• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine
  • About Us
    • Chair's Welcome
    • In the News
    • Our Expert Team
    • Our E-Magazine, Open Circuit
    • Our Class Yearbook
    • For Alumni
    • Academic Positions
    • Quality and Innovation
    • Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
    • Wellness Initiative
    • Community Outreach
    • Global Healthcare Initiatives
    • Contact Us
    • Maps & Directions
    • Giving
  • Our Specialties
    • Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesiology
    • Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
    • Critical Care Anesthesiology
    • Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
    • Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
    • Nurse Anesthesia
    • Obstetric Anesthesiology
    • Ophthalmologic Anesthesiology
    • Pain Medicine
    • Pediatric Anesthesiology
    • Perioperative Medicine
    • Thoracic Anesthesiology
    • Vascular Anesthesiology
    • UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center
  • For Patients & Families
    • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
    • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
    • Types of Anesthesia
    • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
    • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
    • Which Medications Should I Take?
    • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
    • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
    • Enhancing Your Recovery
    • Pain Relief After Surgery
    • Using Opioids Safely
    • Anesthesia and Child Development
    • Quality and Innovation
    • We're Listening!
    • Contact Us
    • Maps & Directions
  • Education
    • Residency Program
    • Fellowship Programs
    • Medical Students
    • MOCA Simulation Course
    • UCLA Simulation Center
    • ASA Annual Meeting
    • UCLA Annual Scientific Evening
    • Grand Rounds
    • Visiting Professor Program
    • CME Programs
  • Research
  • For Referring Physicians
    • Risk Stratification
    • Requesting In-Person Preoperative Consultation at PEPC
    • Requesting Preoperative Telephone Screening
    • UCLA Requirements for the Preoperative History and Physical Examination
    • Criteria for Outpatient Venues
    • Guidelines for Preoperative Laboratory Testing
    • Guidelines for Preoperative Cardiac and Pulmonary Testing
    • NPO Guidelines
    • What Medications Should Patients Take Before Surgery?
    • Requesting a Pre-Surgical Pain Medicine Consultation
    • Referring a Patient For Chronic Pain Consultation and Management
  • Our Physicians
    • Faculty Physicians
    • Attending Physicians
    • Basic Science Faculty
    • Affiliate Faculty
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

Our Specialties

Our Specialties

Our Specialties

  • Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesiology
  • Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
  • Critical Care Anesthesiology
  • Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
  • Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
  • Nurse Anesthesia
  • Obstetric Anesthesiology
  • Ophthalmologic Anesthesiology
  • Pain Medicine
  • Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • Perioperative Medicine
  • Thoracic Anesthesiology
  • Vascular Anesthesiology
  • UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center
  • Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesiology
  • Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
  • Critical Care Anesthesiology
  • Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
  • Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
  • Nurse Anesthesia
  • Obstetric Anesthesiology
  • Ophthalmologic Anesthesiology
  • Pain Medicine
  • Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • Perioperative Medicine
  • Thoracic Anesthesiology
  • Vascular Anesthesiology
  • UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center
  1. Home
  2. Our Specialties
  3. Obstetric Anesthesiology

Obstetric Anesthesiology

Share this

Many faculty members in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine are involved in the care of Labor and Delivery (L&D) patients. UCLA anesthesiologists provide obstetric anesthesia services at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (RRUMC) in Westwood Village, at the Santa Monica - UCLA Medical Center, and at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH). The Division of Obstetric Anesthesiology includes faculty members who specialize in obstetric anesthesiology and devote time to teaching and research in the field in addition to patient care.

At the RRUMC, faculty members typically work in a multidisciplinary, collaborative, academic environment to educate UCLA anesthesiology residents and medical students. An attending anesthesiologist remains in the hospital around the clock to guide labor analgesia and handle emergencies. In the Westwood L&D unit (a.k.a. The BirthPlace – Westwood), there are 12 rooms for laboring patients alongside a six-bed fetal diagnostic/triage area and a 13-room maternity suite.

Watch epidural video

We expect an annual volume of 1500-2000 births/year, including a wide variety of high-risk referral patients in need of tertiary care. A majority of laboring women receive labor epidurals from our service, but UCLA offers other pain management therapies for the labor and birth experience including nitrous oxide. We support each mother’s choices for pharmacologic and/or non-pharmacologic pain management.

UCLA anesthesiology residents rotate to other local hospitals, including the Olive View – UCLA Medical Center and Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Long Beach Memorial has a very high case volume which provides a fast-paced, rich educational opportunity for residents honing their skills.

UCLA faculty work without residents in the Santa Monica L&D unit (a.k.a The BirthPlace – Santa Monica) and at MLKCH. At these locations, we see very different patient populations. While the growing obstetric practice at The BirthPlace – Santa Monica is located in an affluent area, MLKCH is located in a historically-underserved area of South Los Angeles with a catchment area that is roughly 70% Hispanic and 30% black. Our active participation there helps fulfill our social mission to bring excellent obstetric anesthesia care to a diverse population of patients.

Anesthesiology Grand Rounds lecture "OB Anesthesia Myth-busting: Impacts on Clinical Care". Visiting professor Joy Hawkins, MD


Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship >

 

Cesarean E-Book
Cesarean E-Book >
Epidural E-Book
Epidural E-Book >

 

Physicians

 

Catherine Cha, MD
Catherine Cha, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Medical Director of Obstetric Anesthesiology for Santa Monica-UCLA
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at Cedars Sinai

 

Lynn Choi, MD
Lynn Choi, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Fellowship Program Director
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at Brigham and Women's

 

Jason Hirsch, MD
Jason Hirsch, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at UCLA

 

Joe C. Hong, MD
Joe C. Hong, MD
Associate Clinical Professor
Executive Vice Chair
[email protected]

 

Richard Hong, MD, FASA
Richard Hong, MD, FASA
Associate Clinical Professor
Chief of Obstetric Anesthesiology
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at the University of Michigan

 

Jennifer Lucero, MD, MA
Jennifer Lucero, MD, MA
Associate Professor
Vice Chair for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at UCSF

 

Judi Turner, MD, PhD
Judi Turner, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor
Vice Chair for Education
[email protected]

 

Sapna Satyanarayan-Victor, MD
Sapna Satyanarayan-Victor, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at Stanford

 

Cristianna Vallera, MD
Cristianna Vallera, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Medical Director of Obstetric Anesthesiology for Martin Luther King, Jr.
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at Johns Hopkins

 

Colleen Yen, MD
Colleen Yen, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
[email protected]
Fellowship-trained at NYU
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation's best in U.S. News survey
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-800-UCLA-MD1
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth