Ho-Vu Women's Healthcare — An Honest Editorial Review
Among fertility clinics in California, plenty of patients start not with a reproductive endocrinologist but with an established OB/GYN who can run the first workup, identify anything urgent, and refer on when it's time. Ho-Vu Women's Healthcare — a small private practice led by Dr. Mylien Ho and Dr. Lac Vu at 5555 Reservoir Drive, Suite 205 in San Diego — is exactly that kind of first stop.
This is a two-physician general OB/GYN office in the Grantville neighborhood near SDSU, not a reproductive-medicine program. Both physicians are board-certified obstetrician-gynecologists, they are not reproductive endocrinologists, and the practice does not run an IVF lab or appear in SART reporting.
Training and Credentials
Dr. Mylien Ho, MD earned her medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in 1986 and has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for nearly four decades. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, holds an active California medical license, and is affiliated with Sharp Memorial Hospital, Sharp Grossmont Hospital, and Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center. She speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Dr. Lac Vu, MD earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in 1991 and completed his OB/GYN residency at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn from 1991 to 1995. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, holds an active California medical license, and is affiliated with Alvarado Hospital Medical Center and Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego.
Services and Specialties
Services provided at Ho-Vu Women's Healthcare include:
- Annual well-woman exams and preventive screening
- Routine and higher-risk obstetric care through delivery at affiliated Sharp and Scripps hospitals
- Contraception and family-planning counseling
- Infertility assessment and preconception counseling
- Menstrual-disorder and PCOS evaluation
- Fibroid and endometriosis management
- Menopause management and hormone therapy
- Minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (as performed at hospital affiliates)
The practice does not advertise IVF, egg retrievals, embryo transfer, or donor programs. Patients who need advanced reproductive technology are referred to a reproductive endocrinologist.
What This Practice Is — and Isn't
Ho-Vu is a general OB/GYN office, so the practical scope for a fertility patient is limited to workup and first-line care. That typically means cycle day 3 FSH, estradiol, and AMH; TSH and prolactin; a pelvic ultrasound for antral follicle count and fibroids; a partner semen analysis through a reference lab; and an HSG ordered at an outside imaging center for tubal patency. What it does not mean is IVF, ICSI, retrievals, embryo transfer, egg freezing, or a donor-egg program — any of those require an REI. Patients with blocked tubes, severe male-factor findings, diminished ovarian reserve, or age 38+ after six months of trying are usually best served by moving straight to a reproductive endocrinologist rather than cycling on IUI. Our how to read IVF success rates guide is a useful primer before any REI consult, and our California fertility clinic directory lists San Diego REI programs.
Patient Experience
Ho-Vu carries a 5.0 Google rating across 24 reviews — a small but consistent signal. Recurring themes point to a warm front-desk experience, bilingual care (Spanish and Vietnamese available through Dr. Ho), and genuine continuity across an entire pregnancy. The Reservoir Drive office sits in a medical complex with on-site parking, a short drive from I-8.
Insurance and Cost in California
California's SB 729, signed in 2024 and phased in starting 2025, requires large-group state-regulated commercial plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including IVF. Self-funded (ERISA) employer plans are exempt, and individual/small-group plans are not covered by the mandate. An OB/GYN workup like the one at Ho-Vu is typically billed as routine gynecologic care and covered under standard medical benefits — a practical way to move early before any IVF authorization is in play. See our fertility insurance mandates by state guide and IVF cost by state breakdown.
Considering At-Home Insemination?
San Diego has a large LGBTQ+ community and a growing single-parent-by-choice population for whom at-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is often a sensible first step — particularly when there's no known fertility diagnosis and donor sperm is already lined up.
At-home insemination kits from MakeAMom are a one-time purchase, reusable until conception, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients run a few home cycles in parallel with an OB/GYN workup before escalating to clinical IUI. If you have a known diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months (six if you're 35 or older), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified REI is the right next step.
Location and Contact
Address: 5555 Reservoir Drive, Suite 205, San Diego, CA 92120 Phone: (619) 286-5858 Neighborhood: Grantville / Del Cerro, near SDSU and Sharp Grossmont
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ho-Vu do IVF or egg retrievals? No. Ho-Vu is a two-physician general OB/GYN practice. It can run an initial fertility workup, order an HSG, and manage early care, but IVF, ICSI, egg freezing, embryo transfer, and donor-egg cycles require a reproductive endocrinologist.
Do Dr. Ho and Dr. Vu speak Vietnamese or Spanish? Dr. Mylien Ho speaks English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. This is one of relatively few San Diego OB/GYN practices offering routine care in all three languages.
Which hospitals do they deliver at? Dr. Ho is affiliated with Sharp Memorial, Sharp Grossmont, and Sharp Chula Vista. Dr. Vu is affiliated with Alvarado Hospital Medical Center and Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego. Confirm delivery hospital at the time of your pregnancy-care visit.
Editorial note: Independently written by the Fertlo editorial team; not sponsored. See our editorial policy.