In this episode, Dr. Nathan Fox, an OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist, returns to share insights on navigating pregnancy healthcare. He discusses how to recognize when to call your doctor and the subjective nature of pregnancy symptoms. The conversation emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health during pregnancy, as well as promoting open communication with healthcare providers. Dr. Fox also offers strategies for empowering patients to ask the right questions and advocate for themselves in medical settings.
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Communicating with Your Doctor
Call your doctor if you're unsure whether a pregnancy symptom is normal or serious.
It's crucial to communicate with your doctor, especially if symptoms are distressing or affecting your daily life.
insights INSIGHT
Two Thresholds for Medical Attention
There are two thresholds for seeking medical attention: danger and distress.
The 'danger' threshold signifies a potential health risk, while 'distress' is subjective and depends on individual tolerance.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Emily's Vomiting Experience
Emily Oster vomited only once during her pregnancy, in an Ikea bathroom.
This personal experience highlights the varying experiences of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
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Navigating Pregnancy During and After Complications
Nathan Fox, MD
Emily Oster
This book, part of The ParentData Series, addresses the often-unspoken complications that can arise during pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, miscarriage, hyperemesis gravidarum, preterm birth, and postpartum depression. Emily Oster and Dr. Nathan Fox provide readers with data on the recurrence and treatments for these conditions, as well as road maps for productive conversations with healthcare providers. The book aims to bridge the knowledge gap and make difficult conversations about pregnancy complications more manageable, ensuring that readers feel less alone and more empowered to make informed decisions[1][3][5].
Today on ParentData, we're welcoming back Dr. Nathan Fox, Emily's co-author for The Unexpected- a book about when things go wrong, or at least get complicated, in a pregnancy. Nate is an OB-GYN and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and he is one of our favorite returning podcast guests, not just because he’s a great talker but also because it’s really nice to have a doctor who can both provide medical answers to questions that come up around pregnancy, and help you have the best possible experiences with your own doctor.
We’re discuss some big issues that arise during pregnancy and the many prenatal doctor’s visits; about the distinction between self-management and calling your doctor (when do you know if something is normal-bad or bad-bad?), and we’ll talk about just how subjective that line actually is. We also talk about risks and tradeoffs and about the kinds of postpartum issues that are worth addressing while still pregnant (we're looking at you, depression and anxiety).
The Unexpected, and this conversation, are meant to help people be much better prepared for what they may face in their pregnancies and to help better navigate conversations with doctors — both the expected conversations and the unexpected ones.
Subscribe to (the new and improved!) ParentData.org for free access to new articles every week on data-driven pregnancy and parenting.
ParentData with Emily Oster 