Our Services
UBCP Maternal-Fetal Medicine provides a full spectrum of advanced services for complex maternal-fetal medicine conditions including: antepartum testing, prenatal diagnosis and ultrasound, genetic counseling, gestational diabetes, and management of high-risk pregnancy.
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Services
- Consultations – When pregnancy is complicated by additional or complex concurrent medical conditions, generalist obstetrical physicians rely upon our maternal-fetal medicine specialists to provide guidance for a prescribed plan for prenatal care.
- Pregnancy Management and Co-management (in concert with your generalist OB provider) – Depending on the complexity of care dictated by a high-risk pregnancy, some patients may continue ongoing simultaneous care with their generalist obstetrician along with our maternal-fetal medicine specialists, while others require the focused and dedicated management solely provided by our maternal-fetal medicine specialists.
- Diabetes in Pregnancy – As a Sweet Success provider, follows guidelines established by the State of California in the field of diabetes in pregnancy. We provide comprehensive care with our integrated team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, dietitians, diabetes educators and licensed counselors, specifically trained to work with this challenging high-risk condition. Diabetes in pregnancy, whether gestational or pre-gestational, maybe co-managed with a generalist obstetrician or may require exclusive high-risk management.
- Inpatient Consultations – Our team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists is available seven days a week at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, for consultation and evaluation of any patient designated by their generalist obstetrician as having a complicated or high-risk pregnancy.
- High-risk Hospital and Delivery Services
- Perinatal OBs in-hospital at all times
A rotating staff of physicians is at our delivery hospital at all times, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that our patients’ needs are attended to at any time.
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists available on-call at all times
The complex needs of our high-risk patient population are highly dynamic and require ongoing evaluation and intervention. Our maternal-fetal medicine specialists are in house daily, and available either by phone or on-call as needed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Maternal Transports
Our practice supports the complex pregnancy cases that arise for many local and outlying communities. If a patient’s condition, whether maternal or fetal, cannot be managed safely by their local in-patient facility, transport to our delivery hospital and the UBCP Maternal-Fetal Medicine group’s care may become necessary.
Prenatal Diagnosis Services
Ultrasound – the painless use of sound waves to create detailed moving pictures of your baby in real-time, allowing our sonographers to evaluate fetal growth and to detect fetal malformations.
Amniocentesis– the removal (under ultrasound guidance) of a small amount of fluid surrounding the baby, which can be used to detect chromosomal problems, open neural tube defects and other inherited conditions, and to determine fetal lung maturity.
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) – the removal (under ultrasound guidance) of a small amount of placental tissue, either transabdominally or transvaginally, to test for chromosomal problems or genetic disorders.
Genetic Counseling – An approximately one-hour appointment with a genetic counselor to discuss family history, ultrasound anomalies, prenatal screening and diagnostic options, and/or individual risks of genetic problems.
Non-invasive prenatal screening/cell free DNA - a blood test performed after 10 weeks of pregnancy that determines whether your pregnancy is at a high risk for Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13. It can also evaluate the baby’s sex. There are a few additional conditions that can be added to the standard blood test, such as sex chromosome abnormalities or microdeletion syndromes, if the test is done at specific laboratories. The likelihood of your child being affected (true positive rate) is less for these add-ons than for the “core” trisomies (21, 18 and 13). Cell free DNA can detect over 99% of Down syndrome, Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13..
First Trimester Ultrasound – a fetal ultrasound, performed between 11.5 and 14.0 weeks of pregnancy. It can identify major brain and cardiac anomalies, which are sometimes caused by chromosome changes. It is recommended for all pregnancies, even if the pregnant person has already had low-risk blood screening.
Second Trimester Serum AFP Screening - a test performed during the second trimester between 15 -21 weeks gestation. Second trimester serum screening measures alpha fetoprotein (AFP) in the pregnant person's blood. It screens for open neural tube or abdominal wall defects in the pregnancy.
Second Trimester Ultrasound Screening or Detailed Anatomy Ultrasound - an ultrasound examination of the fetus usually done around 20 weeks gestation. The ultrasound technicians screen for anomalies by measuring and imaging specific parts of the fetus.
Diabetes In Pregnancy Services
Sweet Success Diabetes in Pregnancy Program
Sweet Success is a program established by the State of California that provides a multidisciplinary approach to managing a pregnant diabetic, including diet control, medication management, and education of the patient regarding the complications and nutritional management of this disorder.
We bring an integrated team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists, obstetricians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, dietitians, diabetes educators, and licensed counselors, all specially trained to care for and improve pregnancy outcomes for women who have pregestational and gestational diabetes.
If needed, your OB/GYN can refer you to our Sweet Success program.
Learn more about the Sweet Success Program
Consultations – Obstetricians may refer their patients with pregestational or gestational diabetes to UBCP MFM for consultation and recommendation for a specialized plan of care.
Pregnancy Management and Co-management (in concert with your OB provider) – Many patients diagnosed with gestational diabetes can be co-managed by their primary obstetrician in conjunction with our maternal-fetal medicine specialists and our dedicated Sweet Success team of providers.