Karen R Callen, MD

Great Doctor… very informative and to the point. No B.S.

I went to see Dr. Callen over 20 years ago when I was having difficulty getting pregnant and kaiser told me I would have to wait 6 months to see a fertility specialist. She did one initial test and almost I immediately after that I discovered I was pregnant. Unfortunately I miscarried that one but went on to have two children… both high risk pregnancies and premies (one where my water broke at 24 ½ wks. And was born at 27 ½ wks.). She was amazing through it all. I really couldn’t have asked for a more caring, compassionate and skilled doctor. When I read negative reviews about her being terse and robot like I can only guess that maybe she was exhausted dealing with high risk deliveries like mine and ran out of patience dealing with patients who are in fine health but are upset when they don’t get the amount of personal attention they feel they deserve. She is the best… hands down.

Dr. Callen is amazing. First of all, throughout my pregnancy she explained everything that was going on, debunked lots of rumors that I came to her with, and in general answered all of my questions and concerns.
Now, I had placenta previa at my 20 week ultra sound, and while I know lots of doctors ban exercise based on this, Dr. Callen said that it’s OK in my case based on the evidence she has seen. This allowed me to have an otherwise healthy pregnancy. All this time Dr. Callen kept my spirits up saying the placenta will probably move (most other doctors I’ve heard of tell women it’s not going to). Then, when my placenta hadn’t moved, Dr. Callen kept waiting it out, sending me for more ultrasounds and doing everything she could to avoid a c-​section and having a preemie. Finally my placenta had started moving, but not enough. Dr. Callen suggested doing a double set up, where we prepare for a c-​section but try for a vaginal birth. But in the end Dr. Callen make a gutsy call and allowed me to wait for labor naturally while also having me go for one more ultra sound. An lo and behold, at 40 weeks, my placenta had finally moved out of the way. Thank you, Dr. Callen for letting me wait it out, avoiding an early c-​section.
This was a very stressful time for me, but every visit with Dr. Callen, I felt well informed, knowing what the next steps are, and most importantly, I felt like I was in good hands, and whatever decision Dr. Callen made, our health and safety were first priority.
In the end I ended up with a vaginal birth with no complications, delivered by Dr. Lam, who was also great. Now my baby and I are both healthy and I healed very quickly. All this is thanks to Dr. Callen and the care she provided.

I need to update since my last review 2 years ago! Yikes, life with child sure gets busy but this review is important since I find myself now in my 3^rd trimester pregnant again and reading other people’s reviews while I’m in a search for a new OB. I personally think Dr. Callen is a highly competent OB with excellent surgical skills and she’s the kind of person you want if you are having a truly high risk pregnancy.
But know this about her, yes, her bedside manner can be terse and brisk (this never really bothered me) and she is much more of a pessimist than I want for this second pregnancy. My first resulted in an induction 4 days past due date due to concern for size. He was a large baby 10lbs 9 oz and before anyone freaks out over that number remember that it is just a number … all women are built differently and I’m convinced that a petite women birthing that size baby would have a different experience than a larger woman like myself. (My mother had 4 kids naturally all over 9lbs and one over 10lbs. My husband was a month overdue over 10lbs so heredity plays a big part in what’s normal for you.) If you are expected to have a large baby Dr. Kallen will take a low risk approach. Her tolerance level for «failure to progress» for large babies has a low threshold of several hours before the c-​section recommendation comes in. My surgery was fast 1hr from being wheeled into the op room to being wheeled into the recovery room. She and the anesthesiologist and nurses work a tight ship and clearly have experience. My recovery and scar healed rather well. She really was an expert at the c-​section and during the surgical process I felt like I was in good hands.
These days however, once you’ve had one c-​section and find yourself pregnant again you will fall into a new classification of candidate which has the option to do scheduled c-​section or VBAC. For my second pregnancy I was hoping that she’d be the right doctor for me again since she already saw me through my first. And she’d be a great doctor if I wanted a scheduled c-​section but this time I want a chance at a VBAC. She did say she and the rest of her practice are supportive of my choice to VBAC but spent a lot of time cautioning me about big babies, failure to progress and complications that can occur. This leads me to believe she’s more risk averse and pessimistic than what I’m looking for in an OB for my VBAC and therefor I am going with someone else.
My rating for her is not based on her skill whatsoever. She’s talented and trustworthy and a straight-​shooter. She’s just not the best fit for me now that I’m a little more familiar about the pregnancy experience than I was the first time and since my needs have changed. If you want someone who inspires you to believe you can have the birth experience you want to have then this is probably not the doctor for you. She will poke holes in your confidence so that you are not disappointed when things are not going textbook perfect and her recommendation is to cut the labor process short in order to avoid complications. That’s just her conservative style which for some people may work better than it does for others.
If its important to you… you should know that her office is terrific. All the staff are super friendly and responsive and the facilities are gorgeous. I never once had to wait for an appointment and there’s even a massage therapist that works next door which came in really handy when I booked my massages and check-​ups back to back. Keep in mind that if you go into labor when she’s not on call you will get one of the other OBs in the group so no matter who you visit regularly you may end up with someone else whom you haven’t had any time to get to know. This rotation is what allows them to keep appointments regularly and since their new office is no longer next door to CPMC they are probably less likely to make a run over to the hospital when its not their shift.

