UT Southwestern brings expertise in high-risk pregnancy management to Plano

Every pregnancy is important, but some are far from routine. The UT Southwestern Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinic at Children’s Health Plano offers a full range of diagnostic and treatment services for expectant mothers and for women contemplating pregnancy who are concerned about their health and the health of their unborn child.

UTSW specialists offer care for high-risk patients both before and during pregnancy, with clinic services that include:

• Preconception and prenatal counseling
  
• Genetic testing to identify inherited or age-related risk
  
• Evaluation and consultation for pregnancy complications
  
• First-trimester nuchal translucency screening or cell-free fetal DNA technology
  
• High-resolution ultrasounds, including 3-D and 4-D technology
  
• Amniocentesis
  
• Specialized fetal intervention procedures
  
• Facilitation of fetal MRI and multispecialty pediatric consultation
  

“We’re typically able to care for women in conjunction with their own obstetrician, and we provide inpatient consultation at several local hospitals,” says Ashley Zink, M.D., who, along with Robert Stewart, M.D., staffs the clinic.

Adds Dr. Stewart: “If multispecialty maternal or infant care is required at delivery, we offer immediate access to a Level IIIB neonatal intensive care unit at UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital in Dallas.”

Specialty Access

As part of UT Southwestern, the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinic at Children’s Health Plano offers patients seamless access to some of the country’s leading subspecialists to assist in care in areas such as congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, and cancer.

The clinic can help coordinate care among these experts, as well as pediatric subspecialists from Children’s Health, so that patients receive the high level of care they need—right when they need it.

That specialized level of care extends to dietary needs, as well. The clinic has a dietitian on staff to ensure that both mother and child are getting the proper nutrients throughout the pregnancy.

Specializing in nutrition counseling and diabetic education, the dietitian can help optimize dietary content and assist in weekly glucose management for diabetes.

“It’s a unique—and important—feature of our clinic,” notes Dr. Zink. “As with the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes, rates of gestational diabetes are on the rise, but with careful management women can and do have successful pregnancies and healthy babies.”

Prompt Appointments

“We offer prompt appointments to our clinic—usually within days of referral,” says Dr. Stewart. “If an urgent need requires same-day attention, we make every effort to accommodate the patient.”

To make a referral, or to speak with Dr. Zink or Dr. Stewart, call 469-303-3591.

UT Southwestern Maternal-Fetal Medicine Clinic at Children’s Health Plano
7609 Preston Road
1st Floor Ambulatory Pavilion, Suite 1200
Plano, Texas 75024
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Clinic Specialists

Both Drs. Stewart and Zink offer patients high levels of technical expertise and a range of services, including:

• First-trimester fetal anatomic assessments
  
• Counseling for aneuploidy screening options
  
• Routine and detailed fetal anatomic surveys to evaluate for birth defects or increased risk for genetic disorders
  
• Amniocentesis to detect genetic disorders or fetal infections
  
• Fetal blood sampling/transfusions
  
• Fetal shunting procedures
  
• Cerclage counseling and placement
  
• Biophysical profiles to determine fetal health in the third trimester