Prenatal Care

It's important to call after one year of trying to conceive and not successful. You should also call within one week of positive urinary pregnancy test.

• Take B6 25mg every 6-8 hours (do not exceed 200mg/day, including amount in prenatal vitamin).
• Take Unisom 25mg- ½ Unisom in the morning, ½ Unisom later in the afternoon and one tablet before bed.
• If these options do not work, please call the office to discuss additional medications that can be prescribed by your physician or provider.
  • When should I call?- Give us a call if vitamin B6 and Unisom are not helping with nausea. Please also call the office if you are unable to keep any food or liquids down, if you have decreased urination and if you have lightheadedness/dizziness
  • Do I need IV Hydration? Depending on the symptoms you have, this may be recommended by a physician or provider and done in office.  

• Caffeine:
  • Avoid or limit caffeine to <200 to 300 mg/day (usually equivalent to ≤3 cups/day).
• Fruits and Vegetables
  • Wash fruits and vegetables before eating raw or cooking.
  • Avoid raw sprouts.
• Cheeses/ Milk
  • Avoid unpasteurized juice, cider and milk (including soft cheese [eg, some Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, feta, queso blanco or queso fresco] and other products made with raw milk).
• Seafood/ Meats
  • Avoid commercially premade meat or seafood salad (eg, deli chicken, ham or tuna salad).
  • Avoid undercooked meat, poultry, fish and eggs. Cook to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-recommended minimum safe internal temperature.
  • Avoid or limit consumption of fish with elevated levels of mercury. (See "Fish consumption and marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in pregnancy," section on "Methylmercury in fish.")
  • Avoid refrigerated (not canned or bottled) smoked seafood (which could be contaminated with listeria) unless it is in a cooked dish, such as a casserole.
  • Reheat hot dogs and luncheon meats/cold cuts/fermented or dry sausage, even though precooked.
  • Avoid refrigerated (not canned or bottled) pâtés or meat spreads from a deli or meat counter.
  • Avoid raw dough.
  • Avoid possibly contaminated water. (In the United States, public water drinking systems ensure safety using a combination of disinfection, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and filtration.)

• Other helpful food preparation information:
  • Wash cutting boards, dishes, counters and utensils with hot, soapy water after contact with raw meat, poultry, seafood or unwashed fruits or vegetables.
  • Wash hands with soap and water before and after food preparation.
  • Freezing meat for several days at subzero (0°F) temperatures before cooking greatly reduces the chance of infection.

Physical therapy treatment can help eliminate or alleviate symptoms of common musculoskeletal problems experienced during pregnancy including but not limited to:

• Low back pain
• Sciatica or pain that radiates down your leg
• Groin pain
• Hip pain
• Rib pain
• Numbness/tingling in your hands or in the leg(s)
• Upper back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Impaired ability to control your bladder
• Pain with sexual intercourse

If you experience any of these symptoms, or something not listed above please feel free to ask your care team about a referral to an InterMed physical therapist that specializes in treatment of pregnancy-related conditions.

Physical Therapy While Pregnant (pdf)

Your provider may recommend some fertility lab work on day 3 and day 21 of your cycle. These labs may include:

• Estradiol - CPT 82670
• FSH (Follicle Stimulating hormone) - CPT 83001
• LH (luteinizing hormone) - CPT 83002
• AMG (anti-mullerian hormone) - CPT 83520
• Progesterone - CPT 84144

These types of appointments are safe in pregnancy. Let your therapist/physician know you are pregnant as they may need information regarding the pregnancy to do treatments and may need to alter certain positions/treatment plans during pregnancy.

Not sure what brand of breast pump is best for you? Check out Lucies List to narrow down your search and choose your favorite!

• Medela
• Spectra
• Baby buddah
• If you need a breast pump prescription, please fax a request to 207-523-8598

How can I order a breast pump?