Dr Callen is WONDERFUL! I had a copper IUD and missed a period. I was concerned so I called the ob/​gyn office up the street to see if they could make me an appointment. I expected there would be some wait, but the second Dr Callen heard I was possibly pregnant with an IUD they called me and told me to come in ASAP. Dr Callen gave me the shock of my life when she let me know that I was actually 3 months pregnant!!! she got the IUD out right away (turns out Planned Parenthood put it in the wrong place a few years ago, thanks guys!) and let me know that everything would be fine. i am now at 17 weeks and just got back from my 2^nd appointment with her. i got to hear the heartbeat which was amazing: D she seems geniunely interested in my case and baby and she definitely seems to know what she is talking about. i am so excited that I randomly ended up with her, luck I guess! I have my referral to go to CPMC on ⁶⁄₂₅ to determine the sex and I couldn’t be more excited!!!

I’ve been a patient of GG OB-​GYN since around 2002 and Dr. Callen’s patient for most of that time. I’m usually fine with the fast/​all-​business-​style appointment that Dr. Callen provides, and waiting a few minutes because the doctor is running behind (typical from my experience here) doesn’t bother me. But today was over the top!
I got to the office 10 minutes prior to my 3:40 appt. I waited another 20 minutes before even getting called by the nurse. Then, I was left in an examining room without anyone checking on me for another 45 – 50 minutes before I finally got so frustrated that I got dressed and left.
I stopped by the front desk to let the receptionist know I was leaving, wasn’t happy, and wanted a refund. I assume that will happen, but she wasn’t capable of issuing it then and there. She offered to let me speak to the doctor, but if the doctor was truly available to speak to me, then why wasn’t she in my room examining me?
My question is «what ever happened to common courtesy and customer service?» If the doctor is running an hour late, then the staff should at least have the decency to call me and either reschedule the appt I waited 2 months to get, or let me know I can come an hour later. And, if I’m sitting in an examining room for more than 15 minutes (probably too long, but I understand that doctors can get behind in appointments throughout the day), have a nurse come in and give me an update!
I totally understand that doctors have emergency calls (which it turns out was the case today) and would gladly have gone in an hour later or rescheduled to another day. What was beyond my comprehension was the staff’s lack of care… just leaving me in a room without any communication was so rude and unprofessional.
UPDATE FROM THE NEXT DAY: I heard from Dr. Callen as well as the Office Manager today. They understood and agreed that the treatment the staff provided was lacking and they are going to try to improve the staff’s care and consideration if one of the doctors is dealing with an emergency.

