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High step counts can help women avoid complications in childbirth, Israeli study reveals

A new Israeli study found that when pregnant women near the end of their pregnancy walked around from 2,900 steps during their first trimester to 2,100 to 2,200 steps during the ninth month, they can significantly reduce the risk of having to get the baby by cesarean section. The exercise also... Continue Reading

Consensus Statement on Threats to Reproductive and Maternal Health Care

American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists | American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists | American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society | American Society for Reproductive Medicine | American Urogynecologic Society | Council of University Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology |... Continue Reading

New Study Finds No Significant Association Between Preterm Delivery and Autism

New Study Finds No Significant Association Between Preterm Delivery and Autism National Harbor, Md. ― Autism, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is one of the most commondevelopmental disorders and is increasingly diagnosed worldwide. According to the World HealthOrganization, an... Continue Reading

Study Finds that Pregnancy Complications Can Also Affect Child’s Health Later in Life

National Harbor, MD. ― Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and gestational diabetes (GDM) are twoof the most common pregnancy complications and put pregnant people at increased risk of developingcardiovascular disease later in life.Now, in a new study to be presented today at the Society for... Continue Reading

Being Exposed to Wildfire Smoke Increases Risk of Going into Labor Prematurely

San Francisco, Calif. ― The detrimental effects of poor air quality on a person’s health are well documented. In pregnant people, research has shown that poor air quality, such as smog, can lead to a number of adverse outcomes, including preterm birth (PTB), one of the leading causes of... Continue Reading

Single Dose of Antibiotic Given During Labor Significantly Reduced Risk of Maternal Death or Sepsis

San Francisco, Calif. ― Sepsis — a severe infection in the body that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death — is among the top causes of maternal deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a life-threatening emergency that is largely... Continue Reading

High-Quality Diet in Pregnancy is Associated with a Lower Risk of Fetal Growth Restriction

Washington, DC ― Research has shown that an unhealthy diet during pregnancy can have long-term effects on a child’s health. Now, in a new study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, which is being held... Continue Reading

Chewing Sugar-Free Gum Reduced Preterm Births

Washington, DC ― Each year, an estimated 15 million babies are born prematurely or preterm (defined as delivery before the 37th week of pregnancy), and this number is rising, according to the World Health Organization. Preterm babies are at greater risk of experiencing serious health... Continue Reading

Identifying Trimester Coding in ICD-10 - Replaces previous tip from 2015

In ICD-10 trimester-based coding is utilized to identify the trimester during the encounter. Instructions about obstetric trimester-based billing is found in Chapter 15. The CMS and the NCHS (within the US Federal Government’s DHHS) provides these instructions in their ICD-10 CM manual. ... Continue Reading

Care Coordination and Interprofessional Consultations

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Coding Committee; Steve Rad, MD; Amie Hollard, MD; Betzaida Martinez, CPCP, CPMA, COBGC, CPPM; Vanita Jain, MD MFM subspecialists frequently need to speak with other physicians for patient care coordination and/or are asked by other physicians to... Continue Reading

Coding for Remote Patient Monitoring Services – An Update

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Coding Committee; Steve Rad, MD; Trisha Malisch, CCS-P, CPC; Brian Iriye MD; Irina Rubina, CPC; Vanita Jain, MD. PURPOSE: Updated information and new coding guidance regarding remote patient monitoring (RPM) In the era of the current COVID-19... Continue Reading

Utilizing E/M CPT Code 99211 when performing COVID testing

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Coding Committee; Vanita Jain, MD; Steve Rad, MD; Dave Smith, CPC, MBA; Trisha Malisch, CCS-P, CPC; Fadi Bsat, MD. The SMFM Coding Committee has previously provided guidance regarding E/M encounters in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic... Continue Reading