Get Mount Sinai Hospital Special Pregnancy Program

Early delivery (delivery before spontaneous labour by induced labour or caesarean birth) is often considered for high-risk pregnancies to prevent stillbirths and protect the mother from developing pregnancy complications. However, the optimal time for early delivery is often unclear.

The Fetal Medicine Unit (FMU) is led by a team of highly skilled specialist doctors that offer diagnosis and treatment of complications which may arise in unborn babies.

A high-risk pregnancy is one in which a woman and her fetus face a higher-than-normal chance of experiencing problems. These risks may be due to factors in the pregnancy itself, or they may stem from preexisting maternal medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, or lupus.

If you have a high-risk pregnancy, you or your baby might be at increased risk of health problems before, during or after delivery. Typically, special monitoring or care throughout pregnancy is needed. Understand the risk factors for a high-risk pregnancy, and what you can do to take care of yourself and your baby.

Risk factors for a high-risk pregnancy can include: Existing health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or being HIV-positive. Overweight and obesity. Obesity increases the risk for high blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, stillbirth, neural tube defects, and cesarean delivery.

First-time pregnancy after age 35. Pregnancy-related high blood pressure (called gestational hypertension) and diabetes (called gestational diabetes) Pregnancy loss. Ectopic pregnancy (when the embryo attaches itself outside the uterus), a condition that can be life-threatening. Cesarean (surgical) delivery.

There are many different types of pregnancy complications. That is why it is important to seek a highly skilled perinatologist — an obstetrician who has additional training and board certification in high-risk pregnancy care. This type of doctor is also referred to as a “maternal-fetal medicine specialist.”

Through shared decision-making with our patients, we are able to keep our interventions low; we have a primary C-section rate of 22 percent and an episiotomy rate of 4 percent.