Prenatal Care
The Clinic for Women’s Health provides a comprehensive obstetric care of all patients. Prenatal care consist on evaluation, assessment, treatment or intervention of any condition associated with pregnancy. This includes you and your partner's comprehensive evaluation even before conception and extends after your postpartum visits.
Dr. Veronica Hurtado is a thorough healthcare provider that will inform you and discuss with you during every visit the necessary steps to take to prevent, manage and/or encourage you to follow healthy life-style changes to ensure adequate development and growth of your baby and a successful delivery.
If complications are discovered during your pregnancy, your visits will be scheduled more often and you will be referred to a specialist of High risk pregnancies called Maternal Fetal Medicine who will co-manage your care. Dr. Veronica Hurtado will still be your primary OBGYN and will be with you throughout your journey, even at the time of delivery.
In every prenatal visit, you will be evaluated to make sure there are no signs of infection, specially urinary tract infections. Your blood pressure will be taken and your weight measured, these are very important steps that help identify potential risk factors for complications. It is very important for you to be complaint with all your prenatal visits because there are many time-sensitive tests that need to be done at certain gestational ages.
Our philosophy is to provide you with a complete understanding of your pregnancy and any risk associated, so you can take the best, well informed decision, and can achieve the goal of having a healthy Mother and baby at the end of your pregnancy journey.
My First Obstetrical Visit
It is considered the most important visit because it's the first opportunity to identify any risk associated with complications during your pregnancy.
Allow us to get to know you and gather the pertinent history of you and your partner like medical, family or surgical history and determine if there is any potential impact on the development or wellbeing of your baby. You will always be informed and participate in your own plan of care, so, together, we can determine the necessary steps to decrease those risks and avoid complications if possible.
Your fist OB visit should include a physical exam, a pelvic examination and ultrasound [most times] to confirm the gestational age (number of weeks of pregnancy). We also establish your due date (when at 40 weeks) and include lab tests and blood work.
You will be prescribed prenatal vitamins and will be informed about all the necessary changes that may need to take place to ensure a healthy pregnancy. For example, the weight gain goal during pregnancy.
During this visit you and your partner are encourage to ask Dr. Hurtado any questions or share any concern you may have.
Ultrasound
This is a primary diagnostic tool during pregnancy, as well as in gynecology. It is considered a safe test and there is no radiation involved. It does not harm you or your baby in any way. There are no contraindication and it is not a painful procedure.
During your ultrasound we will be able to identify if your pregnancy is located in the right place (uterus), the number of babies (singleton, twin, etc.), gestational age, position, size and weight,. We would also confirm development of certain organs and complete the evaluation of anatomy of your baby, confirm gender, identify the location of the placenta and the amount of fluid around the baby which informs us about the wellbeing and overall development of your baby.
During the course of a normal and uncomplicated pregnancy the patient can require at least two formal ultrasound evaluations, one during the first visit and the other in the anatomy scan performed between 18-22 weeks of pregnancy. If any high risk condition is identified, you may require ultrasound more frequent.
High Risk/Low Risk Pregnancy
The differences between Low and High Risk pregnancy depend on the risk factors identified and associated with your pregnancy. This will determine the frequency of your visits, the need for antepartum testing and possible the timing or mode of your delivery.
Dr. Veronica Hurtado will explain with details and you will have the opportunity to ask her question and clarified any concern you may have.
Some High Risk conditions are: Hypertension, Preeclampsia, Pre-gestational Diabetes or Diabetes during Pregnancy, Thyroid Disorder, History of Preterm delivery, Multiple gestation (twin), History of prior Cesarean section or other surgeries in your uterus.
If you are identified as a High Risk pregnancy you may be referred to a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist.
Fetal Monitoring
Also known as antenatal testing and consist on the evaluation of the well-being of your baby. Recommended for high risk patients and those with concerning signs of symptoms. It is a non-invasive testing where we record the fetal heart pattern, any uterine contraction and your report of fetal movement for a period of time during your visit. If normal, results indicate reassurance of a wellbeing status of you baby.
