Non-Ob Treatment of the Pregnant Patient

Many women visit their primary care doctors in the beginning of their pregnancies prior to establishing care with an OB/Gyn. It is therefore important for primary care doctors to not only be comfortable with pre-conception counseling but also with managing common conditions that arise in early pregnancy. This chapter will review the case of a young woman who presents to a primary care clinic for pre-conception counseling several months before becoming pregnant. We will follow her through the first few weeks of pregnancy to review the management of common conditions that arise during this time. We see her again in the months after her pregnancy to review several high-yield aspects of primary care in the post-partum period.