• There are several ways you can go about ordering a breast pump:
  • Contact your insurance to identify if they have specific medical supplies they cover. Once you have this information you can contact the supplier to see if they have the pump you desire, you can request a breast pump prescription at your next appointment.
  • There are several medical supplier websites that offer breast pumps. Most of these sites you can input your insurance information and have the supplier fax an order for the specific breast pump you are requesting to your care team directly. Once we have this request we will process it and have your provider sign/ approve the order and fax it back to the supplier. They will then mail you the specific pump that you requested. Below are different options for online medical suppliers to order breast pumps through:
    • Acceleron
    • Aeroflow
    • Edgepark
    • Black Bear Medical

NST stands for “Non-Stress Test,” this is a method we can use to monitor the well-being of your baby. This can be completed in the office with one of our nurses. Upon arrival we will have you get comfortable in one of the exam rooms and two straps will be placed on your lower back. These straps will hold two monitors onto your abdomen throughout the NST. A machine has a small screen on it that allows us to see your baby’s heartbeat trends and contraction pattern. One monitor that monitors your baby's heart rate will be placed on your lower abdomen; a second monitor that monitors contractions will be placed above your belly button on the “fundus” to allow your provider to monitor any contractions you may have. The NST lasts about 20 minutes, however, depending on your baby’s activity and sleep cycle additional time may be recommended.

Why did my provider recommend an NST?

Your physician may have recommended that you have a NST if you are reporting decreased or changes in fetal movements and if you have concerns regarding fetal well-being. It also may be recommended to have NSTs in pregnancy if you have a high-risk pregnancy (certain health conditions may require more frequent monitoring of your baby). Speak with your care team regarding what they recommend for monitoring.

• Our care teams recommend receiving the flu, COVID-19 and TDAP vaccines in pregnancy. Please visit the CDC website and review their vaccine recommendations for common vaccines in pregnancy.
  • Vaccines in Pregnancy

1. Contact your insurance after the arrival of your baby. As soon as possible is best, but ideally within 72 hours.
2. If you have an exchange plan via the federal marketplace, it can take up to 60 days to add a new baby. It is best to start preparing as soon as you know you’re having a child to ensure the best "family" coverage for you is in place, so when the baby is born, you are all set to add them.
   1. You should be able to add an infant to you plan via the ‘Report a Life Change” link within the federal marketplace.
   2. If you fail to sign your baby up for health insurance, you may face the same annual federal penalty as adults do for being uninsured.
3. Make sure InterMed has your baby’s legal name on file. Many times, information comes over from the hospital as either Baby Boy or Baby Girl under your account. We cannot bill to the insurance company without the legal name of the baby, and this could result in balances falling to the responsibility of the parents.

For specific coverage, policy and benefit information, please contact your insurance company.

For billing inquiries, please contact our customer service department at 207-828-0361.

• What If I’m Pregnant or Plan to Get Pregnant? Learn more >
• Protections for Newborns, Adopted Children, and New Parents – Learn more >
• "Birthday Rule" – What Happens When Your Baby has Coverage Under you and Your Spouse/Partner. Who is Primary? What are the Exceptions? Learn more >
• Understanding Medical Bills – From Pregnancy to Delivery – Learn more >

Circumcisions are considered elective surgery.

Medicaid insurance and most other insurance companies may not cover this procedure. If your insurance policy does cover circumcisions, it is your responsibility to contact the billing department at InterMed, give them your baby’s name and policy number so this procedure may be billed in a timely matter.

If your insurance does not cover circumcisions, and you would like to have this procedure done before leaving the hospital, you must have paid this fee in full. You may pay small payments throughout your pregnancy at the time of your appointments, and we will put this as a credit on your account. Please inform the front office you are paying on the circumcision so we will credit your account appropriately.
The cost of this procedure is $555.00.

All of our billing is done from our InterMed office at Foden Road in South Portland. If you would like to make a payment plan please contact our billing department at Foden Road. Their phone number is 207-828-0361.

*Please be sure to check with your insurance company on coverage and prior authorization requirements.

Circumcision Billing (pdf)