mybonsecours
high-risk care
Know You're Not Alone If You Need High-Risk Care
High-Risk Care for Women and Infants
Over 4,000,000 women will have babies in the U.S. this year. The majority of women have normal, healthy pregnancies. Yet as many as one in four will experience complications, and some of their babies will be at risk for premature birth or developmental issues.
- 1,680,000 will have placentas that form too low in the uterus
- 1,050,000 will develop problems with blood pressure (hypertension, preeclampsia or HELLP)
- 840,000 will have abnormal bleeding
- 504,000 will develop pregnancy (gestational) diabetes
- 380,000 will have premature labor
- 12,600 will have such severe nausea or vomiting that they will require hospitalization.
Whether it's gestational diabetes or blood pressure problems, a low-forming placenta or premature labor, the Bon Secours health care team can help. You will work with women and men who understand what you are going through, as professionals and as mothers and fathers. And, while we take our work very seriously, you are as likely to see a warm, welcoming smile as emergency equipment, because we love what we do.
The High-Risk Care Team
Care of mothers and babies with complications during pregnancy takes a highly skilled team, not available at every hospital. And, when tiny lives are at stake, that team needs to be supported by pediatric subspecialty care committed to communication and coordination. That's what you will see at Bon Secours Richmond hospitals.
Bon Secours maternal-fetal medicine and NICU teams include:
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Perinatologists, obstetrician-gynecologists who have completed advanced training, or a "fellowship" in the care of very high-risk pregnancies and births. Perinatologists are maternal-fetal-medicine specialists and fetal diagnosticians, like Ron Ramus, MD, of Bon Secours Perinatal Services and Lisa Troyer, MD, of the Virginia Women's Center. Perinatologists care for mothers who are at risk of complications before the baby is born, in consultation with your OB-GYN physician or nurse-midwife. Perinatology consults and care are available at Bon Secours
St. Mary's Hospital (West End), Memorial Regional Medical Center (Mechanicsville) and St. Francis Medical Center (Chesterfield).
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Neonatologists, pediatricians who have completed advanced fellowship training in the care of very sick or premature babies. Neonatologists often consult on high-risk prenatal care before the baby is born, during and after delivery, and lead the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams. At Bon Secours Richmond Health System hospitals, the neonatology teams are led by Bonnie Makdad, MD of Commonwealth Neonatology. Commonwealth Neonatology's ten neonatologists and eight neonatal nurse practitioners staff Bon Secours' three NICUs all day, every day.
Dr. Makdad and her associates provide NICU services onsite at St. Mary's Hospital, Memorial Regional Medical Center and St. Francis Medical Center. While some hospitals have neonatology available on call only, at each Bon Secours hospital, at our three NICUs, you have the assurance that neonatology is in the hospital, every day, all day, and always ready...just in case.
Bon Secours also has Virginia's only 24-hour-a-day live-camera access for parents of babies in our NICUs with our BonSecoursNICU.net, a free service for parents. And, along with perinatology, parents have the advantage of a coordinated team approach for both Mom and baby.
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Pediatric subspecialty physicians you perhaps never knew existed. These are pediatricians who completed a fellowship in a particular pediatric subspecialty, like cardiology, and who only take care of children with problems. Subspecialists available at our NICUs include pediatric cardiologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, pulmonologists and other subspecialties required for comprehensive NICU care.
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Neonatal nurse practitioners, or NNPs. These are nurses who have completed advanced-practice certification focusing completely on the care of premature and sick babies.
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A multidisciplinary critical-care team of nurses and respiratory therapists you will see frequently as an integral part of your care team. And many more you may never meet: pediatric radiologists, pharmacy specialists, lab staff, and radiology staff - team members whose skills are finely tuned for very tiny babies.
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Our Bon Secours transport team, part of our Children's Critical Care Services. Our transport team ensures that whether your baby is born at a Bon Secours hospital or outside our system, you will receive complete care with the best advances in technology, and the love and compassion you expect from Bon Secours.
The Bon Secours Perinatal Center
The Bon Secours Perinatal Center is equipped with the most advanced
medical technology available. Our highly trained staff of experts
includes perinatologists who provide patients with detailed diagnostic
services, fetal monitoring, and hands-on inpatient and outpatient
consultative services.
