sonigram2We offer comprehensive obstetric care to keep you and your baby healthy during your pregnancy. Prenatal care is an important part of pregnancy. From prenatal visits, diagnostic tests and screenings to delivery, our doctors and nurses are here for you each step of the way. Our obstetric services also include:

Ultrasounds

An ultrasound is a diagnostic procedure in which a transducer is moved across a woman's abdomen, producing high-frequency sound waves that create a picture of the baby on a monitor. Ultrasounds can be performed at any time during pregnancy, but most often are performed in the first trimester to confirm pregnancy and detect gestational age, and in the second trimester to detect the child's gender. Ultrasounds can also be performed to detect an ectopic pregnancy as well as any developmental or skeletal abnormalities.

The types of ultrasounds include:

  • Transvaginal - special probe used during the early stages of pregnancy
  • Standard - traditional 2D scan
  • 3-D - generates 3-D images of the baby
  • 4-D - generates 4-D images of the baby (especially of the face)

Deliveries

There are two types of delivery - vaginal and c-section. With a vaginal delivery, a woman may choose to have an epidural, which numbs the body from the waist down, keeping the mother from feeling contractions or pain during delivery. Some mothers choose to have a natural childbirth with no anesthesia or pain medication.

If a complication arises during the pregnancy or delivery, and the physician feels it will be unsafe for the mother or baby to deliver vaginally, the baby can be delivered via c-section (cesarean birth). With a c-section, the baby is delivered through an incision made in the abdomen.   A spinal block or epidural is administered to numb from the chest down to the legs, allowing the mother to remain awake during the procedure. In certain cases, general anesthesia has to be administered, which does not allow the mother to be awake for the delivery.

Women's Healthcare Associates offers family centered C-sections.  This type of deliver allows women undergoing cesarean birth to experience the elements of natural childbirth, like watching the baby emerge and holding the baby right away.

To learn more about the delivery process, we encourage you to sign up for prenatal classes. These classes will educate you on each phase of labor, breathing techniques, delivery, postpartum care and breastfeeding.