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Maternal-fetal MOST WOMEN LEARN they are pregnant four A baby may have fluid collecting around
specialists at to seven weeks after conception. By then, the his or her lungs—a condition known as
Navicent Health help baby has already begun to form the tissues pleural effusion—and the fluid can compress
keep babies healthy— that will become organs. An ultrasound may the lungs and stop them from developing
even before they find the flutters that will become the baby’s properly. To help with this issue, Dr. Woodham
heartbeat. At the start of the second trimester, and the other maternal-fetal medicine
are born. while the baby weighs less than a D-size specialists at Perinatal Associates can place a
battery, the baby’s lungs are formed but still. shunt inside the baby’s chest, giving the fluid
TO HEAR ONE MOTHER’S a passageway to exit the baby’s lungs.
STORY, VISIT WWW. Most of a baby’s organs will not be finished
YOUTUBE.COM/ developing until week 37 or 38, and babies “We can do the same thing for a baby’s
NAVICENTHEALTH. born before this time can have serious health bladder,” Dr. Woodham says. “If the bladder
complications that can have short- and long- is not emptying urine, it can lead to kidney
term impacts on their health and well-being. failure. A shunt in the baby’s bladder can help
urine leave.”
“Sometimes, a baby’s organs do not
develop correctly, and the baby is not ready Specialists can also increase or decrease the
to live outside of its mother,” explains amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby
Padmashree “Champa” Woodham, MD, by injecting saline or removing amniotic fluid
FACOG, maternal-fetal medicine specialist to help the baby develop and prevent early
with Perinatal Associates and Director of labor. Amniotic fluid is important for the baby:
Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Navicent Health. too little can lead to a lack of development,
“If that’s the case, we perform surgery while while too much can make it difficult for the
the baby is still inside the womb.” baby’s lungs to inflate.
4 navicenthealth.org | FALL 2019