Delivering babies, serving students

Dr. Clark says she works with many first-time parents

BY SERENA DUGAR IOANE

Dr. Li-Duen Clark has been working at the BYU–Hawaii Health Center as an obstetrician-gynecologist (ob-gyn) for seven years and delivers one to four babies a week, she shared.

Although she has her own clinic, she travels to BYUH to make student mothers’ lives more convenient and said she loves working with students here.

“Most students do not have cars and catching a bus during pregnancy is hard, so I accepted the request to make students’ prenatal care more convenient,” Clark explained.

Seven years ago, the BYUH Health Center asked her to work with them and come to the campus to help students, she explained. Since then, she travels to Laie weekly to provide prenatal care for student mothers. 28 KE ALAKA’I Dr. Clark stands in front of the BYUH Health Center where she has worked one day a week for seven years to help students who are expecting babies. Photo by Jeffery Dang

Noelle Pohina, Dr. Clark’s medical assistant and office manager, said, “Every Wednesday she checks 9-to-10 BYUH student mothers. And we hope we can come more often because her Wednesdays are so busy, and her schedule is always packed.”

Clark shared some months, she delivers TVA babies once a week and other months, three to four times a week.

Love and service for students

Even though she has to drive a long distance to come to campus, she said Wednesdays are her favorite day of the week. “I am always impressed by BYUH students. They study and work while building their young families.”

Clark shared the majority of students she works with are expecting their first child. She said she believes their future pregnancies won’t be too scary if their first pregnancy experience is good. “I spend a lot of time helping them learn about pregnancy from the beginning to the end. I believe it is an important foundation for their parenthood.”

Janlavtsogzol Battulga, a senior from Mongolia majoring in accounting, said when she came to BYUH, she got pregnant right away with her first son and met with Dr. Clark.

“I thought she would be an old white woman, but I was shocked that she is a young and beautiful Asian doctor. She is very experienced and gentle. She is knowledgeable and knows what she is doing,” Battulga said.

Dr. Clark is from Taiwan but moved to the United States when she was 12. She

Dr. Clark comes from town once a week and helps 9-to-10 woman at the Health Center every Wednesday. Photo by Jeffery Dang

studied medicine at Boston University and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, according to the Windward Obstetrics and Gynecology website.

Clark said she has been working as an ob-gyn for over 13 years.

Battulga said Dr. Clark delivered her first son and gave her prenatal care for her second pregnancy with twins.

“I had such bad morning sickness and felt very discouraged about all my pregnancies.”

She said Clark is comforting and encourages her. “Almost every prenatal visit, I cry and tell her my concerns. She never ignores my concerns and always understands me and advises the best solutions.”

Pregnancy and parenthood are big life changes, Clark said, and most of her patients do not have their parents or family members nearby, making it even harder. “I try my best to make their pregnancy and prenatal care experience as enjoyable as possible.”

Clark shared, “I am glad I still have a chance to serve students. I love BYUH students and really enjoy working with them.”

Clark said the COVID-19 pandemic cut off the best part of her job, having her patients’ family members at prenatal visits. “There are very few types of visits to hospitals that are exciting. One of them is prenatal visits.”

Especially for first-time parents, it is a happy moment to see their unborn baby on the ultrasound, she said. “However, because of social distancing, [they are] not allowed to have any visitors at the prenatal visits for now.”

About the Clarks

Clark explained she and her husband, also an ob-gyn doctor, own a clinic in Kaneohe, called Windward Obstetrics and Gynecology.

She met her husband, Dr. Jean-Paul Clark during their first year of medical school at Boston University.

Clark said she chose to be an ob-gyn because most parts of her job are happy and exciting. She shared, “My mother’s side has many eye doctors, and they wanted me to be like them.

“Sometimes, when I complain about having to deliver someone at 2 a.m., they tell me how hard they tried to persuade me to be an eye doctor and tease me. However, I am happy with what I am doing now.”

Clark said she and her husband decided to move to Hawaii after being tired of the cold. She wanted to teach at a university, but she shared there is only one medical school in Hawaii, so they decided to start a private practice.

Pohina, who has been working for them for three years, said, “[The] Clarks have a smaller clinic compared to other doctors, so it gives them time to build relationships with their patients and treat them well. They love what they do. They are very knowledgeable and caring for their patients.”