attitude and complied. I want to mention that this is not my first pregnancy or my first ultrasound where the technician has to push on my belly to get the baby to move or get a better view. She began the ultrasound, and it was very painful from the start. There was no communication on her end. Then she realized my baby was in a difficult position and, sounding very frustrated, said, “Great, she has to be in a difficult position.” She continued to be overly aggressive with the ultrasound, so at one point I told her that it hurt a lot and that I needed to move. Her response was, “Well, you are more than welcome to cancel the appointment. I have to push down to get the baby to move.” There was no apology or courtesy in explaining that the ultrasound was going to be painful, especially considering how roughly she had begun the procedure. I stayed only because my baby’s well-being was my top priority. For the rest of the ultrasound, she eased up considerably and was still able to see my baby’s heart just fine without all of the frustrated aggression. She took poorly positioned profile pictures that were later shared with me, despite having taken some pretty clear and cute shots that she chose not to capture. Having to walk into a clinic concerned about my baby’s heart and then be treated so unprofessionally and poorly by this technician was, by far, one of the worst experiences I have ever had. I understand that people can have bad days, but taking out that frustration on a patient and being unnecessarily rough and dismissive is unacceptable and something that needs to be addressed. My belly was hard and sore the rest of the day. Thankfully there’s no bruising or this would have been more than just a review. I will not be returning to this clinic because of this experience. I cannot imagine being worried about something as serious as your baby’s heart, or even going in excited and happy to see your baby, only to experience this type of treatment. It completely ruined what should have been a special moment, and I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if I had received bad news.