Prenatal Care

Call within one week of a positive urine pregnancy test or as soon as you know you are pregnant.

• Take B6 25mg every 6-8 hours (do not exceed 200mg/day, including amount in prenatal vitamin).

• Take ½ tablet of Unisom in the morning, ½ Unisom later in the afternoon and ½ 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 your symptoms, a provider may recommend IV hydration; this may take place in the office, the hospital or an infusion center.  

• 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.

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

• Call the office at 207-874-2445, or send a portal message.

NST stands for “Non-Stress Test,” this is a method we use to monitor the well-being of your baby. Non-stress tests are done 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 with small monitors will be placed on your belly. A machine with a screen on it that allows us to see your baby’s heartbeat and any contraction pattern. The NST lasts about 20 minutes, however, depending on your baby’s activity and sleep cycle additional time may be recommended.

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

• Vaccines in Pregnancy