New Partnership
Today I want to talk about an incredible partnership with Doctor Stacey Pereira. I had been looking for a way to pass super valid information to my mommy clients for a long time. Dr. Stacey is not only an excellent professional (she is my doctor), she is also a very dear person.
Meet Dr. Stacey Pereira
Dr. Pereira is a Brazilian-American who grew up in the Pacific Northwest and Northeastern Brazil (Fortaleza!). She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish . Dr. Pereira is a passionate OB/GYN who loves caring for women during their pregnancy as well as the full scope of gynecology. Her expertise includes high risk pregnancies, preventative care as well as minimally invasive Gynecologic care.
Dr. Pereira considers herself an integrative medicine provider caring for the whole person taking into account mental, physical, and psycho-social issues. Dr Pereira incorporates hormonal and non hormonal therapies and procedures into her treatments for cycle related issues, mood, perimenopause, and postmenopause.
She also specializes in minimally invasive surgery with a unique emphasis in robotics, having received extensive experience in one of America’s top training hospitals in Chicago, IL. Dr. Pereira is passionate about advancing clinical and surgical women’s healthcare and has been published and presented research at multiple medical society national conferences.
Follow Dr. Pereira on Instagram.
For the first article, nothing is more appropriate than talking about COVID 19. Have a good reading…
I have admired Priscilla’s work for some time and come-to-find-out we met as patient and doctor! What a lovely person and amazing artist! Together we became inspired to share tid bits of knowledge of pregnancy, infancy, and women’s health to excite and educate our community:
Today we’re gonna kick off our “mini-run-downs” as a collaboration with Priscilla Photography – the MUST KNOW facts about COVID for pregnant and expecting mothers.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has released a summary of key updates on the SARS-Covid-19-Virus and its implications for pregnant women and infants.
https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding
Many of the recommendations seem obvious and straightforward. Pregnant patients are more at risk (as they are for any respiratory illness including the common flu). Pregnant women should take all necessary precautions to avoid exposure and contractions of the virus. Ie. typical precautions including social distancing, wearing a face mask in public, wash hands frequently, clean surfaces, continue your scheduled prenatal care, and lastly (and most non specifically) “maintain preparedness resources including medications”- wich we can imply to mean, in case of government mandated quarantining or need to stay at home due to exposure to others or household with contraction- keep adequate supplies at home especially your medications. This is very important in patients who may be dependent on blood thinners or insulin.
With regards to mother and infants- the number of antenatal or pre-delivery transmissions from mother to fetus is minimal or essentially nil. It does however spread through respiratory droplets and can easily pass from mother to infant especially while breastfeeding. Preliminary information has shown that infant isolation immediately postpartum for actively COVID infected mothers at delivery does not decrease transmission. Care from family members is needed and mother-infant bonding/breastfeeding is thought to be more beneficial than the risk to an infant contracting COVID. Risk for transmission is extremely extremely low from mother to infant if atleast 10 days have passed since onset of symptoms or 24hrs since last fever. Mothers that are positive who have not met this criteria should always wear a face mask with their infant, maintain distance when possible, and may consider manually expressing or pumping breast milk for their infant to avoid respiratory droplet exposure until the above criteria has been met.
Only 2-5% of infants with POSITIVE mothers at time of delivery test positive for COVID. This is great news! Infants and children are most susceptible to multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (or MIS-C). Per Mayo Clinic:
Possible signs and symptoms of MIS-C include:
- Fever that lasts 24 hours or longer
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Pain in the stomach
- Skin rash
- Fast heartbeat
- Rapid breathing
- Red eyes
- Redness or swelling of the lips and tongue
- Feeling unusually tired
- Redness or swelling of the hands or feet
- Headache, dizziness or lightheadedness
- Enlarged lymph nodes
Emergency warning signs of MIS-C include:
- Inability to wake up or stay awake
- Difficulty breathing
- New confusion
- Bluish lips or face
- Severe stomach pain
Overall pregnant women are considered young and healthy. Factors that increase your potential risk for hospitalization due to COVID (whether pregnant or not) include obesity and respiratory illnesses including asthma and severe allergies. Even in mothers who are COVID positive; transmission to infants is negligible with appropriate precautions, and usually occurs immediately post delivery. If you are infected with COVID during your pregnancy your doctor may suggest increased monitoring during your pregnancy especially regarding fetal growth. We are in an excellent position ladies! Take the appropriate precautions for yourself and your family. If we do the likelihood of severe issues is low.
Yours truly, and with much love,
Dr. Stacey Pereira
If you are looking for a newborn photographer please contact us here.