Fertility Center Guides Parents through High Risk Pregnancy

When Julie Hubbard developed Type I (adult-onset) diabetes, she had been preparing for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) and hoping to become pregnant. Diabetes immediately put the 34-year-old Annapolis woman in a high risk category.

“When I ended up in the emergency room, and they told me I had Type I diabetes, my biggest fear was whether I would be able to carry my baby.”

Her doctor at the Shady Grove Fertility Center, Gilbert Mottla, MD, had already helped her to conceive and deliver her first child, born two years earlier. When diabetes struck, Dr. Mottla immediately referred her to the Center for Maternal and Fetal Medicine. They specialize in treating expectant mothers with high-risk health conditions and obstetrical complications. Working closely with Dr. Mottla and his nurse Anne Stegner, RN, they helped Julie complete the IVF.

When she became pregnant, Jeffrey Spencer, MD, William Sweeney, MD, and diabetic educator, Maureen Connick, RN, helped her manage her diabetes and coached her through her pregnancy. “They helped me get on an insulin pump, and worked with me through it all.” The following August, Julie delivered a healthy baby boy.

She now has two young sons, and says she is grateful for the specialized care she received through the programs at AAMC. Before her first IVF at Shady Grove, she had tried other methods at a medical center in another state, but was unsuccessful.

When she came to Annapolis, she and her husband chose to pursue having a family with the help of Shady Grove because of their reputation. “They really have a very good way walking patients through what the problem might be and determining what the options are and how to proceed,” she says. “It’s very individualized in terms of a patient’s own personal needs and medical histories. Both Shady Grove and the high-risk group worked very closely together and with us.”

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