Clinical Practice Today is a monthly newsletter from Duke Health.
A pregnant woman with no abnormal values on laboratory tests or signs of complications gave birth to a 1-pound, 6-ounce male neonate at 23 weeks. Although he underwent intestinal surgery and was successfully treated for sepsis, he was unable to gain weight and died after 6 months in the neonatal intensive care unit.
One year later, the woman decided she still wanted to have a child but feared having another preterm birth. After researching obstetricians, she consulted Amy P. Murtha, MD, interim chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and coinvestigator of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center, a transdisciplinary, multi-institutional initiative dedicated to understanding the biologic and genetic factors that contribute to prematurity.
Question: What measures did Murtha take to help the patient have a successful, full-term pregnancy?