Pregnancy and baby

Every mom-to-be looks forward to having a healthy pregnancy and newborn, but sometimes, there are difficulties or challenges that make a pregnancy high-risk.

When you’re at greater risk for complications, your pregnancy care provider will work side-by-side with our maternal-fetal medicine specialists to provide the very best care for you and your baby.

• Targeted or level 2 ultrasound
• Prenatal diagnostic testing
• Prenatal screenings
• Genetic counseling
• Diabetes education and management
• Hypertension management
• Care of multiples
• Pregnancy care of genetic disorders
• Care of fetus with a malformation

Before pregnancy

Our maternal-fetal medicine specialists work with women at all stages of the pregnancy journey. If you have a personal and family medical history that may affect your pregnancy, you may choose to have preconception or prenatal genetic counseling or testing before trying to conceive.

Genetic counseling can help you understand the risks of passing along genetic diseases or birth defects to your baby. Our genetic counselors also will discuss your testing options and next steps if you receive abnormal test results.

Women with a history of past pregnancy complications including multiple miscarriages or early labor and delivery may also meet with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist to investigate the causes of these complications.

A number of factors can put your pregnancy in the high-risk category, including:

• A history of premature birth
• A history of preterm labor
• Being older than 35
• Being younger than 17
• Carrying multiples (more than one baby)
• Fetal abnormalities such as congenital heart disorders or Down syndrome
• High blood pressure (also called preeclampsia)
• Medical conditions such as gestational diabetes or heart disease
• Multiple miscarriages
• Placental problems such as placenta previa or placental insufficiency