Why Visit A Perinatologist During Pregnancy?

By Super

Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 11:47

You are pregnant and are visiting the obstetrician for a regular prenatal check-up. During one such visit you are referred to a perinatologist. You wonder what the perinatologist does and what is the need for you to visit one.

A perinatologist is also an obstetrician, who is well-versed in maternal-fetal health. He is more involved in dealing with high risk pregnancies. Maternal fetal monitoring is normally done by most of them. Abnormalities in the fetus, specially the ones occurring in the neck and head region are often examined. They also check the development of other parts of the maternal fetus, the growth of the placenta and the amniotic fluid present in the sac.

Why meet a perinatologist?

1.If you are experiencing problems in your pregnancies or if there have been severe complications in the previous pregnancy.

2.Sometimes women who get pregnant after 35 to 40 years, might also need to meet a perinatologist.

3.If you are overweight or underweight during pregnancy, your obstetrician might ask you meet a maternal fetal specialist.

4.During pregnancy if you require to undergo amniocentesis or cordocentesis, then you are required to meet a perinatologist. The former is a procedure that is done to detect fetal infections and chromosomal abnormalities, while the latter is genetic procedure that involves checking the fetal blood for abnormalities.

5.Other pregnancy related health complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, small or not well-developed babies or early labour are other causes for a pregnant woman to see a maternal fetal specialist.

6.If there is more than one fetus in the womb, special care and diagnosis is required for the mother. In such cases the gynecologist might refer the pregnant woman to a maternal fetal specialist.

The perinatologist sometimes also helps in delivering the baby, if it is a high risk pregnancy. He may take the assistance of other specialists like a neonatalist, if he suspects there that the baby too might face health problems. Do not think that visiting a perinatologist is a problem, as he is there to provide complete solutions to your pregnancy related problems.