For many women, pregnancy is a season of appointments, ultrasounds, and anticipation. At the end of it, there is a new baby. But doctors and researchers are increasingly looking at pregnancy through another lens: as an early window into a woman’s future health.
Pregnancy asks a lot of nearly every system in your body. Your heart works harder. Your blood vessels adapt. Your blood sugar and metabolism shift. Your blood volume increases. How the body responds to these demands can sometimes provide early clues about a woman’s risk for health conditions years or even decades later.
“Pregnancy is almost like a natural stress test,” says Joanne Stone, MD, MS, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and Chair of the Department of Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “It puts demands on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems that can reveal risks that might otherwise go unnoticed.”
That makes your pregnancy history an important chapter in your lifelong health story. It is also why Mount Sinai is introducing MyPath Moms, a comprehensive, personalized care experience.
When pregnancy sends a signal
Conditions such as preeclampsia (high blood pressure that occurs generally later in pregnancy), gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes are often viewed as complications that end when pregnancy ends. But research increasingly suggests they can also be markers of future cardiovascular and metabolic health.
Women who experience preeclampsia, for example, have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease later in life. Gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy and then resolves after birth) is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic problems. Preterm birth and having a baby who is small for gestational age may also signal increased cardiovascular risk for the mother.
“That doesn’t mean that having one of these complications means you are destined to develop heart disease or diabetes,” says Francesco Callipari, MD, Medical Director of the Carolyn Rowan Center for Women’s Health and Wellness and Assistant Clinical Professor and Vice Chair of Operations, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine. “It means we have information we can use. And information gives us an opportunity to be proactive.”
Your pregnancy and postpartum history belongs in your medical history
Once a baby arrives, however, a mother’s health can quickly take a back seat. The routine postpartum visit is an important part of care, but recovery does not end at six weeks. Nor does the health information revealed by pregnancy and the postpartum period stop being relevant once that visit is over.
Pregnancy and postpartum experiences can provide clues about future health across several domains. High blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and fetal growth problems can signal increased cardiovascular or metabolic risk. Depression, anxiety, or other significant mood symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum can also be important markers of a woman’s future mental health, including during later periods of hormonal change. “Postpartum care shouldn’t be viewed as a finish line,” says Melanie Lucks, MMS, PA-C, Senior Physician Associate at the Rowan Women’s Health Center. “It’s really the beginning of the next phase of a woman’s health.”
Make sure your health care team knows If you experienced any of the following during your pregnancy:
- high blood pressure
- preeclampsia
- gestational diabetes
- preterm birth
- complicated delivery
- significant emotional challenges during or after pregnancy
Turning a health challenge into an opportunity
The good news? A pregnancy complication is not a forecast. It is an opportunity to pay attention earlier.
That might mean monitoring blood pressure, checking cholesterol or blood sugar, addressing nutrition and physical activity, treating iron deficiency, supporting mental health, and connecting with a specialist when appropriate. Sometimes the most powerful intervention is simply recognizing that a woman deserves continued care after the baby is born.
This is the thinking behind MyPath Moms+, an enhanced 16-week postpartum care experience from the Rowan Women’s Health Center for women whose pregnancies revealed added complexity.
Designed for women eight weeks to one year postpartum following a delivery at or after 24 weeks of pregnancy, MyPath Moms+ combines whole-person postpartum care—including physical recovery, emotional health, nutrition, sexual wellness, and pelvic floor care—with additional specialist visits when clinically appropriate. Depending on your individual needs, that may include seeing specialists in cardiology, endocrinology, psychiatry, or maternal-fetal medicine.
Instead of navigating disconnected appointments on your own, a coordinated team shares information and helps guide your care.
Your pregnancy is not simply a chapter that has closed. It may be the earliest glimpse you will ever have of the health you want to protect for decades to come.
Ready to look beyond the six-week checkup?
MyPath Moms and MyPath Moms+ may be right for you. Enrollment is based on clinical fit. The 16-week guided experience includes an $800 program fee for supplemental services and care coordination not covered by insurance; medical visits and testing are billed to insurance according to individual coverage. Full financial details are reviewed before enrollment.
Find out more about MyPath Moms or call the Rowan Women’s Health Center to make an appointment: 212-731-3609.