Obstetrics
Dr. Cheryl Bellaire has delivered thousands of babies and did her residency training in Philadelphia, at Medical College of Pennsylvania. She specializes in high risk pregnancies. Dr. Bellaire has also done deliveries at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital, Chester-Crozer Hospital, Elkins Park Hospital, Frankfort Hospital, University of Michigan and Hahnemann University Hospital. This allowed her to see many high risk pregnancies with a wide variety of problems in a broad urban area. Dr. Bellaire currently delivers at Chester County Hospital, which has a new Labor and Delivery and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU is operated as part of the CHOP Connection program, a unique affiliation between The Chester County Hospital and the The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). CHOP is recognized by US News & World Report as the number one hospital for children. A level III nursery means that babies of all gestational ages can be taken care of right here in Chester County. Even simple surgeries can be performed right at Chester County Hospital. Babies that need extensive surgery or very special care can be smoothly transferred to CHOP. Chester County Hospital's Maternity Care received the highest rating from HealthGrades.
As a solo practitioner, Dr. Bellaire gets to know her patients very well by delivery time. With only one doctor, there is no miscommunication between group members about your care. She also works with womens' delivery plans, and allows input from each woman about her care, as long it is safe for mom and baby. Dr. Bellaire also works with birth coaches. See our Doula Services page for more information.
One of our satisfied patients writes, on the website insiderpages:
"Best ob/gyn I would say. She helped me during my first delivery. I was in labor and I didn't have a car with me as my husband took our car to work. When she came to know about it she immediately sent a nurse to my home and she drove me off to the hospital. Very friendly and highly professional."
IN THE NEWS: From Chester County's Daily Local News column, "Medical Corner":
Excercising in pregnancy OK with care
by Dr. Cheryl R. Bellaire
"Can I exercise in pregnancy?
"For most women, the answer is yes, but you must check with your physician. If your pregnancy is complicated by high blood pressure, heart disease, preterm labor, twins or more, poor fetal growth or other high risk factors, you may be advised not to exercise.
"Ideally, before one gets pregnant, they have been exercising regularly and are in good shape.
"Studies have shown that moderate exercise in normal pregnancy is not harmful to the fetus. In fact, women who did regular exercise in pregnancy were found to have shorter labors, fewer cesarean sections, and less fetal distress. These women also tended to have smaller babies (on the average by 300 grams) but this was not found to be an ill effect.
"Moderate exercise is activity at 50-85 percent of your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate can be tested for each non-pregnant individual but a rough estimate is 220 minus your age. For example, a 30-year-old woman with a maximum heart rate of 190 could exercise between a heart rate of 95 and 160. One study showed that women who exercised at a heart rate of 150 or less had no adverse effect on fetal heart rate tracing while women whose heart rate was 180 had fetal bradycardia (a low heart rate). Women were found to improve their metabolic efficiency with a decreased amount of oxygen consumption.
"You may be more prone to injury when pregnant due to a couple of factors. First of all, you are exercising with more weight. You should have good supportive shoes and bra. Your posture and balance are different, causing you to use alternate muscles and falling more easily. Lastly, you have a hormone-making substance called relaxin, which can change connective tissue and the mobility of your pelvis, sometimes leading to injury or pain. You can also help avoid injury by stretching before and after exercise.
"If you have been exercising before pregnancy you can usually continue the same exercise, just less intensely. Exercises that should be avoided are ones that can lead to injury (contact sports) or falling (cycling on the roads, horseback riding, skiing). If you have not been exercising regularly, you should start slowly and build up.
"You should avoid exercising outside when it is very hot to avoid overheating. You can get dehydrated easier when pregnant so always drink plenty of water with a moderate amount of sports drinks. You should not exercise until fatigued. It is best to try to do your exercise at the time during the day when you are least tired. Warning signs of overdoing it are vaginal bleeding, pain, frequent contractions, chest pain, dizziness, headaches, or blurry vision.
"Exercise in pregnancy can make women feel better and may improve the outcome of pregnancy. So grab a husband, friend or pet, and go out and exercise."
Cheryl Bellaire, MD, FACOG
Obstetrics & Gynecology
296 Main Street, Exton, PA 19341
phone: 610-363-9206 • fax: 610-363-9209 • info@bellairemd.com