Importance of Prenatal and Postnatal Care
Dr. Syed talks about the importance of Prenatal and Postnatal Care. Information on reducing maternal morbidity and mortality is discussed in this episode.
Featuring:
Sameera Syed, MD
Sameera Syed, MD, specializes in obstetrics and gynecology and is board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She practices at UPMC Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialists-Lititz and is affiliated with UPMC Lititz, UPMC Community Osteopathic, UPMC Harrisburg, and UPMC West Shore. Dr. Syed earned her medical degree at Rural Medical College of Pravara. She completed her residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Transcription:
Caitlin Whyte (Host): Staying healthy during pregnancy is so important, but equally as important are the prenatal and postnatal ways you take care of yourself. Here to tell us more about this care is Dr. Sameera Syed, a Gynecologist at UPMC. This is Healthier You, the podcast from UPMC in central Pennsylvania. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Well, starting out our conversation today, Doctor, let's focus on prenatal care first. What are some things that pregnant people should be doing early on to ensure a healthy pregnancy for themselves and for their baby?
Sameera Syed, MD (Guest): Prenatal care is extremely important and valuable. The early prenatal care is what we advocate for because just starting off, as soon as you get that positive pregnancy test, we want you to come in early on in the first couple of months of pregnancy so that we can adjust medications, discontinue some medications which could be detrimental to the pregnancy and then start good, accurate prenatal care with dating ultrasounds and ongoing management.
So the critical part of this is touching base with your OB GYN provider early on in pregnancy.
Host: And then what about postnatal care? I mean, once the baby is born, it kind of feels like that's the end of the process of the pregnancy, but what should people and families be doing in this period after giving birth? I mean, how long does the postpartum period really last?
Dr. Syed: So for a really long time, we used to consider this was just the issue, we used to consider postpartum period as all right everybody's focusing on the baby and we see the mom, you know, six weeks, four to six weeks after delivery and then on a yearly basis. But now that paradigm is shifting and in a good way. ACOG is really being forefront in advocating for the postpartum period to last one full year, like it should be. Because we are now moving towards getting patients back in three to four weeks and then in three to four months, because honestly at the three to four month mark that people have resumed moms have resumed almost a hundred percent of their activities in all fields. And so it's important to touch base at that time. And so we sort of call that the fourth trimester visit or the concept of the fourth trimester, because we are just so used to the first three trimesters during pregnancy that we all have to be cognizant of the fourth trimester. And as mental health is so prevalent in that period, and more than 11% of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period, it makes it even more important to, to have contact with your providers during that first year after delivery.
Host: Now not everyone wants to give birth in a hospital. Some people want to be based more at home or just outside of a hospital. How does your office work with midwives and those birth environments, you know, before and after the birth itself?
Dr. Syed: So our priority is to have a safe delivery, including like a safe maternal and fetal outcome. So whatever it takes for that is, should be the top priority of all the providers as well as the patients. So we are in Lancaster County where, you know, there are, there are many lay and certified midwives who do home deliveries, and we are not necessarily against that, but we want them to do it in a safe manner at keeping the patient safety at, at the top priority.
So we collaborate with them. We are their collaborating physicians. We want them to ask us questions. We can clarify any management decisions and we are always available for transferring the patient, if it seems to be out of norm for them. So a normal vaginal delivery without any complicated history could totally be done at home.
But as you and I both know, that obstetrics is a field where things can change within minutes. So everything could be normal. You could have a normal vaginal delivery and really have postpartum hemorrhage, which cannot be managed at home. So ACOG again, and our providers do recommend a hospital delivery for several of those reasons. But if they are going to do a home delivery, then we'd rather that they exercise that patient safety and care.
Host: Well, Doctor, tell us more about UPMC Lititz and what services are offered here?
Dr. Syed: So UPMC you know, Lititz's labor and delivery is really a full service labor and delivery unit, where we are privileged to have all our providers in-house 24/7. That includes the obstetrician. We have a midwife, anesthesiologist, neonatologist, and a hospitalist with full ICU services. That is the complete spectrum of what we need to have a safe maternal outcome. And our NICU is a level III NICU, where we take care of babies beyond 27 weeks of gestation.
So this and the same neonatologists take care of babies at Harrisburg. So we are affiliated with tertiary care centers and we can easily transfer patients if needed. So that makes a difference again, keeping maternal and fetal safety in mind.
Host: Doctor, wrapping up here, is there anything else you want people to know about care outside of those main nine months of pregnancy?
Dr. Syed: So talking about that, it doesn't end up being nine months, you know it ends up being much longer than that. So it's, you know, it's before it's prenatal, it's childbirth and postnatal period, and, you know, yes, it's a wonderful experience and a happy occasion, but we have to keep safety as the top, top most priority. And so we as providers, will do everything we can to, uh, to keep that in mind.
And the patients have to also play a part in that. So I would encourage everybody to kind of take care of their bodies and especially during pregnancy, because your body goes through so many changes. So being in constant touch with the providers, taking you know, benefit of all the information we provide, including pregnancy apps, online information, and just direct contact with the providers. We are here to answer your questions. So, you know, that's what I would encourage all our moms to do.
