Our interaction with Dr Cantu was limited to her rotation at the Palomar Downtown Medical Campus for my wife's delivery last year (2014). Until Dr Cantu arrived every staff member, nurse, and doctor that we interacted with was phenomenal. Dr Cantu on the other hand was rude, abrasive, disrespectful, and refused to listen to anyone in the room, including my wife and myself. When our Doula stepped out of the room and talked to the nurses about the best way to talk to and work with Dr Cantu, they all essentially said "good luck". Her surgical skills are excellent, my wife's Cesarean was performed perfectly. However, her bedside manner and her treatment of her patients, their spouses, and their support team is atrocious. I don't care if she has had an issue with Doula's, or whatever she may have an issue with, the way she treated my wife and myself was completely and utterly uncalled for. We have tried filing a complaint with Kaiser about the situation but they have failed to respond. In the interim we have continued to hear about more and more women who have been just bulldozed and disrespected by Dr Cantu. I just have to warn people about her and that if she starts ripping things apart when she steps in, just tell her "We want a new doctor, now" read more

Dr. Cantu was extremely unprofessional, condescending, disrespectful and demeaning. I would highly suggest avoiding her at all costs. I have never been treated so terribly by a doctor! So disappointed in her horrible bedside manner. I wish I could give her 0 stars as that is all she deserves. read more

Of all our experiences with Kaiser, Dr. Cantu gave us the absolute worst, by far. As others have mentioned, her bedside manner is atrocious, borderline cruel. She severely scolded my pregnant wife for showing up in severe back pain to Palomar Medical Center, after Kaisers advice nurse told us to go directly to Palomar. She effectively told us to take a hike after a urine and blood sample came back normal. This was an atrocious experience that really has changed our mind about delivering at Palomar. I plan on continuing this conversation with Kaiser and Palomar for as long as needed and in whatever way possible to make sure nobody has the same experience with her again. read more

If I could give Dr. Cantu zero stars I would. I transferred into Kaiser from a homebirth for pain relief and Dr. Cantu was the doctor on call when I arrived. All I can say that's positive is I am thankful she was only on call for about 4-5 hours before her shift ended and I never had to see her again. She never even introduced herself, even when I pointedly tried to introduce myself. She berated me and my partner about our choice to attempt a homebirth, she insulted my midwife, calling her a lay midwife, (when she is licensed by the Medical Board of CA, the same board as Dr. Cantu, and has been practicing just as long as Dr, Cantu, over 30 years.) She refused to see my prenatal records and acted as if I had no prenatal care. I am also a midwife and she ignored my own level of knowledge and experience as it pertained to my own labor. She purposefully came into the room when my midwife and doula had stepped out to berate my partner and I again without them present. I almost immediately after meeting her asked for another doctor. She told me "too bad I am the only one." Later a nurse told me that was a blatant lie, that there are always two Kaiser OBs on the floor at all times!! I still can't believe she did that. I believe her obvious anger at homebirth and midwives delayed my care, as I didn't get an epidural for 2 hours after arrival. I believe she was trying to somehow penalize me. She also said I was 4 cm dilated only 10 minutes after her nurse said I was 6 cm. I believe she may have lied about my dilation to influence both my emotional health and the subsequent options for the course of my care. Truly, in the 4-5 hours she was on-call she never did anything clinical or care for me other than roughly check me one time, finally order the epidural, and berate and talk down to me. I will be filing an official complaint with the hospital and medical board. In my seven years of attending births as a midwife, I have never encountered a medical provider who was as terrible as Dr. Cantu. read more

My girlfriend and I went to a male doctor, due to her having "female" issues. Once this old doctor found out I was not a sister, but I was indeed the partner he said, "well you would not have these issues if you had a man." He put her on a high dose of birth control pills and sent her on her way. While she was traveling she began bleeding, she passed out and we went to the ER. There a nurse introduced us to Dr. Cantu. She held my girlfriends hand, she looked at me and told me,"Everything is going to be alright. I will take care of you BOTH!" THE BEST! She made sure we both felt at ease, and stayed informed. She made it a point to sit with us every step of the way. This happened several years ago, and I have to say it was one of the BEST experiences we have had with a physician. She simply knew how to connect to you as a person, not just a patient. read more

