When developing fetuses need medication, one option is called medical transplacental therapy. Dr. Suwan Mehra, MD, offers this area of specialty at his self-named practice serving the Chicago and Park Ridge, Illinois, areas. If you have questions about how medical transplacental therapy can improve your baby’s health, call to schedule a visit, or book online in just a few clicks.
Medical transplacental therapy is a way to administer medication to a fetus by way of the mother’s placenta. The placenta is an organ that grows within a mother’s uterus during pregnancy.
This organ serves to deliver oxygen and nutrients to a developing fetus and also plays a critical role in eliminating waste products. The placenta attaches to the walls of the uterus and connects to the fetus via an umbilical cord.
Shortly after childbirth, the placenta detaches from the uterus and leaves the body through the vagina. In cesarean deliveries, your surgeon removes the placenta.
Because the placenta supplies everything your developing baby needs to thrive, it offers a great means of administering medications to the developing child.
When a fetus experiences abnormal heart rhythms, serious problems can occur, including heart failure and even fetal death. There are medications that can help, but delivering those drugs to the developing child is not a simple process.
Transplacental therapy offers a way to administer medications to the fetus without posing a significant risk to the mother. The process helps correct abnormal heart rhythms and helps your developing baby achieve proper circulatory function.
Medical transplacental therapy also serves to administer steroid medications that promote organ development to prepare fetuses for the chance of premature birth.
Expectant mothers who experience alloimmune thrombocytopenia (a rare condition where platelets are incompatible between mother and infant) can also benefit from transplacental therapy to receive immunoglobulin and steroids.
Transplacental therapy begins by using a needle to place a thin piece of medical tubing into a vein on the mother’s hand or wrist. The other end of the tubing connects to a bag containing a saline solution, which safely enters the mother’s bloodstream in a controlled stream, one drip at a time.
As those medications move through the mother’s system, they enter the placenta and travel to the developing fetus.
Throughout the procedure, your health and your baby’s health are closely monitored. If there are signs of distress, immediate interventions are used to preserve both maternal and fetal health.
If you need medical transplacental therapy, Dr. Suwan Mehra, MD, is a wonderful resource. Simply call or click to schedule a visit and explore this option in greater detail.