Dr. Callen is great, and her office is beautiful and swank. The customer service is awful though. If you call, you’re unlikely to get a person, or out-​manuever the digital answering service. I’ve left messages (with medical questions) that never get returned. Just making an appointment takes a looney amount of time and phone call patience. It almost makes it worth it to switch to another doctor. Unless you’re there in person, it’s difficult to get anyone on the phone. I know they’re helping ppl make babies and all, but c’mon. If I were in labor, I sure wouldn’t want to hear «Press 7 to… Press 8… Oh ha! We brought you back to main message again, start over… if you’ve already had your baby while waiting, press 9…»

I’m so grateful to have Dr. Callen as my obgyn. She is amazing and helped us through a rough time we just had with a problematic pregnancy. She went completely out of her way to help us — contacting doctors at Stanford and in the UK and at SF Perinatal for 2^nd and 3^rd opinions on our diagnosis and to discuss our issue to ensure we got the best care and advice. We had her cell phone number and she just went so incredibly above and beyond I don’t know how to thank her. She was incredibly empathetic and professional and caring and we were so lucky she was our doctor.

I can not say enough good things about Dr. Callen. Not only is she nice but she is incredibly smart. She is the doctor that all the doctors and doctor’s wives go to. She is probably the best OB/​GYN in the city.
The entire practice is amazing! It doesn’t matter who is on call for the practice, all the MD’s are super. She wasn’t on call when I delivered but came in on her day off to see me after I delivered my twins. My husband I feel incredibly lucky to have her as our MD.

When we got pregnant, Dr. Karen was recommended by my doctor. I would NOT recommend Dr. Karen to future mothers. She is NOT personal and treats you as a robot. She let me listen to my baby’s heart only during my first visit. My friends told me that their doctors let them listen to their baby hearts every single visit! I was very disappointed.
My blood test showed that I had a low iron, and I was informed about that fact 1.5 months later by Dr Karen on her way out of the room — again not very professional.
I would not go back to her again to avoid the experience.

Two healthy babies = 5 star review. Dr. Karen Callen is the best. I’ve been her patient for over 14 years after I got a referral from a good friend. When I started having complications with my first, she knew I didn’t want to mess around and took charge to get my emergency c-​section done. She is very professional and friendly, always taking time to answer any questions, no matter how silly or embarrassing they might be, during my annual visit. I trust her completely.
I have no problem with waiting for her when the office gets backed up because it is most likely someone just went into labor and is ready to push. The nice thing is that her office is right next to the hospital so if you do need her, she will be right over when you’re ready to deliver at CPMC.

Dr. Callen is the best. She is friendly, informative and a great doctor. She was recommended to my wife and I, and she has turned out great. We have had to wait a little bit a couple of times, but the last few times, we have gotten in quickly. If she has to change your appointment, her office calls (usually its because she is delivering a baby). I will say that her office sometimes doesn’t call until half an hour before the appointment, but I figure that it is because that is when the delivery is taking place (you can’t plan these things with precision barring a Cesarean).
Dr. Callen has answered all of our questions. She is very professional in her examinations and always provides lots of information.
Her office has been responsive to our questions and rescheduling. They have also provided letters for work (although we did have to remind them).
I’m grateful that we got such a great doctor for our upcoming bundle of joy.

I agree with others that Dr. Callen is good at what she does and very knowledgeable. I had my first appointment with her a few days ago. I don’t think she’s the best choice for you if you’re young and fall outside the normal expectations of someone your age. She seemed rushed which is likely due to all the clients she has but did spend adequate time with me. I could tell she didn’t appreciate my slew of piercings and she made me uncomfortable.

She is the BEST ob/​gyn ever. She was excellent with my baby’s delivery and I could breeze through some weird twists and turns during labor. I have great respect for her. She might come across as a little terse when you meet her initially but don’t go by that. She is very good with answering all questions you have. She is patient even you have googled a hundred disconnected things and ask her several questions. Don’t hesitate to ask her about whatever’s on your mind clearly. She really knows her stuff, is very confident and smart.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Karen Callen for nearly 20 years, and have two older children, ages 12 and 10. After reading about Dr. Callen’s alleged terse manner, I wanted to write and say that I’ve always found Dr. Callen to be a highly skilled doctor who is real, approachable, innately intelligent and always treats her patients as equals. The office is incredibly busy, which is only a testament to the quality of the staff, and as a result, I’m sure Dr. Callen is pressed to see far more patients than she did when I first saw her many years ago. When I found out I was having a boy, she said, «Boys love their mamas,» something I’ve thought about all these years, after having two boys, and it’s always stuck with me (she has two boys as well). I find Dr. Callen to be an exceptional doctor and one I would highly recommend without hesitation.

