Obstetric Care

Pregnancy is an exciting time, and we are personally invested in helping you have the best pregnancy and birthing experience possible, celebrating your progress along the way, and welcoming your newborn into the world. Whether your pregnancy is uncomplicated or higher risk due to health concerns or other reasons, we are here for you, ready to provide all levels of care for you and your baby.

The expert care team at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford includes obstetricians and midwives for routine pregnancy care, high-risk obstetricians for high-risk-pregnancy care, and advanced practice providers and nurses who specialize in obstetrics. Our support staff, including patient care managers, round out your care, helping us to make your interactions with us more convenient and offer you a positive patient experience. At Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, we deliver more than 4,600 babies annually, and we celebrate every single birth.  

Why choose us for obstetric care

With us, you get the best possible care before, during, and after your pregnancy in our compassionate, family-centered environment, and here’s why:

  • Caring for all of your and your baby’s needs—all in one place. Our obstetric care is part of the Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services, a Stanford Medicine center of excellence. Within this center, we offer obstetric, fetal, newborn, child, and advanced maternal care all in one place—something that’s quite unique in the Bay Area and in the United States. With us, you and your baby have the backing of dozens of teams, including our Fetal and Pregnancy Health Program, which provides all-encompassing care for complex fetal conditions and placental disorders; our renowned neonatology care, ranked #5 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report; and our extensive pediatric specialty services. Should you need expert adult care, our children’s and adult hospitals are connected and we collaborate closely. Put simply, we can give you and your baby the care you need at the right time, from the right expert, and in the right way.
  • Pregnancy care, your way. Our obstetric care team partners with you to understand your pregnancy goals and preferences and guide your pregnancy from conception to birth in our warm, family-centered environment. Every pregnancy deserves the very best support, including normal, uncomplicated pregnancies. Our obstetric care team, including midwives, is here to help you maintain your optimal health during pregnancy so that you and your baby have the strongest start possible. With us, you have two choices for pregnancy care: one-to-one traditional pregnancy care or group pregnancy care, called CenteringPregnancy®, where you join other people/couples with similar due dates and your provider for regular care sessions. We are also cutting-edge in offering you mental health services, including psychotherapy and psychiatric care to help you achieve mental and emotional balance during your pregnancy, when deemed necessary by your provider.
  • Offering expert maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) care when your pregnancy is not routine. If you have a health condition, such as heart disease, complex preexisting diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease, or neurological issues, or if you develop a pregnancy complication, it’s best that you receive specialized care from a maternal-fetal medicine doctor or perinatologist. MFM doctors undergo advanced training to care for pregnant women with complex health needs and can help them deliver safely and successfully. Our team of maternal-fetal medicine specialists is nationally recognized for its expertise, and the Johnson Center at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is a top destination for some of the most complex pregnancy and fetal cases.
  • Providing the most advanced, research-driven care for excellent outcomes. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is well-known across the nation for its focus on research. We bring our research-proven pregnancy, fetal, and newborn care techniques to the bedside to care for you and your baby in innovative ways. Our doctors have a deep commitment to provide you with the best possible care that results in superior outcomes for even the most complex pregnancy needs.
  • Bringing care close to home. We continually look to partner with community obstetricians and other health care providers to make our specialized maternal-fetal medicine services more accessible to you. We have several perinatal diagnostic centers to complement our main service offering in Palo Alto.

Our obstetric services

Our services start before you get pregnant with preconception counseling and continue after delivery:

When you have a health condition, it’s best to seek counseling before you get pregnant. During your preconception counseling, you can expect:

  • Input from specialists on your health condition and how it might affect your pregnancy, which may include maternal-fetal medicine specialists (high-risk pregnancy and fetal experts), specialized doctors for your particular condition, and imaging specialists.

Should you decide to move forward with pregnancy, we will work together on:

  • A care plan that takes into account how your preexisting medical condition (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, cancer) affects your pregnancy to help provide you with a safe and successful path forward. 

Many of the pregnant people we care for at Packard Children’s Hospital have low-risk pregnancies and routine births. We pride ourselves on giving you supportive and personalized obstetric and pregnancy care, including midwifery care, with the reassurance that high-risk experts are ready to provide advanced care if and when it’s needed.

If you have a medical condition, or if you develop health complications during pregnancy, you’ve come to the right place. Our experienced team of maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) doctors closely monitors your health and your baby’s health to see you through safe labor and delivery. Our MFM doctors provide the highest level of pregnancy care by subspecializing in caring for pregnant women with health conditions. Our MFMs are part of the following specialized programs that cater to women with high-risk pregnancies:

  • Maternal Heart Program
    Pregnancy is extra-taxing on the heart. If you want to become pregnant or are already expecting and have congenital heart disease or acquired heart disease, our specialized Maternal Heart Program is designed for you. It brings together maternal-fetal medicine specialists, cardiologists, and obstetric anesthesiologists, along with other specialists from Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health as needed, to minimize your risk of heart complications during pregnancy and help you deliver safely, and your baby to have the best possible start in life.
  • Diabetes in Pregnancy Program
    If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, or if you develop gestational diabetes while pregnant, it’s vital to keep your blood glucose levels under good control during pregnancy. Uncontrolled diabetes can increase the risk of complications with your pregnancy and increase your baby’s risk for birth defects. Our specialized Pregnancy Diabetes Program team includes doctors who are board certified in obstetrics, endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism, for highly advanced care.
  • IBD in Pregnancy Program
    This collaborative program between one of our obstetricians and GI specialists cares for expectant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who are looking to get pregnant but want reproductive health guidance on how to best proceed while managing their IBD.
  • Pregnancy Neurology Program
    When you have a neurological condition, like epilepsy, it’s important that you go into or through pregnancy with a care plan. A specialized team of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health maternal-fetal medicine doctors, in collaboration with neurologists, can help guide your pregnancy care and medications.
  • Blood Disorders in Pregnancy Program
    If you are considering pregnancy or are already pregnant and you have a hematological disorder, you need extra care. Our Blood Disorders in Pregnancy Program specializes in pregnancy and blood disorders, helping you experience a safe and successful pregnancy.
  • Pregnancy Infectious Diseases Program
    If you are living with an infectious disease and you want to start a family, this multispecialty program supports you through your pregnancy and delivery.
  • Fetal and Pregnancy Health Program
    When you have a placental disorder or your fetus is diagnosed with a complex condition, our Fetal and Pregnancy Health Program provides you with the most advanced and personalized care. This subspecialty program treats pregnant women with confirmed or suspected placenta accreta spectrum disorder and placenta previa, among other placental problems, as well as complex fetus conditions that are detected unexpectedly during pregnancy.
    Learn more about our Placental Disorders Program and broader Fetal and Pregnancy Health Program.

We are always prepared for unexpected turns with pregnancy and delivery. Besides these specialty programs, our maternal-fetal medicine doctors team up with other specialists within Stanford Medicine to provide the very best possible outcome for you and your baby. And if you need monitoring and extra pregnancy care before you deliver, we offer antepartum care.

We support you and your family with all-around 360˚ care. Our services include mental health care, social support for your logistical needs (such as interpreter services), connection to community services near your home, and lodging when you need to be nearby for complex care. Learn more about our extensive patient and family services.

Obstetric Care Patient Stories