Whether planning for or anticipating the birth of your baby, every woman hopes for an uneventful pregnancy and easy delivery. For most, this is exactly what happens. However, women can face unexpected difficulties and complications.

Our experts in Maternal-Fetal Medicine can help. 

"At Yale Medicine, you'll have access to a multitude of medical and surgical specialists, whether it's working with a thoracic surgeon for a pregnant patient who had an aortic dissection to taking care of patients who have transplanted kidneys and livers," says Katherine Campbell, MD, MPH, a high-risk pregnancy specialist. "For the baby, we collaborate with geneticists, genetic counselors, pediatric cardiologists, neonatologists and pediatric urologists." 

A high-risk pregnancy is one in which a woman and her fetus face a higher-than-normal chance of experiencing problems.

These risks may be due to factors in the pregnancy itself, or they may stem from preexisting maternal medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, or lupus. Events that occur during a pregnancy may also lead to high-risk status.

Yale Medicine has a large, multidisciplinary team of specialists who are leaders in their fields. We come together when needed to help create care plans for high-risk patients in order to help them successfully navigate pregnancy. 

Yale New Haven Hospital also has an inpatient 18-bed Maternal Special Care Unit dedicated to women with high-risk pregnancies. Yale Medicine physicians developed many of the methods and procedures used today to safely navigate pregnancy. These include obstetrical ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, fetal heart rate monitoring, noninvasive fetal anemia assessment, percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS), in-utero fetal blood transfusion and invasive therapies such as fetoscopy and fetal surgery.

"We also staff our labor floor 24-7 with maternal-fetal specialists, which no one else does in the state," Dr. Campbell says. "So for any type of complicated pregnancy, there is no waiting until morning to be seen. Plus, we have expertise in complex Cesarian deliveries and other situations." 

In many cases, Yale Medicine physicians coordinate with the patient's primary ob-gyn. The goal is to have a familiar face on the patient's team and to receive some care close to home.

Yale Medicine's team also includes social workers, psychological and psychiatric services, nursing support, as well as community-wide programs to support the loss of pregnancy.

"We make a personal connection with mothers and families. Being a large academic center, Yale is often a family's ultimate stop. They've been to other places and now they are with us, and we help them," Dr. Campbell says. "A big part of our practice is women coming back for a second pregnancy and we talk about what she can do to optimize it, sometimes even pre-conception."