Let me start by saying that most of the doctors in San Francisco use Dr. Callen as their OB. That’s how I was recommended to her. She has been my OB for four years now. Both of my children were delivered by c-​section (due to breech conditions). Dr. Callen took away any nerves I had with the operations. Everything went like clockwork both times and you can hardly see my scar.
In addition, I did suffer a very rare ecotpic pregnancy after the birth of my first daughter. Although Dr. Callen had never treated the condition, she immediately got in touch with several doctors who had (including one in London) and provided me with the best solutions for a safe recovery. Although the situation was devastating, Dr. Callen was very supportive and I went on to have another healthy pregnancy. I trust her with my life — literally.

Being the daughter of a local OBGYN, I have heard one too many horror stories and become quite picky in who I will see. Dr. Kallen rocks and I cannot imagine happily climbing into another doctor’s stirrups after being in her care ;) Thanks!

There are not words enough to express our gratitude towards Dr. Callen who was our OBGYN and delivered our baby boy last week.
She is 100% professional and we were never concerned while under her care. The pregnancy went perfectly and she was great during all our check ups. The labor and delivery turned into a total rollercoaster of 52 hours of back labor that ended in a c-​section. This is when Dr. Callen really shined by staying way past her shift end to see the delievery through in the operating room. thnak you, thank you, thank you to Dr. Callen.
All the nurses we interacted with at CPMC said she was the best and who they would want to deliver their baby. And also all the other OBGYN’s at Golden Gate practice were wonderful such as Dr Wiggins and Dr. Meister.
I wish I could be more eloquent here as I really don’t feel I am expressing just how high of an opinion we have of Dr. Callen.
The only advice I have is that if you are tottally neurotic and controlling about everything and are adamant about some hippy type of birthing plan such as a water birth, or need to have a doula coach you — then DR. Callen may not be the best fit for you. But if you are looking for a very competent DR who is absolutely focused on the end goal of having a healthy mother and baby — then Dr. Callen is the best. She is realisitc with her patients and is the type that does not shun modern medicine just for the point of doing so. She is open to your ideas and concerns, but at the end of the day realize that she has done this 1000’s of times with great results. I can see here some people saying that she does not have the best bedside manner, etc. But trust me, when the going gets tough, she is the best possible person to be at your bedside.

After reviewing my LA ob-​gyns, I figured I had to pop over here to give the best OB-​GYN on the planet a review since she set the bar really high for everyone I saw after her.
I always saw Ramona Rule (the NP) in this office before I got pregnant, because it was always easier to get in with her. Once I was pregnant with my first baby, I was a total bitchy freak, and Dr. Callen totally handled me and my total neurotic behavior so well.
The best part was that she was the one to catch my baby… she made a point to hold up her first appts after lunch (now I know why you have to wait so long at the gyno sometimes!)
Dr. Callen is as good as it gets. She is always at the cutting edge of OBGYN knowledge and had a great bedside manner both in the office and at the hospital on game day.
She delivers at CPMC which is a GREAT hospital to have a baby at. I had my other baby at Cedars Sinai (hospital to the stars) and I had a much more enjoyable experience at CPMC… Plus I lived close enough to walk home.

I did not have a great experience here, and eventually had to switch OBs. Dr. Callen’s office is very busy and her beside manner was brisk. I did not get the support I hoped for when I told her I was hoping to get pregnant. In fact, I opted to stop seeing her for this reason, and went on to conceive have a beautiful little girl delivered by another wonderful CPMC OB. I don’t recommend Dr. Callen.