Page 5 - elevatefall19
P. 5
HEALTH
HELP FOR GEORGIA’S
HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES
Babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, called preterm births, are prone
to health concerns in the future. Each year, Georgia mothers give birth to
19,500 preterm babies, according to the Georgia Department of Public
Health. Offering high-quality perinatal care can prevent these and other
health concerns that may arise during pregnancy. However, 24% of women
in Georgia did not receive care during the first trimester of their pregnancy,
according to the Health Forecast Community Report.
“When a woman finds out she is pregnant, she needs to visit her
healthcare provider as soon as possible,” says Padmashree “Champa”
Woodham, MD, FACOG, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Perinatal
Associates and Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Navicent Health.
“An OB-GYN can monitor her pregnancy. If there’s something that requires
treatment, she and her baby can both receive care at Navicent Health.”
“OUR GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE
BEST CARE POSSIBLE, AS CLOSE TO HOME
AS POSSIBLE.”
— Padmashree “Champa” Woodham, MD, FACOG,
Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Navicent Health
KEEPING MOM AND BABY HEALTHY CARE FOR GEORGIA’S CHILDREN
Most of these procedures happen during the second trimester. In The Georgia Department of Public Health lists The Medical
almost all cases, these procedures need to be performed before Center, Navicent Health as one of six Regional Perinatal
the baby is born. Centers (RPC). Each RPC is dedicated to providing the highest
quality care to mothers of all levels of risk. However, Navicent
“Most of the time, if these procedures were not done, the Health’s services for high-risk pregnancies stand out.
baby would not survive,” says Cynthia Roland, DO, maternal-
fetal medicine specialist at Perinatal Associates and Navicent “As far as I know, we are the only facility that performs in-
Health. “In these cases, it’s better to perform the procedure utero surgeries,” Dr. Woodham says. “Other places send their
than wait until after the baby is born.” patients to us.”
The procedures are performed while the mother is under Navicent Health is Georgia’s destination for high-risk
general anesthesia, but otherwise, Dr. Roland says, the risks pregnancy care because of providers like Dr. Woodham,
for mothers are minimal. However, both patients are closely Dr. Hannah and Dr. Roland.
monitored after surgery.
“We took an interest in these kinds of procedures, so we
“Anytime we perform procedures like these, we monitor mom underwent the necessary training,” Dr. Woodham says. “Quality care
and baby for at least 24 hours after surgery,” explains Dawn can’t just come from equipment.The equipment is us. We know what
Hannah, DO, FACOG, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at we need to make these procedures a success for moms and babies.”
Perinatal Associates and Navicent Health. “We watch the baby’s
heart rate and keep the mother from going into labor.” TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MATERNAL-FETAL CARE
AVAILABLE AT PERINATAL ASSOCIATES, NAVICENT
“We’re prepared to deliver the baby during the surgery, if we HEALTH, VISIT WWW.NAVICENTHEALTH.ORG/
need to,” Dr. Roland adds. “In general, though, mothers and babies SERVICE-CENTER/PERINATAL-ASSOCIATES.
recover from these procedures very well.”
FALL 2019 | navicenthealth.org 5
