St. Luke Hospitals: Perinatal Centers

Welcome to the Perinatal Centers of The St. Luke Hospitals. Our centers, which include the Center for Diabetes and High Risk Pregnancy, are designed to provide an extra measure of care for moms-to-be, offering expert attention and monitoring during your pregnancy. The Perinatal Centers have a perinatologist available for consultation, and offer a variety of special tests that help determine what method of care will be best for your and your baby. A perinatologist is a board-certified obstetrician with special training and certification in the field of high-risk pregnancies.

What tests does the Perinatal Center offer?

Ultrasound and Level-2 Ultrasound

These tests are commonly called sonograms. The ultrasound test is performed by an ultrasound technologist and evaluated by a perinatologist. It is a painless procedure that uses sound waves to provide a detailed picture of your baby’s development.

If your physician needs more information than provided by a routine ultrasound, a detailed Level-2 ultrasound will be performed. The St. Luke Hospitals have the nation’s most state-of-the art Doppler ultrasound. The high-resolution equipment with color Doppler scanners provides reports to your physician by fax within minutes of completing the examination. Initial results will be discussed with you, and a detailed report will be sent to your physician who will discuss the importance of the results with you. You may also receive a picture of your baby’s ultrasound at this time.

Biophysical profile

This ultrasound test monitors fetal activity and amniotic fluid volume. It provides the doctor with information about the baby’s movements, breathing and muscle tone.

Stress and non-stress tests

Your physician may want to monitor your baby’s heartbeat during pregnancy. These tests evaluate fetal heart rate responses to fetal movement.

Fetal echocardiogram

This test uses sound waves to study the structure of your baby's heart before birth. Your obstetrician may obtain a limited view of your baby’s heart during a routine pregnancy ultrasound, however a fetal echocardiogram is a very detailed evaluation of your baby’s heart by a perinatologist. These are usually performed to evaluate abnormalities of cardiac structure, cardiac rhythm disturbances and disorders of cardiac function.

Amniocentesis

This procedure is done for genetic screening and fetal maturity. Our perinatologist performs this test by using an ultrasound to determine where to insert a special needle. The doctor will insert the needle through the mother’s abdominal wall into the uterus to withdraw a small amount of amniotic fluid. It is recommended that you arrange for someone else to drive you home after this test because of mild uterine cramping that may occur following the test. You should rest the remainder of the day and drink plenty of fluids as directed by your physician.

What does the Center for Diabetes and High Risk Pregnancy offer?

While high-risk complications of pregnancy occur in only about six to eight percent of all pregnancies, women diagnosed with high-risk complications have special needs to assure the best possible outcome for both mother and baby. High-risk problems include health conditions the mother has preceding the pregnancy, health conditions the mother develops during the pregnancy and inherited disorders passed to the baby. Examples include:

Blood disorders
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Heart problems
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Thyroid disease
Autoimmune disorders
Genetic disorders

In addition to common health conditions a mother may have before becoming pregnant, there are health problems that can develop during pregnancy. These problems include:

Preeclampsia and eclampsia
Gestational diabetes
Infection
Clotting disorders

At the St. Luke Hospitals Center for Diabetes and High Risk Pregnancy, these maternal health problems are managed in a variety of ways. Preconception counseling is available to help mothers determine the health risks so that they may understand the challenge and be managed better during her pregnancy. This is especially important for women who are taking medications to control health problems, as some medications may harm a developing fetus.

Women with diabetes must be especially careful about planning pregnancy and blood sugar control must be optimized before conception to protect the developing organ systems in the fetus in the early weeks to months of pregnancy. During pregnancy, blood sugar control must be maintained to decrease complications to the mother and fetus. By starting specific care before conceiving, a woman can be given the best chance for a healthy pregnancy and having a healthy baby.