Frequently Asked Questions

NJPA offers a range of services and procedures to provide the optimal result for a mother and her unborn baby.

A pre-conceptional consultation prior to your pregnancy allows you to meet with our perinatologist to review your medical and pregnancy history. A carefully tailored and individualized care plan can be made to optimize your chances of a successful pregnancy outcome.

For women who are already pregnant, typical procedures include first and second trimester genetic risk assessment, high resolution fetal ultrasound (including 3D/4D), MaterniT21™ PLUS Down syndrome test, chorionic villous sampling, amniocentesis, fetal echocardiography, fetal growth monitoring, Doppler blood flow studies, fetal biophysical evaluations (non-stress test, amniotic fluid volume assessments and biophysical profiles), and select fetal therapy.

With very rare exceptions, you should expect to meet and be evaluated by our perinatologists (your doctor) at each and every visit – not just at the initial consultation. Most of our patients get to know most – if not all – of our physicians quite well during the course of their pregnancy.

No! At other practices, many high-risk ultrasound evaluations are conducted by an ultrasonographer and the physician may not even be at that location. We believe in a hands-on approach that you don’t get anywhere else. Our physicians don’t just “read” the ultrasounds performed by the ultrasonographer but they evaluate your fetus personally at each visit. For our patients and our doctors, this is an important component of the personalized care you get at NJPA.

For some patients, your obstetrician will fax a request for consultation along with all of your pregnancy records to our office. Our office will then contact you to schedule an appointment. For other patients, your doctor will instruct you to call our office to make an appointment. Our staff will be happy to help if that is the case. Of course, having the reason for the visit and your insurance information on hand when you call will expedite the process of scheduling your appointment.

We are consultants to your primary obstetrician. Since they usually send you to us, they will specify how we can best assist and help them manage your pregnancy. Should you be requesting a pre-conceptional consultation, it may be possible for us to see you as a self-referral, but we will still need all applicable past medical records PRIOR to your visit.

Your insurance plan will specify the level of coverage for your maternal-fetal care. NJPA’s billing staff can assist you and your insurance company.

We accept most health plans. You may be required to make a co-pay at each visit. Please check with your individual insurance policy for details.

We work with you and your physician to ensure that all members of the team caring for the expectant mother and her fetus are involved in the decision making. Careful and timely communication is an integral part of your care at NJPA.

Absolutely! Your OB/GYN remains an important member of your caregiver team. We keep him or her closely informed throughout every step of your evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. Your obstetrician remains your delivering doctor.

We do not permit videotaping of exams but will be happy to give you photos, whenever possible.

Our ultrasound machines are 3D and 4D capable. We often employ this technology to help refine and diagnose certain structural aspects of the fetus.

We know that many patients will want pictures of their baby’s face or other areas as mementos and we will do our best to get those for you as time and individual situations permit.

While we understand the desire of patients to include their small children in the evaluation of their siblings, it is important to remember that this is a medical examination. Your medical team needs to be able to concentrate on you and your unborn child. Unfortunately, young children frequently become bored during a prolonged examination. Furthermore children may unwittingly bring infections such as chickenpox, flu, or parvovirus into a waiting room of expectant mothers.
We will make every effort to bring your children into the room AFTER the exam is finished as time and individual situations permit. If a child is brought with you to the office, we ask that a spouse/partner or other caregiver remain with the child in the waiting area until called.

Your delivery will be performed by your obstetrician at the hospital of your choice.

Please contact your primary doctor for all routine prenatal questions. If you experience a problem related to your high-risk condition, please contact our perinatal nurse at (973) 322 – 5287.

This will depend on your history and the condition for which you are being seen. You may have appointments as frequently as twice weekly or monthly. For some patients one visit is sufficient to provide you with all of the perinatal care you need.

If you believe that we could help care for your pregnancy or you want to make sure that NJPA is your Maternal-Fetal Medicine team, make sure your doctor knows. Your primary doctor will refer you to our practice for an initial consultation.