Obstetrics… the Way It Was Meant To Be!
Written by: Dr. Jonathan Weinstein
Frisco Womens Health provides a full range of high and low-risk Obstetrics care: advanced maternal age, twins, patients with the full gamut of pre-existing medical problems from diabetes to high blood pressure, and many others. We have the same electronic fetal monitoring and ultrasound technology as any hospital would have but more importantly, everyone who works in the office really cares about you and your growing family.
External Cephalic Version
Our providers practice according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) practice guidelines, developed by experts in the field. We can perform an External Cephalic Version (ECV) at 36 weeks if your baby is breech; this will move the head down. External Cephalic Version is a very safe procedure, with a high percentage of success. We have a success rate near 80%. If your doctor is waiting beyond 36 weeks pregnant, it will be too late. The baby will be too low in the pelvis and the amniotic fluid will be much lower, making it less likely to be successful.
Preventing A Cesarean Section
Patience is the best way to prevent a Cesearaean section. We prefer not to induce your labor unless you go 10 days past your due date or have a medical indication. Induction of labor can force the baby to come down in the wrong position, making it harder for the baby to pass through the birth canal. We recognize that everyone’s labor is different and the timing of delivery is not always going to be according to the textbooks or between 9 and 5 PM.
Natural Childbirth
Our providers will not lie to you, bend the truth, or do any unnecessary testing. We will always try to give you options. We have had many patients choose to have Natural Childbirth and at times, they hire a doula (a layperson that is a birth facilitator) who assists you in your goal of natural childbirth. We often get the same Labor and Delivery nurses to take care of our patients, as they are more supportive in reaching that goal.
Painless Labor & Delivery
For those who choose an Epidural in labor, you can rest assured we do not like to see people in discomfort! There is no required number of centimeters dilated you have to reach in order to receive an Epidural. The only requirement is that your cervix is dilating. Patients can receive an Epidural at 10 centimeters if they are able to sit still to have it placed. We respect a woman’s ability to go through childbirth and suspect that if men were responsible for procreation, our society would be extinct!
Advanced Maternal Age
For physicians and patients, this term simply means that you will be thirty-five or older when you deliver. Why 35 years old? As many women delay childbearing to establish their careers, it is now common to deliver babies for women who are well into their forties. The age of 35 is the traditional benchmark where the risk of miscarriage from an amniocentesis became higher than the risk of actually having a baby with a chromosome abnormality, such as Down’s syndrome. Currently, a non-invasive blood test (NIPT) can be done after 10 weeks to determine the chromosomes of your child. Amniocentesis is usually only offered to those with an abnormal NIPT and with ultrasound guidance is considered to be a relatively low-risk procedure done by the Perinatologist.
Do not let anyone tell you, “You are too old to have a baby.” This is just not true. We have delivered many women in their mid-forties – some having their first child! This could easily be you. We just need to sit down and make a procreative management plan to ensure a healthy pregnancy and birth.
Perinatologist
As our patient, you can expect to be treated with dignity and compassion. We are comfortable taking care of high-risk patients and know when the assistance of a Perinatologist (obstetrician with three years of additional training who performs detailed ultrasounds and genetic testing/screening) is required. We will do everything needed to ensure your pregnancy, labor, and delivery will go well. We have no problem with twin vaginal deliveries as long as the first baby is head down. We take care of a number of patients with pre-existing medical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, recurrent miscarriages, and difficulty with conception.
We recommend at least one visit to a Perinatologist, to perform a detailed, Level II anatomy scan because ultrasounds are what they do all day, making them experts in detecting birth defects. We do perform ultrasounds and fetal testing in the office and have a 32-inch plasma screen television so everyone in the room can see.