Maternal & Fetal Medicine

Prenatal Care Services Offered

Certain women are considered high-risk and need special care to manage the risk of complications during pregnancy. If you are worried about your pregnancy or the development of your baby, a maternal and fetal medicine specialist may be consulted. These specialists have advanced training in prenatal care and experience in managing complicated pregnancies. Maternal and fetal medicine specialists work with your regular OB doctor or midwife to address and minimize all your concerns.

If you are considered a high-risk pregnancy, you may end up seeing our maternal and fetal medicine team at the Regional Perinatal Center at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. The Regional Perinatal Center at Upstate is the only high-risk OB service in central New York. Some common reasons you may be considered high-risk include:

  • Having multiples – Carrying more than one fetus such as twins and triplets in your pregnancy.
  • Gestational diabetes – Diabetes that you develop during pregnancy
  • Hypertension – High blood pressure
  • Blood disorder – Platelet disorders are known to cause clotting issues, which can negatively impact your baby.
  • Rh Sensitization – This occurs when the Rh group of the mother is negative while the child’s is positive, which can cause the mother’s immune system to attack the fetus.
  • Abnormal placental positioning – This refers to when the placenta is positioned covering, or partially covering, the cervix from which the baby would ideally exit out during vaginal birth.
  • Older than 35
  • Obesity – Being obese greatly increases the likelihood of developing other conditions such as gestational diabetes, hypertension, and congenital defects.
  • History of recurrent pregnancy loss – An extended history of previous miscarriages or stillbirths can increase your likelihood to miscarry in your ongoing pregnancy.
  • Poor Lifestyle – Intentional/ unintentional cigarette smoking, drinking, illegal drug usage at any point in pregnancy.
Pregnant woman sitting at the doctor's office and waiting for her prenatal care appointment.

The Regional Perinatal Center offers:

  • Physician On-Call 24 Hours
  • Diabetes Care
  • Fetal Health Studies – Includes measuring amniotic fluid and monitoring the baby's heart rate, breathing movements, and blood flow
  • Prenatal Diagnosis – Diagnosing birth defects through ultrasound and/or amniocentesis
  • Obstetrical Ultrasound – A sonogram which allows the imaging of the fetus inside the womb.
  • Arrangement and Transfer of Care
  • Counseling – Crisis, genetic, individual and relationship, nutrition, perinatal grief, pre-pregnancy, teratologic (dealing with fetal malformations)
  • Support Services – Assistance obtaining medical insurance; assistance obtaining financial, food, and housing aid; job training program

For more information about maternal and fetal medicine, and to schedule an appointment with a medical specialist, please contact University OB/GYN Associates in Syracuse, New York, at (315) 464-4458 today. We have several other locations which may also be accessible for emergency medical needs.