Cheryl Martin (Host): Hearing your obstetrician, midwife or nurse practitioner say that your pregnancy may be high-risk can trigger a wave of emotions. Dr. Whitney Bender is here to tell you what you need to know, so both you and your baby can have the safest and healthiest outcome. Dr. Bender is an OB-GYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at VCU Health.

This is Healthy with VCU Health. I'm Cheryl Martin. Dr. Bender, I'm delighted you're here to discuss this topic.

Dr Whitney Bender: Yes, Cheryl. Thanks for having me.

Host: First, please tell us a little about yourself and explain what is a maternal-fetal medicine, MFM, specialist?

Dr Whitney Bender: So, I'm a maternal-fetal medicine specialist within the field of obstetrics, which means I take care of high-risk pregnancies. In order for me to do that job, I completed college at the University of Virginia. I went to residency and then a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. And then, I moved here - now two years ago - to practice maternal-fetal medicine, take care of high-risk pregnancies that are complicated either by a maternal medical condition or a fetal medical condition.

Host: You've touched on this a little bit. So, what are the times when a patient should definitely see an MFM?

Dr Whitney Bender: There are a number of things that can bring a patient to my office. If the patient herself has a medical problem that she's treated for outside of pregnancy. Some examples might be high blood pressure, diabetes, lupus, they often will see me at least once, if not more frequently, in their pregnancy to talk about how those problems can impact their pregnancy. There are also a number of pregnancy-specific complications or baby-specific complications that might bring somebody to my office. Things like a twin or triplet pregnancy, a baby who's not growing as well as expected, or a mom who has preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. So, problems that happen to her medical condition in the pregnancy.

Host: Now, you've mentioned some of the categories of what constitutes a pregnancy with a high risk. Are there other instances of what makes a pregnancy high-risk?

Dr Whitney Bender: Certainly, there are many instances where you may be recommended to see me for a high-risk pregnancy. But in general, they fall into one of those three categories. Either a maternal medical problem that you have outside of pregnancy, a new maternal medical problem that's happened to you in the pregnancy or a problem related to the babies or baby in the current pregnancy.

Host: So, Dr. Bender, what do you say to parents who are concerned about a high-risk pregnancy? Because I would think some of them would say, "Wow, does this mean I could lose my baby?"

Dr Whitney Bender: I think many people are concerned when they set foot in my office for any number of reasons. I would assure the parents that seeing a high-risk pregnancy specialist is a way for your doctor, your OB-GYN, your midwife, your nurse practitioner who's caring for you and the pregnancy to have an additional team member on their side to make sure that your health and your baby's health are being prioritized for the duration of your pregnancy. That doesn't make it less scary, but it really is us just trying to do the best we can to take care of both the mom and the baby.

Host: Anything else you'd like to add for what parents need to know to help ensure that they have a safe and healthy outcome?

Dr Whitney Bender: In terms of ensuring that your pregnancy is as safe and healthy as we would all want it to be, following recommendations from your OB-GYN provider, be that your doctor, your midwife, your high-risk pregnancy doctor, is certainly the most important thing. I would encourage you to feel empowered to do your own research on your own medical condition or your baby's medical condition, and then bring those concerns from your research to us.

My goal is really to increase patient knowledge, to increase patient's comfort with advocating for themselves and their babies during their pregnancy. And then to make sure that we as a team, including the patient and her partner on that team within your general OB-GYN specialties as well, works to make the pregnancy as healthy as possible.

Host: Can you talk a little bit about the high-risk prenatal clinic at VCU and why it's ideal for situations like this?

Dr Whitney Bender: So, our high-risk prenatal clinic operates out of the same space as our general OB-GYN clinic, which I think cannot be emphasized enough in terms of how important it is to have those open lines of communication and shoulder to shoulder work with the generalists who are taking care of our routine or low-risk pregnant moms. We are actually available for questions at any point in time because we work right next door to them on the same floor.

Our high-risk pregnancy clinic tends to function in a consultative way. So, you may come to see me once in your early pregnancy where we would review your medical history, your current medications, how your medical problem may impact the pregnancy and vice versa, and then lay out a plan for pregnancy care. That may be our only visit together, or you may see me a number of times for ongoing care in the pregnancy, depending upon your health or the baby's health.

Host: You have chosen this as a specialty. What have been some of the highlights for you since you're definitely passionate about treating women with high-risk pregnancies?

Dr Whitney Bender: That's a wonderful question. Thank you for asking. I love this job and it's been incredibly rewarding. I can think of a number of things, even over the last several weeks that have just really confirmed in my mind that I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I particularly love when I can follow a patient through a pregnancy or take care of a patient in a pregnancy with a high-risk condition, and then be present at the time of their birth. And I've been able to do that twice over the last two weeks, which has been really rewarding.

I love seeing patients for a brief postpartum check-in to recap how their pregnancy went in comparison to how we were concerned in early pregnancy. And see the joy on their faces and on their partner's faces and meet their babies when things go well. I just had that happen about 30 minutes ago. So, you know, a number of things every day are really rewarding and special about this job.

Host: Dr. Whitney Bender, I'm certain that what you just shared has helped to put some worried mothers at ease, and your passion is evident. Thank you so much.

Dr Whitney Bender: Thank you, Cheryl. Thanks for having me.

Host: To learn more, visit the website vcumom.com, that's vcumom.com, or call 804-828-4409, again, that's 804-828-4409. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for other topics of interest to you. This is Healthy with VCU Health. Thanks for listening.