ATLANTA — New moms have a lot to juggle, and that's even the case during pregnancy amid multiple doctor appointments.
Knowing the strain that travel time to and from appointments can put on patients, local doctors are exploring virtual maternity care for moms. A new pilot program at Northside Women's Specialists is using technology to help women monitor their pregnancy from home, not only adding convenience but hopefully, improved access to care.
"Essentially what we are doing is we are allowing women to kind of do hybrid maternity care," Dr. Jill Purdie, medical director of Northside Women's Specialists, explained.
As part of the pilot program, moms attend regular obstetrics appointments in-person during the early part of their pregnancy, but by the 16-20 weeks, some are able to take advantage of remote monitoring with telehealth visits.
"They are issued a kit, which includes a blood pressure cuff, a scale and a fetal heart rate monitor. And then they get a couple of apps on their phone so that they're able to record all those measurements," Purdie said.
The data is reviewed by Purdie's team with follow up telehealth visits focused on review and questions. The ability to routinely check vitals can hopefully lead to more peace of mind for the mother, or even catch health issues faster.
"There was a patient with no history of blood pressure problems, and as she's taking her blood pressures weekly, we started to notice that her blood pressure was high,' Dr. Purdie said. "She ultimately did have preeclampsia and we were able to catch that a little bit earlier."
The hybrid option is not intended for high risk pregnancies, Dr. Purdie added, and women in the pilot still must attend certain in-person appointments leading to their due date.
Yet, the convenience has already been a win for women in the program, she added, and doctors, too, are seeing early signs of the benefit.
"I think that has been really helpful for the moms," Dr. Purdie said. "We're getting more data on them than they probably would have than with traditional care."