Maternal Fetal Medicine | Obstetrics and Gynecology | UC Davis Health

A high-risk pregnancy means that either the mother or her baby has a complication that needs more attention during the pregnancy and may affect the length of your pregnancy. Under these circumstances it is likely that your obstetrical care should be overseen by a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist. The MFM specialist deals with both Maternal Health and Fetal Health. At UC Davis we have a dedicated Fetal Health Center.

The strength of our Fetal Health Center program comes from our ability to quickly coordinate your care within multiple specialties. When an issue arises, our dedicated team of obstetrical, neonatal and other specialists will establish a coordinated treatment plan to benefit both mother and baby.

Our expert team helps treat all common high-risk pregnancy complications including:

Maternal Issues

• Health conditions in the mother such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease), kidney disease, history of an organ transplant (including kidney, liver), heart disease and seizure disorders
• Recurrent miscarriage or pregnancy loss
• Complications with prior pregnancies
• Problems with the uterus
• Possibility of pre-term delivery

Fetal issues

• Twins, triplets or other higher order multiples
• Birth defects - genetic or anatomic (in the current pregnancy, in prior pregnancies or in the family history of the mother or father)
• Problems with fetal growth (in this pregnancy or In prior pregnancies)
• Problems with the placenta (in this pregnancy or In prior pregnancies)

All of our specialists are members of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) which provides free information regarding high-risk pregnancies.