Dr. Kataneh Salari, MD

She was rude, condescending and dismissive. I was referred by an IVF clinic for an MFM consult. We started talking about how my BMI may effect my pregnancy. I have PCOS and I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life. I recently had surgeries for egg retrieval, a polypectomy and an endometrial biopsy and was still recovering. I told her that I hadn’t been regularly exercising because my doctor said to wait for 2-4 weeks to fully recover before going back to spinning. She scoffed at me and said “I doubt your doctor told you not to exercise”. In my report she said I had obesity due to caloric intake. But we never discussed my diet at all during the consult. I’m on a strict plant based diet with a nutritionist to manage my PCOS. She also asked if I’ve been tested for my A1C levels. I get tested for A1C because I’m at risk due to PCOS, my BMI and family history. When I told her I was within the normal range, she responded “Was it really in the normal range? Are you sure you… weren’t on the border of being positive?” It was almost as if she thought she knew better than an actual test result. She also said “telling me to lose weight would be like telling someone who smokes cigarettes to stop smoking” People with PCOS struggle with maintaining a “normal” BMI even with a healthy diet and exercise. It was really offensive and shaming. When I knew that she was not really interested in listening to me I tried to ask for another doctor but she said no, and that there were no other doctors that could do the consult. It was very awkward. When I raised a few concerns, her response was “You are just being emotional” with a tone of misogyny and condescension. I didn’t really know how to respond. It seems she wants to hear herself talk rather than listen to her patients. I would not recommend Mitera or Kathy Salarito to anyone, especially if you have a higher risk pregnancy or if you struggle with your weight.