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My Best Pregnancy

Welcome to the My Best Pregnancy program! Under the Medical Direction of Dr. Siri Lynn Kjos, MFM, FACOG, our program is designed for members diagnosed with a High Risk pregnancy. We encourage you to enroll and participate to receive exclusive benefits!

BENEFITS

  • Financial Savings: $0 copay to see your high-risk doctor
  • Educational Material: printable handouts and resources available on teachershealthtrust.org
  • Special Events: check the website for upcoming group classes and special events
  • Special Support feeding support line is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for ages 0 - 5
  • Support via email and phone with our My Best Pregnancy Perinatal Nursing team

ENROLLMENT IS EASY

Fill out the enrollment form below and email to mybestpregnancy@wellhealthqc.com. One of our team members will respond to your email and address your questions or concerns.

STAYING HEALTHY DURING PREGNANCY

  1. What steps can I take to have a Healthy pregnancy?

  2. Daily behaviors

    • Always wear your seat belt when driving-to protect both you and your baby
    • Avoid all alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  1. What is a high risk pregnancy?

    During pregnancy, about one quarter of women will have an identified "high risk" condition or sign. Identifying possible or actual "risk" is an important part of why your OB provider sees you so often during pregnancy. Most of conditions identified as "high risk" can be treated or monitored to allow you to safely deliver a healthy baby, often vaginally and at term. In mothers, these "high risk" conditions can be relatively minor and common, like being over the age of 35, or being overweight to more serious conditions, like having a defect in their heart or having a chronic disease before pregnancy like diabetes, or lupus. For their babies, it can be growing larger or smaller than expected to more serious like have abnormality in development or virtually stop growing.

    If during or before pregnancy you develop or have a "high risk" condition, it alerts your doctor to take special care of you and your baby by bringing in the High Risk team to help reduce and monitor any dangers to you and your baby. Working together with your doctor, we provide Integrated Obstetrics-High Risk Care for you throughout the remainder of your pregnancy.

  2. What is High Risk Care?

    Your Perinatologist and their High Risk Team will first thoroughly evaluate your "high risk" condition, how it could affect either you or your baby. Together with you and your obstetrician, they will develop the best plan of treatment and monitoring for both you and your baby(ies) to have a healthy birth experience.

  3. What services are provided by High Risk OB offices?

    Care for and management of:
    - Maternal diseases, such as diabetes, thyroid disease, hypertensive disorders, systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac disease, thrombophilias, and liver disease.

    - Fetal based modified diabetes glycemic management: modifying medical management of gestational diabetes using monthly ultrasound growth of the baby to determine glucose targets, a protocol which reduces by 50% babies who grow too large.

    - Fetal conditions, such as intrauterine growth restriction, genetic disorders, multiple births, isoimmunization.

    - Obstetric conditions, such as recurrent pregnancy loss, preterm labor, placenta previa/accrete, cervical incompetence, previous preterm birth, premature rupture of membranes

    Diagnostic services:
    - Genetic testing: Non-invasive testing for chromosomal abnormalities and first and second trimester prenatal screening

    - Ultrasound: First trimester ultrasound, detailed second trimester anatomy exam, monitoring of growth disturbances

    - Antepartum testing: Non-stress tests, amniotic fluid determination, Doppler assessment

    - Diabetes Education: Diabetes classes and individualized instruction in diabetes management, diet, lifestyle and exercise, insulin teaching, home glucose monitoring

    - Nutritionist: Individualized counseling for medical nutritional therapy for diabetes, hypertension, lipid disorders, renal disease, inherited metabolic disorders.

  4. Can a high risk pregnancy be prevented?

    Your risks may be reduced or controlled by getting Pre-Conception Counseling before you become pregnant and starting on a preventive care plan.

    There are general and important steps every woman can take before and during pregnancy, namely stop smoking cigarettes (and marijuana), drinking alcohol, using any illicit drugs which will reduce risk. Simple things like wearing a seat belt can be life saving for both you and your baby. Exercising at least 30 minutes a day and achieving a healthy weight before pregnancy are also steps to take. The better your health, less likely you will develop problems.

    However, despite doing everything "right" problems occur. For women with a prior complicated pregnancy, such as recurrent pregnancy loss, stillbirth or preterm labor, we can review prior medical records and investigate possible treatable causes, such as uterine anomalies, inherited disorders, incompetent cervix and develop a strategy to reduce their recurrence.

    Often a woman may have a disease or condition present before pregnancy which greatly adds risk to her future pregnancy. Preconception counseling is recommended for women who have been diagnosed with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disease, cardiac disease, lupus and autoimmune disorders, HIV and infectious diseases. When women have medical conditions, the most important steps often need to occur before pregnancy, to optimize her health, complete any necessary procedures, tests before pregnancy and control her medical condition. It is important for a woman to not stop any medications unless specifically told to do so. Stopping necessary medications could seriously endanger her life and actually increase her pregnancy risk. An example of a very important medical condition to control before pregnancy is diabetes-when a mother's sugars are high before and during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy when the baby is forming, the risk of having a baby with serious malformation is 22-25%. Thus planning a pregnancy when you have a serious medical condition with your doctor and the specialist is one of the most important steps you can take to have a healthy pregnancy. Reviewing any and all medicines that you take is important. Sometimes different medicines are substituted because they are known to be safer during pregnancy. Rarely is just stopping a needed medication the best answer.

  5. What conditions are considered to be High Risk?

    Preexisting Maternal diseases or conditions: Control and management of several maternal conditions can markedly reduce risks and complications for both you and your baby. These conditions include but are not limited to diabetes, thyroid disease, hypertensive disorders, epilepsy, systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac disease, blood clotting disorders, and liver disease.

    Fetal conditions: Conditions which can be inherited or develop in your baby may require specialized diagnostic studies and close monitoring of your baby to ensure a healthy outcome for your baby. These conditions include but are not limited to: chromosomal or genetic abnormalities, failure of you baby to develop properly, restricted growth of your baby, isoimmunization where you develop antibodies which can harm your baby, and twins or multiple gestations

    Obstetric conditions, such as recurrent pregnancy loss, preterm labor, placenta previa/accrete, cervical incompetence, previous preterm birth, premature rupture of membranes, preeclampsia

RESOURCES

There are many excellent online sources to learn more about your pregnancy, and high-risk conditions. Listed below are non-commercial resources, sponsored by government Public Health departments and national medical organizations with patient information which is updated regularly and written for you

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