Chief Marketing Officers Should Prepare for an Increase in Risky Pregnancies. Here's a Plan.
Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) are being called upon to view the care for high-risk pregnancies as a service to be provided, rather than a challenge. With hospitals in Florida forecasting a 14.5% increase in high-risk pregnancies over the next decade, and the trend expected to be nationwide, it's crucial for CMOs to be aware of the trend and the capabilities of their organizations to provide care for these complex cases.
To address this growing trend, CMOs need to hire staff accordingly and assemble multidisciplinary care teams. These teams should include neonatologists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, geneticists, social workers, and specialized nurses. CMOs also need to support the members of these maternal health teams, ensuring they have the resources they need to deliver the best possible care.
One hospital leading the way in high-risk pregnancy care is Yale New Haven Children's Hospital. Their care teams include pediatric cardiologists, pediatric cardiology surgeons, staff of the newborn intensive care unit, care coordinators, patient navigators, and members of a maternal cardiac program. The hospital also offers prenatal genetics program services and has the capability to perform in utero procedures such as blood transfusions for anemic babies, placing shunts in the abdomen or chest of a baby, and operating on the placenta.
From the baby's perspective, the hospital provides fetal cardiology services such as fetal echocardiograms. For mothers, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital has a diabetes program for high-risk pregnancies, addressing diagnosis, management, and post-childbirth care. Controlling diabetes in mothers during high-risk pregnancies decreases congenital heart defects in newborns and avoids unnecessary cesarean sections.
Moreover, recognizing and intervening for medical conditions of the fetus in utero improves outcomes for newborns. The hospital has a maternal cardiac program to address chronic hypertension and other cardiac abnormalities during pregnancy, including congenital heart defects. Controlling blood pressure in mothers during high-risk pregnancies prevents cardiovascular incidents during pregnancy.
Being proactive is better than being reactive when dealing with high-risk pregnancies. The causes of high-risk pregnancies include pre-existing conditions in women, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, as well as pregnancy-related health conditions such as gestational diabetes, low birth weight, and preeclampsia.
By having services in place for mothers and their babies in high-risk pregnancies, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital generates positive clinical outcomes. This approach emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to high-risk pregnancies, ensuring the best possible care for both mothers and their newborns.