My experience with Dr. Cantu was, thankfully, as an observer of her care only and not as a patient. But I left the experience heartbroken that the person, who helped bring my clients' baby into the world, cared so little about evidence based care or respect for patients. Within a moment of introducing herself, she was yelling in the father's face, insulting his intelligence and questioning what right he had to inquire about her behavior. This is the day they welcome their baby and this doctor accused them if not caring about their baby's well being because he wanted to understand what she was recommending. The next physician they met offered a similar approach to their delivery, but was kind, listened, answered questions and treated them like they were HUMANS. Like the previous post, she was physically aggressive with procedures and told mom she was huge, having huge (6 lb) baby, called her "filthy" and ignored or belittled every request that was made. My role is to support the parents, I have no feelings about whether or not a physician acknowledges me or treats me one way or another. I want my families to have positive experiences. I was pained for them. That this woman was allowed to participate in the birth of their child, even after they asked her to leave, it's actual tragic. A dark cloud over a beautiful day. She had been given a gift, to work with families on what is supposed to be the best day of their lives. She does not treat it that way. She's the most disrespectful, abusive, manipulative care provider I've worked with or heard of in the childbirth industry. read more

If I could take away her medical license I would! Zero stars in my book! Her bedside manner was less than pleasant, some of the remarks she made were borderline cruel and she refused my right to s second opinion by a another physician not once, but twice. I'm still laying in the hospital waiting to hear back on an appeal I had to file after she tried to discharge me the same day she took an IV out of my arm after 10 days of narcotic pain therapy! You can't just rip out an IV and say bye! You have to transition them! And make sure they transition WELL!!! I am so disappointed with the quality of care this "doctor"provided. Every other Kaiser OB/GYN has been fantastic! read more

As a doula, I recently had a client who gave birth at Palomar Hospital. Dr. Cantu was the attending physician when my client was admitted and she was so kind and respectful to both my client as well as myself. She went out of her way to make me feel welcome and worked with my client to have the birth she desired. My client had a very long induction (3 days from start to finish) and 2 days later into the labor, Dr. Cantu came back on duty. She was incredible and encouraging and in a lot of ways un-did the damage done by the doctors since her last shift. I hope I get to work with her again in the future! read more

If there were a no star option, I would've pick that. This OB is down right EVIL. If you're unlucky enough to have her in the labor and delivery room for your birth, this is what you'll experience: 1. Extremely aggressive vaginal exams and ignores the mom when she asks to stop 2. Tells the mom she can't handle the pain 3. Gets the Dad upset by refusing to listen to him and belittling him if he so much as asks her a question 4. Will not interact AT all with a doula, refuses to speak to a doula at all, sometimes tells the doula to leave the room or go to a corner, or physically tries to distance the doula from the mom 5. Makes dishonest and coercive claims when she feels the moms belly and says "there's no way this baby is going to fit" and/or talks about how narrow or small the mom's pelvis is. 6. Argues against parent's birth plan wishes unnecessarily and Makes parents feel stupid by saying "well we're interested in the baby's safety. I don't know what your motive is" . 7. Refuses to be fired or leave the room if she's asked to leave. This is not just my experience, this is the experience I share with at least 4 of my doula peers. read more

Diana Cantu was very aggressive and extremely rude to my daughter, all because my daughters blood sugar was elevated after eating 20 minutes prior. She yelled at my daughter that she was a bad parent, not knowing my daughter and what she goes through everyday. You have two choices to approach a situation- with kind bedside manor or unprofessional like Cantu did. Her screaming made the nurse feel so uncomfortable that she left the room. Cantu is in the wrong profession. I'm appalled at how she handled the situation and a complaint has been filed. read more

I have a hard time wrapping my head around some of these negative reviews about Dr. Cantu. She was my gynecologist for many years and probably the best Dr. I have ever had at Kaiser. Always kind, listened to me, figured out ways to help my rather complicated situation and never judgmental. I was really heartbroken when she stopped seeing regular gynecology patients and only worked with hospital patients. I still have yet to find a replacement for her. I would recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone. She's the best. read more

