For millions of women in the United States, 40 weeks of pregnancy usually progress without serious complications. For some, however, existing or new health issues with themselves or their unborn babies put them in the “high risk” category.
Chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma can place an expectant mother in the high-risk group. Other causes, such as carrying more than one fetus, previous complicated pregnancy, birth defects, preterm labor, or developing a condition during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, also can warrant a high-risk classification.
“While obstetricians can handle many pregnancy complications that arise, some require the expertise of a high-risk specialist during pregnancy. These are the women who may benefit from seeing a maternal-fetal medicine physician,” said Richard L. Fischer, M.D., Head of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Cooper.
Also called perinatologists, maternal-fetal medicine physicians are obstetricians/gynecologists who specialize in high-risk conditions of both women and their unborn babies. These specialists complete two to three years of additional medical training and clinical experience. They concentrate on the obstetrical, medical, genetic and surgical complications that can arise in pregnancy, and their effects on both the mother and the fetus. They also have unique expertise in performing obstetrical ultrasounds, which can lead to an improved detection of many types of fetal birth defects in otherwise low-risk pregnancies.
Due to the high level of maternal-fetal and neonatal care offered at Cooper, the state of New Jersey has designated Cooper University Hospital as a Regional Perinatal Center. Cooper’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program includes a team of eight specialized physicians providing comprehensive services at seven different locations throughout Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Mercer counties.
Some of the high-level services available at Cooper include high-resolution ultrasounds; combined first- and second-trimester Down syndrome screening; fetal echocardiography; perinatal and genetic counseling during pregnancy; procedures such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis; and pre-pregnancy consultations with maternal-fetal medicine specialists.
Cooper maternal-fetal medicine specialists work closely with obstetricians to develop individualized care-plans for patients. A patient may see a maternal-fetal medicine specialist several times during her pregnancy, but the obstetrician will continue to manage the pregnancy and deliver the baby (in most cases).
For newborns with special needs, Cooper also offers the highest level of neonatal intensive care in its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The unit is distinguished as one of only two NICU’s in the world to be certified as a NIDCAP nursery.
NIDCAP, or Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program, is a multi-disciplinary model that supports the growth and development of premature infants through a relationship-based approach to care, for both the infants and their families. “Preemies are living, breathing human beings who can tell whether they like or dislike what we’re doing to them. And not only can we read the signs, but we can teach parents how to read the signs, too,” said Gary E. Stahl, M.D., Head of Neonatal Services at Cooper.
Dr. Fischer adds, “Obstetrical patients at Cooper can have peace of mind knowing that if there are complications with their pregnancy, during childbirth, or with their newborn babies, they will have access to the most highly-skilled team of specialists in southern New Jersey.”