Host: Well, Doctor, I can't thank you enough for being on the show and the work you're doing to keep parents and baby safe before, during and after pregnancy. Thank you so much. For more information, please visit upmc.com/centralpaobgyn.
And thank you for listening. This has been Healthier You, a podcast from UPMC. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Be well.
Caitlin Whyte (Host): Staying healthy during pregnancy is so important, but equally as important are the prenatal and postnatal ways you take care of yourself. Here to tell us more about this care is Dr. Sameera Syed, a Gynecologist at UPMC. This is Healthier You, the podcast from UPMC in central Pennsylvania. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Well, starting out our conversation today, Doctor, let's focus on prenatal care first. What are some things that pregnant people should be doing early on to ensure a healthy pregnancy for themselves and for their baby?
Sameera Syed, MD (Guest): Prenatal care is extremely important and valuable. The early prenatal care is what we advocate for because just starting off, as soon as you get that positive pregnancy test, we want you to come in early on in the first couple of months of pregnancy so that we can adjust medications, discontinue some medications which could be detrimental to the pregnancy and then start good, accurate prenatal care with dating ultrasounds and ongoing management.
So the critical part of this is touching base with your OB GYN provider early on in pregnancy.
Host: And then what about postnatal care? I mean, once the baby is born, it kind of feels like that's the end of the process of the pregnancy, but what should people and families be doing in this period after giving birth? I mean, how long does the postpartum period really last?
Dr. Syed: So for a really long time, we used to consider this was just the issue, we used to consider postpartum period as all right everybody's focusing on the baby and we see the mom, you know, six weeks, four to six weeks after delivery and then on a yearly basis. But now that paradigm is shifting and in a good way. ACOG is really being forefront in advocating for the postpartum period to last one full year, like it should be. Because we are now moving towards getting patients back in three to four weeks and then in three to four months, because honestly at the three to four month mark that people have resumed moms have resumed almost a hundred percent of their activities in all fields. And so it's important to touch base at that time. And so we sort of call that the fourth trimester visit or the concept of the fourth trimester, because we are just so used to the first three trimesters during pregnancy that we all have to be cognizant of the fourth trimester. And as mental health is so prevalent in that period, and more than 11% of maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period, it makes it even more important to, to have contact with your providers during that first year after delivery.
Host: Now not everyone wants to give birth in a hospital. Some people want to be based more at home or just outside of a hospital. How does your office work with midwives and those birth environments, you know, before and after the birth itself?
Dr. Syed: So our priority is to have a safe delivery, including like a safe maternal and fetal outcome. So whatever it takes for that is, should be the top priority of all the providers as well as the patients. So we are in Lancaster County where, you know, there are, there are many lay and certified midwives who do home deliveries, and we are not necessarily against that, but we want them to do it in a safe manner at keeping the patient safety at, at the top priority.
So we collaborate with them. We are their collaborating physicians. We want them to ask us questions. We can clarify any management decisions and we are always available for transferring the patient, if it seems to be out of norm for them. So a normal vaginal delivery without any complicated history could totally be done at home.
But as you and I both know, that obstetrics is a field where things can change within minutes. So everything could be normal. You could have a normal vaginal delivery and really have postpartum hemorrhage, which cannot be managed at home. So ACOG again, and our providers do recommend a hospital delivery for several of those reasons. But if they are going to do a home delivery, then we'd rather that they exercise that patient safety and care.
Host: Well, Doctor, tell us more about UPMC Lititz and what services are offered here?
Dr. Syed: So UPMC you know, Lititz's labor and delivery is really a full service labor and delivery unit, where we are privileged to have all our providers in-house 24/7. That includes the obstetrician. We have a midwife, anesthesiologist, neonatologist, and a hospitalist with full ICU services. That is the complete spectrum of what we need to have a safe maternal outcome. And our NICU is a level III NICU, where we take care of babies beyond 27 weeks of gestation.
So this and the same neonatologists take care of babies at Harrisburg. So we are affiliated with tertiary care centers and we can easily transfer patients if needed. So that makes a difference again, keeping maternal and fetal safety in mind.
Host: Doctor, wrapping up here, is there anything else you want people to know about care outside of those main nine months of pregnancy?
Dr. Syed: So talking about that, it doesn't end up being nine months, you know it ends up being much longer than that. So it's, you know, it's before it's prenatal, it's childbirth and postnatal period, and, you know, yes, it's a wonderful experience and a happy occasion, but we have to keep safety as the top, top most priority. And so we as providers, will do everything we can to, uh, to keep that in mind.
And the patients have to also play a part in that. So I would encourage everybody to kind of take care of their bodies and especially during pregnancy, because your body goes through so many changes. So being in constant touch with the providers, taking you know, benefit of all the information we provide, including pregnancy apps, online information, and just direct contact with the providers. We are here to answer your questions. So, you know, that's what I would encourage all our moms to do.
Host: Well, Doctor, I can't thank you enough for being on the show and the work you're doing to keep parents and baby safe before, during and after pregnancy. Thank you so much. For more information, please visit upmc.com/centralpaobgyn.
And thank you for listening. This has been Healthier You, a podcast from UPMC. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Be well.