I had my baby about 2 months ago, and all I can say is, thank you Dr. Cantu. My husband and I felt overwhelmed by the entire experience, due to my severe case of preeclampsia. Dr. Cantu brought a sense of professionalism and peace to the room that was dearly needed. She took the time to know us, and even shared a little about herself. When the moment came for birth she was fast, efficient and calm. The entire time she made us feel in control, and never was rude, aggressive, or overpowering. I would definitely wish to have her for my OBGYN with our next baby. read more

Worst doctor ever. She tried forcing us into induction before we were ready, the baby was doing just fine and there was no need for it. She would not leave my room when asked and lied to me saying she was the only one available when I requested another doctor. Kaiser should fire her. I've heard so many horror stories about her. read more

Dr Cantu was a godsend to my family! I was brought in early to be induced with my son after being 2 weeks "past due" and my regular Dr was not available. Dr Cantu walked in instead, and I would not have changed a thing! She provided myself and my husband with so much knowledge, coaching and emotional support throughout the delivery process. All though the night, as busy as the department was with other women giving birth, she came in to check on my progress (on her own instead of just looking at chart) and give encouragement. At the end of her long shift, 7am, she came in to say bye as she had worked a long 14 hours, and to do one last check before she left to brief the Dr that was coming in. I was at 10 cm and didn't even know it! Dr Cantu said she was committed to me and my family and not leaving, she was going to delivery my baby!! She then and there let her husband know she was going to be late, and spent the next 2 hours delivering our son. By far exceeded my needs and expectations and created a bond with my entire family and gave us a memorable experience. 3 days later we were still in the hospital due to my sons increased bilirubin levels. Dr Cantu saw that we were still checked in, and came in to care for my son, work as an advocate for us between the Peds unit and give me comfort as well as personally take care of the procedures on my son, and got me the best lactation nurse she knew. She went above and beyond for my son and I. I will never forget her!! read more

It's shocking to me that Kaiser continues to employ Dr. Cantu. As the son of a retired Kaiser doctor, I understand the high standards that they should at least try to live up to. Unfortunately, my brief encounter with Dr. Cantu is one I never wish happened in the first place and one I can't take back. I arrived to the hospital on a Sunday morning once my girlfriend had been without a fever for 48 hours expecting to be able to bring her home. When I got there, I was told otherwise. When I politely asked for an explanation as to why things had changed from what all the previous on call doctors were saying for days with regards to discharge criteria, I was met with a combative, condescending and incredibly rude Dr. Cantu who only gave non-answer answers to my questions and continually treated me with disrespect in front of my girlfriend and my girlfriend's son. I've never had a worse encounter with a doctor. The worst part of all this was that she was just too lazy to do the discharge paperwork on a Sunday and felt the need to be incredibly rude. I left the room once I felt I had taken enough disrespect (Dr. Cantu was continuing to be rude as I left) and filed a formal complaint that unfortunately went nowhere... Kaiser, why do you continue to employ this disaster of a doctor? I wish I could give 0 stars, as that's what she deserves. read more

I was lucky enough to have Dr. Cantu deliver my son in 2012 at Palomar Medical Center. After laboring for many hours at home I checked into Palomar Medical Center and Dr. Cantu was the on shift doctor. I found her to be nice, informative and most importantly extremely skilled in obstetrics. Dr. Cantu immediately recognized a drop in my son's vitals and tried in several ways to fix them (positioning, replacing fluid, etc). When these things didn't work I was rushed to the OR where we found that my son was wrapped very tightly in the umbilical cord, she actually showed my husband and had to unroll my son to get him out before sending him to NICU. I tried to use Dr. Cantu for the birth of my daughter last year and was sad to see that she no longer keeps office hours. I think the difference of review may come down to the kind of birth you are looking for. I had no expectations and no plans, my only goal was for everyone to be safe. Dr. Cantu definitely made that happen and I couldn't be happier, surprise c-section and all. read more