Last week, we talked about high risk pregnancies and perinatologists, who have specialized and received additionally training in high risk pregnancies. In that post, we defined pregnancies to be “high risk” when they consisted one or more of several factors including maternal health issues, problems with past pregnancies, and a history of pregnancy loss. We also explained a little bit about perinatologists and their training. Today, we discuss what exactly they do and the relationship between an OB/GYN and the perinatologist.
What Do Perinatologists Do?
According to Memorial Health, perinatologists specialize in both diagnosing and treating women who have complicated pregnancies. They “perform complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures during pregnancy that can involve the fetus and/or mother.” Additionally, according to Dr. David A. Nagey at ObGyn.net, perinatologists provide a wide variety of services, including “performing imaging and prenatal diagnosis to consultation concerning vexing or unusual medical or obstetric problems.”
Dr. Nagey explains that perinatologists are consulted whenever the expectant mother’s obstetrician would like a second opinion, or the patient would like to speak with a professional who has experience in handling unusual obstetric situations.
Johns Hopkins Medicine also lists some specific tasks of a perinatologist, which can include alpha fetoprotein (AFP) blood tests. According to WebMD, AFP blood tests measure the level of AFP in the blood of a pregnant woman; AFP is a “substance made in the liver of the unborn baby,” and seeing how much AFP is in the mother’s blood can help detect problems such as spina bifida and anencephaly in the baby. Perinatologists also can determine “the need for invasive fetal testing procedure(s) or other in utero therapeutic techniques.”
The Relationship Between Perinatologists and OB/GYNs
According to Dr. Nagey, after consulting with a perinatologist initially, the expectant mother will “almost always” continue her care with her initial OB/GYN, unless her condition requires her to undergo neonatal surgery soon after the delivery. In those instances, the OB/GYN and the perinatologist will co-manage the patient’s case.
If your loved one has suffered complications from birth injury resulting from negligence during the birthing process, call us for help. We will talk to you and review your case for free. The Tyrone Law Firm specializes in representing those who have suffered a devastating injury, such as birth injuries or traumatic brain injury resulting from the negligence of another. Our personal injury firm here in Atlanta has a very successful record of trying such cases.
Nelson Tyrone handles Brain Injury, Spine Injury and RSD/CRPS cases throughout the United States. He involves only the top medical, rehabilitation and life-care plan experts in the field. His results on behalf of clients include several of the largest settlements and verdicts on record, and he was recently able to obtain a $13.9 million verdict, one of the largest in the state of Georgia, for a birth injury client in 2014.
You can reach us at 404-377-0017 or via email at admin@tyronelaw.com. If we can’t help you, we will do our best to put you into the hands of lawyers who can.
Additional Resources
Hayley serves as a Labor and Delivery Nurse Consultant for the Tyrone Law Firm. She attended and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations. After graduation she moved to the gulf coast where she pursued a career in real estate and development.
