Medical Management of the Pregnant Patient

There are 62 million women of childbearing age in the United States, 85% of whom will give birth by age 44. One third of women enter pregnancy with a chronic medical illness and 50% are overweight or obese. Only 55% will have obtained preventive health services in any given year, and 17 million women do not have health insurance. The need for an educated provider community to care for these patients is enormous. Medical Management of the Pregnant Patient fills the need for a practical handbook that addresses the clinical care of pregnant patients. The content is protocol-based and uses algorithms to discuss preconception care, care during pregnancy, labor and delivery and how to link postpartum care with ongoing primary care. A brief overview of physiology, its impact on pregnancy and diagnostic and treatment recommendations are included. Each section covers both diseases that may exist independent of pregnancy and diseases unique to pregnancy. Additionally, symptom-based complaints are incorporated into each section and cross-referenced appropriately.