High-Risk Pregnancy Program
High-Risk Pregnancy Program
A high-risk pregnancy means there is a greater chance that you or your baby may need specialized care during pregnancy or at the time of birth. This can happen for many reasons including conditions that parents may have before pregnancy begins, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or other medical considerations, or complications during pregnancy (twins or multiples, preterm labor, differences in the baby’s anatomy, etc.). Even pregnancies that begin without complications may benefit from extra monitoring as things change along the way, including advanced imaging and other collarborative care prioritizing the wellness of both pregnant and fetal patients.
Our Approach
At University of Michigan Health, we believe you deserve expert guidance, honest communication and compassionate support throughout your pregnancy. Whether the path ahead is straightforward or uncertain, our goal is to help you understand your options, answer your questions, and provide coordinated care that promotes the health and well-being of you and your baby.
Our Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists work with you and your obstetrician or midwife, not instead of them. We take the time to explain your condition, answer your questions, and partner with you and your pregnancy provider to make informed decisions. This collaborative, team-based approach allows you to receive advanced care while continuing the trusted relationship you’ve built with your local provider.
Together, we’re here to support you every step of the way.
Who We Treat
Our team of MFM specialists can manage any complication of pregnancy including:
- Maternal cardiac disease
- Fetal surgery
- Fetal anomalies
- Complex multiple births (twins and higher-order multiples)
- Growth restriction
- Genetic complications for the baby, such as Down syndrome
- Preterm labor/history of preterm delivery
- Addiction disorders
- Diabetes (type 1, type 2, gestational diabetes)
- Obesity
- Multiple miscarriages
- Seizures
- HIV
- Hepatitis C
- Lupus
- Cancer
- Epilepsy
- Placenta accreta spectrum disorders
Services
We are proud to be one of the few medical centers in the country where the women’s and children’s hospitals are located under the same roof. This unique design allows immediate access to expert pediatric and newborn care if your baby needs it, providing reassurance, continuity and seamless support when it matters most.
Care at our Birth Center (labor and delivery) is led by MFM specialists, working closely with a multidisciplinary team. During your hospital stay – whether you are hospitalized during pregnancy, are in labor or are recovering after delivery – you are supported by a team of specialists experienced in caring for complex medical needs. This team is always available to respond quickly and thoughtfully at every stage of care.
MFM specialists also coordinate care for maternal transports from across Michigan and the surrounding region, ensuring a smooth transition when higher-level support is needed.
MFM specialists run our Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center (FDTC). At the center, we offer a full range of services and procedures including routine obstetric ultrasounds, complex imaging, genetic counseling, testing for fetal well-being, and other procedures that might be needed during pregnancy such as amniocentesis or CVS (chorionic villous sampling).
In addition to routine obstetric imaging and testing services, our Fetal Surgery Program is located within the FDTC. In this program, a multidisciplinary team of MFM specialists, pediatric surgeons, genetic counselors, and neonatal specialists collaborate to manage all fetal anomalies from diagnosis, through pregnancy, delivery and into the newborn period.
Our team performs in utero fetal interventions including meningomyelocele (spina bifida) repair, interventions for complex multiple gestations, intrauterine transfusions, cardiac interventions, and any other fetal procedure that may benefit you or your baby.
We offer expertise to pregnant patients with any complication including high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, epilepsy, lupus, cancer, HIV or previous difficult pregnancy complications.
We also have dedicated specialty clinics staffed by MFM specialists and other specialty care providers to provide an “all in one place” team-based care model for common complications of pregnancy. Our specialty clinics include:
- Diabetes in Pregnancy Clinic (MFM, diabetes education/nutrition & endocrinology)
- Cardio-Obstetrics Clinic (MFM & cardiology)
- Michigan Interdisciplinary Clinic for Obesity and Reproduction (MFM, reproductive endocrinology and infertility & bariatric medicine)
- Partnering for the Future Clinic – psychiatric or substance use disorders (MFM & psychiatry/addiction medicine)
- Placenta Accreta Spectrum Team (MFM, gynecologic oncology/pelvic surgeons & general surgery)
- Fetal Interventions and Surgery (MFM & Peds Surgery)
Appointment Information
For more information or to schedule an appointment with any of our pregnancy and childbirth specialists, call our women’s health patient advisors at 734-763-6295.
Research
To be leaders in cutting-edge obstetric and maternal care, our researchers prides itself on active and diverse research agendas, actively pursuing scientific investigations to make pregnancy safer for pregnant parents and babies. Our faculty has funding through the NIH and philanthropic foundations to perform innovative research on prediction and prevention of preterm birth, pharmacodynamics, neonatal opiate withdrawal syndrome, hypertensive disease of pregnancy and other topics to continue to improve our understanding of pregnancy complications.
Locations
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Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic | Munson Medical Center 1105 Sixth Street
Traverse City, MI 49684Get Directions -
Women's Clinic Maternal Fetal Medicine | Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital 1540 E Hospital Dr
Floor 9
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-4276Get Directions
Doctors
Ashley Megan Bartell, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Obstetrics & Gynecology, Maternal & Fetal Medicine
Deborah Rose Berman, MD
Clinical Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Jennifer Cate, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Mark Christopher Chames, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Caitlin Madden Clifford, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Jill Kent Davies, MD
Clinical Professor
Obstetrics & Gynecology, Maternal & Fetal Medicine
Sarah Marie Davis, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Joshua Sunny George, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Patricia Stephanie Greco, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Natasha Raj Kumar, MD, MSCE
Assistant Professor
Maternal & Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Providers
Jennah Duchesne, NP
Advanced Practice Nurse
Nurse Practitioner
Barbara Kramer Getty, NP
Advanced Practice Nurse
Nurse Practitioner
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