Fetomaternal, a gynecologist for pregnant women

What is a fetomaternal?

Previously, it was explained that fetomaternal is a subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology (obestetrics and gynecology).

In more detail, a fetomaternal subspecialist is someone who is in charge of dealing with problems or complications in pregnant women related to diseases and development of themselves and the baby in the womb.

This is because pregnancy complications experienced by pregnant women have a high risk of threatening the safety of both the mother and the baby.

Not only during pregnancy, mothers can also experience childbirth complications or problems during the puerperium or after childbirth compared to pregnant women with normal pregnancy conditions.

Complications that endanger the mother during pregnancy, congenital (congenital) fetal abnormalities, to problems during childbirth and thereafter are conditions that can be handled by a subspecialist fetomaternal doctor.

It is possible that you are advised to do an examination with a fetomaternal subspecialist if you already have certain medical conditions before pregnancy.

In addition, if you experience certain medical conditions during pregnancy or after giving birth, it is also possible to be examined by this subspecialty doctor.

Who does the fetomaternal subspecialist need to address?

Not all pregnant women need to undergo examination with a fetomaternal subspecialty obstetrician.

There are several conditions that it is recommended to do an examination with this subspecialist doctor.

The conditions of pregnant women that need examination with a fetomaternal subspecialist are as follows:

The mother is pregnant with a baby with birth defects or other suspected complications.
The mother has a family history or hereditary previous genetic disorders.
The mother has given birth to a child with birth defects before.
The mother was 35 years or older at the time of pregnancy.
The mother has had a previous history of pregnancy, such as miscarriage, stillbirth (still birth), premature birth, and others.
The mother has a history of pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and others.
The mother experiences serious medical conditions during pregnancy, such as hypertension in pregnancy, heart disease, kidney problems, liver problems and others.
Mother is pregnant with twins, triplets, even more.
Pregnant women are overweight or obese.
Pregnant women experience sexually transmitted diseases.
Pregnant women who have a history of seizures, autoimmune diseases, and blood clotting problems.

What are the duties of a fetomaternal subspecialist?

In connection with the conditions experienced by the mother before, during, and after pregnancy, the following are the various duties of this subspecialist in monitoring pregnancy:

Perform tests and examination procedures, such as ultrasound, to determine the condition of the baby in the developing womb.
Help pregnant women manage if they already have certain conditions since before pregnancy, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Detect and treat if the baby in the womb has birth defects or other conditions.
Check the possibility of genetic abnormalities and birth defects in the baby by doing an amniocentesis test, taking a sample of the umbilical cord, or taking a sample of the chorionic villus.
Monitor delivery according to the request of the obstetrician for pregnant women.
Monitor the recovery process and health problems if the mother experiences them after giving birth, for example postpartum infections, high blood pressure, or excessive postpartum bleeding.

What are the benefits of fetomaternal ultrasound?

Fetal abnormalities can be detected through ultrasound examination, one of which is fetomaternal ultrasound performed by subspecialists.

Ideally, ultrasound examinations are performed three times during pregnancy.

Unfortunately, not all types of problems in babies can be detected by ultrasound examination. The reason is, the ultrasound results are not 100% accurate.

This makes a normal result on an ultrasound does not necessarily guarantee that your baby will not have birth defects or chromosomal abnormalities.

The reason is, there are defects that can only be seen when the baby is born even though during the examination during pregnancy the baby's condition looks normal.

However, that doesn't mean you don't feel the need to do an ultrasound. Fetomaternal ultrasound examination is still important to do in anticipation of any abnormalities in your fetus.

The fetomaternal subspecialist can detect any abnormalities in fetal development when performing ultrasound.

Ultrasound examination performed by a subspecialist fetomaternal doctor also helps determine the condition and development of the fetus in the womb if he has a defect.

Some birth defects that can be detected with the help of ultrasound examination from a fetomaternal subspecialist include Down syndrome, spina bifida, Edward syndrome, hyprocephalus, and others.

Not only that, a fetomaternal subspecialist can also perform an ultrasound to check for possible abnormalities in the baby's organs such as the chest, stomach, kidneys, heart, and face.

Does this mean that the role of an obstetrician will be replaced?

When your pregnancy condition is normal and you have no problems, the role of an obstetrician may be enough to oversee your pregnancy journey.

However, if there are complications or problems that pose a high risk to you and the baby in the womb, the obstetrician usually recommends that you consult a fetomaternal subspecialist.

This may make you wonder, does that mean that the obstetrician is no longer your place for pregnancy consultations?

Launching from the Intermountain Healthcare page, you will still have a pregnancy checkup with an obstetrician and gynecologist or a pregnancy and obstetrician.

So, even though the obstetrician asks you to have a pregnancy checkup with a fetomaternal subspecialist, the role of an obstetrician is still there.

In other words, there are now two doctors who will help treat your pregnancy.

The obstetrician will then give you a schedule for when you should consult a fetomaternal subspecialist.

You can meet this subspecialist doctor quite often or only occasionally according to your conditions and needs. In fact, usually, the obstetrician who will still help the baby's birth process.

Not only that, on the way, fetomaternal subspecialists can also collaborate with other specialists such as neurologists, internal medicine specialists, and others.

This is because pregnant women may experience complications that actually existed before pregnancy but were only detected or even only appeared during pregnancy.

When to see a fetomaternal subspecialist?

Quoting from Hackensack Meridian Health, mothers can sign this subspecialty doctor before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or after pregnancy or after childbirth.

Meeting with a fetomaternal subspecialist before pregnancy aims to determine the condition of the mother's body when she is planning to become pregnant.

This subspecialty doctor can help plan a healthy pregnancy by continuously monitoring if you have certain health problems.

If you are currently pregnant, a fetomaternal subspecialist will still help supervise the pregnancy according to your condition.

For example, if you are pregnant with twins, are pregnant at the age of 35 years and over, or have certain conditions, this subspecialty doctor will help maintain and monitor your pregnancy.

Meanwhile, it is time to go to a subspecialist fetomaternal doctor after giving birth, which is when you experience complications such as infection or postpartum bleeding.

The fetomaternal subspecialty doctor will work with other specialists according to your current health condition.