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Besser prepares a patient for her visit with one of the center's physicians. South Nassau's Maternal Fetal Medicine Center's office staff emotional preparations of raising a child with a condition such as Down syndrome. Other situations may require that the baby be delivered in a special center with access to treatments or surgica l services specific to the baby's condition. The South Nassau Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine can make referrals and arrange for these types of situations. " We have an a®liation with Mount Si na i Hea lt h System t hat g ives ou r patients access to tertiary or quaternary care," Dr. El Kady says. "Some babies may be born with lung tumors, intestinal obstructions or deformities that need to be addressed immediately after birth." B e c a u s e o f M o u n t S i n a i 's p a r t - nersh ip w it h Ch i ld ren's Hospit a l of Ph i l a delph i a , t he r a n ge of c a re for babies with specif ic conditions is wide a nd comprehensive. Babies who have been identif ied with hea r t defects via feta l echoca rdiogra m ca n be delivered at Mount Sina i to receive the surger y a nd treatment they require. Cer ta in in utero procedures ca n a lso be performed directly by the profession- a ls at South Nassau. "Dr. El Kady has been known to put in a shunt a nd dra in the baby 's lungs in the case of pleura l effusion within the womb," Dr. Rosner says. O f t e n , s i m p l y s c h e d u l i n g a n i n it ia l appoi nt ment w it h a specia l- i s t d u r i n g ˆ p r e g n a n c y c a n m a k e fol low-up ca reˆ ea sier to procu re for patients w it hˆ conditions t hat do not require surger y. " W hen you need to see specia lists for your chi ld or yourself, you wa nt to be able to see t hem r i g ht away," Dr. Rosner says. "For many specia lists, it can ta ke a month or six weeks before you're actua lly able to visit the off ice for an initia l appointment. If we know a chi ld is going to have f luid on his kidneys, we ca n connect pa rents with a pediatric urologist during pregnancy. Fol low-up appoi ntment s a re much si mpler t o ma ke once pat ient s a re a lready in the system." CARE DURING PREGNANCY Beyond genetic conditions and abnor- ma lities, t he tea m at South Na ssau Center for Materna l Feta l Medicine ca n r un tests t hat ca n deter m ine a woma n's r isk for premat u re bi r t h . Women who have experienced a mis- ca rriage or delivered prematurely in the past ca rr y a higher risk of prema- ture bir th a nd a re monitored closely. If a woma n is identif ied a s being at risk for premature bir th, the sta ff at Sout h Na ssau ca n work w it h her to improve the cha nces of a success- ful, hea lthy bir th through the use of steroid therapy a nd other mea ns. No mat ter the ex pecta nt pa rent 's sit uation, Sout h Na ssau Center for Mater na l Fet a l Med ici ne t a kes a n integrated approach to ca re that wel- comes col laboration from patients' current prima r y ca re providers. " We a lso prov ide feta l nonstress tests to determine feta l well-being," Dr. El Kady says. " These a re usua lly performed nea r the end of preg na ncy to ma ke sure the baby is doing wel l a nd determine whether the mom ca n continue with the preg na ncy without being induced ea rly." " We work as a team with patients' existing OB-GYNs," Dr. El Kady says. "We complement each others' care, and we are on a text message basis with many of our patients' primary physicians." If a n emergency situation a rises, both Drs. El Kady and Rosner are on call 24/7 to assist. "If you're high-risk a nd admitted to the hospital, we'll be there to make su re you receive t he proper ca re," Dr. Rosner says. ■ 1 0❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y 1 0