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0 8 " Pregnancy is a window to a woman's future health, and it can impact her health in general. Therefore, we believe in close cooperation with primary care physicians, and we are committed to providing the most comprehensive care." • NITASHA JAIN, MD, A COLUMBIADOCTORS OB/GYN PRACTICING WITH NEWYORKƒ PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL GROUP WESTCHESTER Nitasha Jain, MD, NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Westchester, stops to check in on a new mother and baby boy. All of the OB/GYN physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Westchester encourage patients to ask questions in the hospital and beyond to feel as comfortable as possible with the life change of childbirth. as cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, Tay-Sachs disease and fragile X syndrome. "If women receive a negative result, we coun- sel them in the o£ce and let them know that their chance of having a baby a‹ected by that condition is low," Dr. Jain says. "If results are positive, we refer them to genetic counseling." Genetic counseling is available to women and their partners through the NewYork- Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital Center for Materna l-Child Hea lth a nd is especia lly vital for families in which both women and their partners screen positively as carriers. In these cases, infa nts have a 25 percent likelihood of receiving two sets of the abnormal gene and developing the condition. Conversely, if only the female patient or her partner is a car- r ier for t he disorder, infants have no chance of developing the disease but a 50 percent risk of also being carriers for that gene. EVALUATING CAUSES OF INFERTILITY Couples under age 35 who have been unable to conceive a f ter one year or couples over 35 who have been unable to conceive after six months are candidates for referral to an infertility specialist. In 33 percent of these cases, infertility is linked to a maternal health issue. "The most common cause of maternal infertility is some type of ovulatory dys - function," says Rachel McConnell, MD, a subspecia list in reproductive endo- crinology and fertility, and OB/GYN at ColumbiaDoctors. " We a lso see tuba l factor infer tility, which results from impaired function or blockage of the fallopian tubes, and cervical or uterine causes that interfere with implantation." Ovulatory dysfunction can arise from a number of sources. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), in which imbalances of androgen and estrogen interfere with ovulation, is one of the most common causes of ovulatory dysfunction. Other contr ibutors include pr ima r y ova r- ian insufficiency, which occurs when ovulation stops before age 40. In addition to medica l conditions, such as PCOS, which may interfere with ovulation, and endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease that may increase the likelihood of tubal factor infertility, maternal age plays a substantial role in infertility. The likelihood of conception decreases rapidly every year after age 30, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services O£ce on Women's Health, which estimates that one-third of couples in which the woman is over age 35 have di£culty conceiving. Orphia Blake, RN, and Natalie Ruiz, RN, utilize the latest wireless monitoring technology at NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital. The maternity unit recently acquired the new monitors, which allow laboring patients to move around as needed during the process. 0 8❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R F E A T U R E