Enhanced Pregnancy Care

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Why Would Someone Want to Hire A Concierge Doctor For Pregnancy Services?

While most obstetricians deliver about 30 babies per month, Dr. Shehata limits her deliveries to 4-5 per month. This allows her to spend more time with her patients and to get to know them on a more personal level. Dr. Shehata strives to make sure you feel heard, your questions are answered, and your needs are met in a thorough and unhurried manner. At Murrieta Health & Aesthetics, our goal is for your birthing experience to be special and unforgettable.

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What Can I Expect During My Care?

Unlike a typical OB/GYN office where you often have long wait times for very short visits with your provider, our office strives to have no wait for you to be seen. Additionally, your appointments with Dr. Shehata are as long as you need because our goal is to provide you with personalized, quality care. This means you will have Dr. Shehata and her concierge team’s undivided attention, Dr. Shehata will take time to listen to your concerns and answer your questions, and you will never feel rushed.

Another unique thing about concierge care for your pregnancy is that help will always be just a phone call away. Our concierge team provides you with same-day appointments (if needed) to discuss any concerns or questions that develop urgently along the way. You will also be given Dr. Shehata’s personal cell phone number, which means you have access to her care day or night.

Finally, when it is time to deliver, Dr. Shehata works with you to develop a personalized care plan that is tailored to your unique needs. She will coordinate with the hospital to make sure the nurses are expecting you and that they give you the attention you require. She will also meet you there to help get you admitted and she will be there to help you deliver your baby. This means you will not be delivered by a random provider on call, but by your known doctor. If you desire, Dr. Shehata’s concierge team can also arrange for additional support during your labor through a midwife or doula. Dr. Shehata will ensure your delivery experience is personalized, professional, intimate, and unforgettable.

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What Is Included In Your Concierge Pregnancy Services?

Our concierge pregnancy experience includes all prenatal visits, nutritional counseling, weekly antenatal testing (NSTs) for high-risk pregnancy surveillance in the third trimester, delivery of your baby, and all postpartum appointments. However, our concierge team strives to help you throughout your pregnancy journey with anything you need. This includes arranging for ultrasounds at a local Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) office, scheduling lab appointments, filling out disability paperwork, ordering breast pumps, scheduling hospital tours and/or birthing classes, etc.

We also offer Kegel chair treatments to restrengthen your pelvic floor, vaginal rejuvenation, hair restoration, and multiple aesthetic services at a discount after your childbirth experience to give you a nonsurgical “pick-me-up”.

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What Are Some Of The Advantages Of Hiring A Concierge Doctor For My Pregnancy?

The advantages of having concierge care for your pregnancy include:

• Direct access to your doctor and your concierge team 24-hours-a-day
• No wait times
• Same-day prenatal appointments (as needed)
• Personalized prenatal visits
• Unrushed prenatal visits

Extensive education on what to expect during your pregnancy

• The creation of an individualized birthing plan
• Delivery by your doctor
• Arrangements made for additional help and support during your labor (as desired)
• Arrangements made for additional testing and/or consultations (as needed)
• Additional prenatal visits and/or postpartum care (as needed)
• Quality medical care
• The peace of mind that comes from being heard and respected
• An unforgettable pregnancy and birthing experience

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I Just Found Out I Am Pregnant. What Do I Do Now?

To make sure you have a healthy pregnancy, here are the five things you need to know:

1. Find yourself a good medical provider. Physicians who treat pregnant women are called Obstetricians. Midwives are also licensed medical providers who can care for and deliver pregnant women if the woman is healthy and has an uncomplicated pregnancy.
2. Make an appointment with that medical provider as soon as you discover you are pregnant.
3. Go to all of your scheduled prenatal appointments.
4. Complete any prenatal labs and/or ultrasounds ordered by your medical provider.
5. Take your prenatal vitamins.

Attend your scheduled prenatal appointments so your provider can monitor your baby’s growth and make sure you both remain healthy during your pregnancy journey. Prenatal appointments also give you a chance to ask questions and to be educated on what to expect throughout your pregnancy, labor, and upcoming delivery.

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What Happens During My First Pregnancy Appointment?

At Murrieta Health & Aesthetics, we schedule you for an initial pregnancy visit 7-12 weeks after your last period. This visit starts with an ultrasound to confirm that you are pregnant, that your baby has a heartbeat, and what your due date is.

Dr. Shehata will then take your medical history and perform a physical exam. This will include listening to your heart and lungs, performing a vaginal swab to make sure you do not have an STI (gonorrhea, chlamydia, and/or trichomoniasis), and performing a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer if you have not had one in the past year.

Next, she will order blood work to assess your blood type, confirm you are immune to childhood illnesses (measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox), screen for bloodborne STIs (hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis), and make sure you are overall healthy through a CBC, CMP, thyroid screen, etc. You will also have an opportunity to undergo genetic screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), Cystic Fibrosis, Down’s Syndrome, and other chromosomal abnormalities that can occur in pregnancy. Dr. Shehata will also order an ultrasound through a local Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) office to confirm your baby’s anatomy is normal.

Dr. Shehata also uses this time to educate you on diet and exercise in pregnancy, give you tips on how to manage morning sickness, and answer any questions you have about your pregnancy. Finally, our concierge team will schedule all your prenatal appointments up until your due date so we can help you and your baby remain healthy throughout the pregnancy.

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What Happens During An Ultrasound?

An ultrasound uses sound waves to create an image of your uterus and the baby inside. The ultrasound probe may be placed on the abdomen (transabdominal) or within the vagina (transvaginal). Where it needs to be placed is determined by how far along you are in your pregnancy at the time of your prenatal visit.

Ultrasounds help Dr. Shehata verify your baby is growing appropriately and looks normal, your placenta is healthy, and there is enough amniotic fluid in your baby’s sac. Ultrasounds also give you and your partner a chance to see your baby move around in the uterus and get some cute baby pictures!  

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Why Is It Important To Take Prenatal Vitamins?

Nowadays, our food is stripped of nutrients due to farming practices that allow for the mass production of fruits and vegetables, like the use of pesticides and poor soil quality from overproduction of GMOs. Prenatal vitamins are specifically formulated to give your body the extra nutrients it needs to ensure your baby is healthy and growing. For instance, prenatal vitamins contain B vitamins to help you maintain your energy levels during pregnancy, folic acid to help your baby’s brain and spine develop, and iron to help you to maintain your blood levels and prevent anemia.

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Why Do I Have To Get Multiple Blood Draws for Labs In Pregnancy?

The labs ordered during your pregnancy help your provider assess if you and your baby are healthy throughout pregnancy. These tests include:

• Assessing your blood type
• Confirming you are immune to childhood illnesses (measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox) that can be fatal to your baby if you develop them in pregnancy
• Screening for bloodborne STIs (hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis)
• Testing for a urine infection
• Determining if you are a carrier for common genetic conditions, such as Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and/or Cystic Fibrosis
• Verifying your baby does not have Down’s Syndrome and/or another chromosomal abnormality
• Confirming you are not anemic through a CBC
• Making sure you have normal platelet, kidney, liver, and thyroid function by obtaining a CBC, CMP, thyroid screen, etc.
• Screening for diabetes in pregnancy through a 1-hour glucose test

Dr. Shehata may order additional lab tests depending on your medical history and risk factors for certain diseases in pregnancy, such as high blood pressure.