We had a LOT to say in our Spring 2025 newsletter! So much so, that we had to make this whole webpage just for the supplemental content that we couldn’t fit in.

full interview with dr. james bedell,
MPC’s Medical Director

What piqued your interest in OBGYN? Have you always wanted to go into the medical field? And why this specific field out of all specialties?

I always knew I wanted to help people as a profession and my uncle was a dentist so I was initially thinking that route.  But then I realized how little people clean their teeth, so I pivoted to a different medical field 😊.  I decided on medicine when I was in college, but it wasn’t until I was a third year medical student that OB/GYN really grabbed me.  Initially, it was quite daunting: the hours were 4am-6pm, the residents/staff weren’t very nice and, let’s face it, being a man learning this field is quite awkward at times.  But it was AFTER my 6 week long rotation that I realized how much I LOVED it: it’s medicine and surgery; it’s primary care and a specialty; and it’s the one time in a person’s life where they WANT to go to the doctor.  I briefly considered surgery, but taking out appendixes is definitely not as interesting as getting a baby with every cesarean section😊.  I eventually decided to subspecialize in Maternal-Fetal Medicine (so a total of 7 years of training after graduating from medical school) because the OB part of OB/GYN is what I loved the most.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? 

The older that I’ve been getting, the more I realize that I’m just a shepherd, helping patients navigate their complicated pregnancies without having too much agency in making things better or worse.  Just being there for the patients to help explain the complications so that they leave with a realistic understanding is the most rewarding part of my day-to-day job.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part is having to deliver bad news, especially when it comes to the life expectancy of a very preterm baby which can be quite gut wrenching.  Being a father myself, I am constantly putting my wife into the patient’s position and thinking about my own kiddos that I often find myself crying alongside the patient in those moments.

Would you mind sharing a bit of your testimony? Did you grow up in a Christian home? How did you come to know Jesus?

I did not grow up in a very faithful home, but I did become very involved in the youth ministry at my local evangelical church in High School (Foothill Covenant, Mountain View, CA), and loved my time there! I, unfortunately, did not continue that once I went to college and medical school, but since marrying my wife (celebrating 15 years this year), we are raising our kids in the Catholic Church and attend services at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church regularly.  In fact, we just celebrated our eldest’s Confirmation this past weekend!

How did you come to learn about the Modesto Pregnancy Center? And why did you agree to become the medical director?

I found out about the Modesto Pregnancy Center when I contacted the Kaiser Permanente HR looking for volunteer opportunities, wanting to give back to the community of Modesto.  Initially (after about a year of back and forth), I was approved to read scans in my free time and, shortly thereafter, I was asked by the team to step in as the Medical Director since the previous Director was stepping down.

Tell us more about your role as medical director! We’d love to explain more about your position here and why we are so, so, so thankful to have you on board. 😉

The Medical Director position allows my name and license to be used by the clinic to perform the pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing as well as to serve as an over-seer for the ultrasounds.  I have also been helping them revamp their protocols, which seemed a little outdated to me when I took over, such as not performing endovaginal ultrasounds in the setting of vaginal bleeding or in the presence of an IUD.  As long as the sonographers are experienced, and know to slowly introduce the transducer under direct visual guidance, these procedures are safe and recommended, since the fidelity they provide is much greater than traditional transabdominal route.

Now that you've discussed what the role is, would you tell me more about your feelings about the role? How has it been working with the MPC team? How has it been balancing this role with your existing job, your family, all of your other life commitments?

1. I absolutely LOVE being the Medical Director of MPC and, quite frankly, it is one of the most rewarding parts of my career.  I truly feel valued by the organization and love being able to provide this small service to members of our community.  The ultrasound reading is not particularly onerous, taking about 5 minutes out of my day, and I try to respond as quickly as possible, since I know these women are desperately waiting to hear if all is well.

2. But this, in conjunction with recently being appointed to the CMQCC (California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative) Pregnancy-Associated Review Committee for the Central Valley, reviewed maternal death cases to help better understand how to help our communities, has helped me really feel like my work is making a difference.  It’s quite easy to be lost in the shuffle when working for a large organization like Kaiser Permanente, but these two endeavors help to keep me grounded and committed to making pregnancy as safe as possible for EVERY momma.

If you were speaking with an abortion-vulnerable or abortion-minded patient, what would your advice be?

I am a firm believer in patient autonomy, having been a co-chair of the Ethics Committee at Kaiser Permanente in Modesto for about 2.5 years until recently stepping down to focus on clinical duties.  So, while I wouldn’t necessarily sway someone away from abortion if their mind is made up (medical coercion is REAL), I would make sure that I provide them with the absolute best information available to them, so they can make an educated decision.  I also was a part of a non-published study we performed during Residency for Crisis Center patients, where seeing the baby on ultrasound usually swayed them away from seeking an abortion, something that is very much in line with MPC’s goals!

And then here are just a few random things that might be silly/fun for our readers:

Favorite hobby?

Playing video games and watching movies (definitely more of the former recently; some long games are like a month-long movie for me and I find the stories so engaging and entertaining!)

Favorite family activity? Or favorite family trip/destinations you guys regularly go on?

Honestly just being with my family helps to recharge me.  But my wife and I LOVE Las Vegas, and we took the kids there in 2022 to a resounding success! So much so, that we are thinking about bringing them there again in the near future 😊

Favorite hymn or worship song?

I still have many Christian bands on my regular music rotation, including Five Iron Frenzy, The OC Supertones, Caedmon’s Call and the like.  I’ve always been more partial to those groups over traditional hymns

Favorite book?

Anything by Dean Koontz, I’m a true crime/thriller junkie

Favorite way to unwind after a long day?

Being with my family, or sitting down with a long role-playing video game (currently working through Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, if interested 😊)