Family Planning

Pregnancy Planning

Our doctors and midwives at SunLife know that having a child is one of the most significant events in a woman’s life. Women who are thinking of becoming pregnant are encouraged to begin planning for the pregnancy with their doctors. The goals of pregnancy planning are to create a healthy environment for the fetus and to prevent birth defects and other pregnancy related problems as much as possible. During a preconception planning visit our doctors and midwives will discuss nutrition, body weight, exercise, vitamins, avoidance of tobacco products and alcohol, immunizations, genetic counseling and other issues pertinent to the pregnancy process. For those women who have a pre-exisitng medical disorder, preconception counseling is ideal to optimize her health in preparation for pregnancy and to make any changes necessary to minimize any effects on the fetus. Working with your primary care provider and medical specialist, changes in your medications are often necessary.

Infertility

Infertility, defined as the inability to become pregnant after at least one year of regular sexual activity without contraception, occurs in about 10 to 15% of all couples. Women who are able to get pregnant but have repeat miscarriages are also said to be infertile. Female fertility relies on normal functioning of the reproductive tract and the production of hormones needed for normal sexual development and functioning. In some cases undiagnosed medical conditions as well as known medical disorders can contribute to infertility problems. Our physicians can help you to determine the cause of your infertility through diagnostic tests and provide the treatment that’s right for you and your partner.

Contraception

SunLife physicians and midwives will help you to choose the contraception method that is right for you. Through counseling, our capable and experienced staff will help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of temporary and permanent contraception methods and advise you on what will work best for your specific needs.

We offer counseling and/or services for:

• Oral Contraceptives
• Contraceptive Patch
• IUD (Mirena and Paraguard
• Depoprovera (contraceptive shot)
• Diaphram
• Contraceptive Vaginal Ring
• Sterilization (for details on sterilization, see Gynecologic Surgery)