Johanna’s Story: Finding Real Hope Through Leading-Edge Care Because of her age, the odds were against Johanna getting pregnant. So when she discovered she was not only pregnant but having twins, she was elated. At 16 weeks, Johanna received the horrible news that her babies had a very rare condition: twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), which…
Tracy’s Story: From Worry to Wonder with Comfort and Confidence During an ultrasound test at her routine prenatal exam, Tracy was given news that made her heart sink. Her baby had a large cyst on his lung and her obstetrician told her she needed to see a high-risk specialist immediately. She was referred to the…
Holly’s Story: Getting Specialized Care Early Pays Off After delivering a previous baby at 28 weeks because of severe preeclampsia, Holly knew from the beginning of her pregnancy that she needed the support of a maternal fetal specialist. (Her older child, born at 1 pound 9 ounces, is a healthy 7-year-old today.) She turned to…
Chanel’s Story: Dedicated Support for a Determined Woman with Diabetes Chanel is a diabetic. She was determined to have a baby and relied on the positive stories of other diabetics who have had babies with no incident. But the fact she’d had kidney failure complicated her condition. When she became pregnant, her local ob/gyn recommended…
Maintaining optimum thyroid levels is key to a healthy pregnancy Do you know how you can avoid or manage risks effectively once you’re diagnosed with hypothyroidism? If you have reason to believe you have low thyroid, it’s important to discuss this with your primary care doctor or obstetrician before you become pregnant or as soon…
Understanding the symptoms is your first defense against complications Do you know if you have hypothyroidism? Do you know the risks associated with it if you are pregnant? If you have never had symptoms of low thyroid output, your doctor may not test you for the condition when you become pregnant. Routine screening for hypothyroidism…
Marianne’s Story: Optimism and Support Lead to A Joyous Outcome Marianne was recovering from a miscarriage when she felt something was a bit different in her body. A trip to her doctor revealed she was pregnant. Hearing the heartbeat was a joy. Several weeks later, she and her husband went to her OB for an…
Awareness can spell hope to thousands of families Until you are faced with the diagnosis yourself, it may seem unimaginable that a congenital heart defect (CHD) is the most common birth defect worldwide, affecting over 40,000 babies in the U.S. alone. For those parents who receive the diagnosis, having reliable information and access to medical…
Excessive weight gain during pregnancy poses unnecessary risks If you are pregnant, you may be getting mixed signals in regards to how much weight you should gain. Making matters worse, food cravings can be intense when you are pregnant. And since your waistline is growing anyway, you may feel inclined to give in to them.…
Our published study on the effects on women’s delivery outcomes when hospitals have full-time laborists on staff, has been featured in a story done by KTNV Channel 13 Action News in Las Vegas. The study, conducted over 5 years from 2006 to 2011, concluded that the full-time laborist model, which involves having hospital-based obstetricians dedicated…