Personalized Prenatal Care for Low-Risk Pregnancies Using Telemedicine

Not all pregnant women have the same risks for pregnancy complications. Women at low-risk for pregnancy complications may not need the same type of prenatal care. The goal of this study is to learn about the use of telemedicine for low-risk pregnant women and improve the delivery of prenatal care. Telemedicine is medical care provided using a computer or telephone to visit with a doctor for some medical appointments. Participating patients will be assigned by a computer to either standard prenatal care, or prenatal care involving a combination of standard prenatal visits and telemedicine visits. Both groups will have the same number of prenatal care visits. In both groups, we will ask about the patients\' satisfaction with their care, the amount of time they spent visiting with their doctor, and information about time and their expenses. In the telemedicine group, we will teach how to measure blood pressure, fetal heart rate, and weight from home. The goals of this study are to: 1) assess the patient satisfaction, patient experiences and preferences, financial impact, clinical outcomes, and provider satisfaction of providing personalized prenatal care for low-risk pregnancies using telecommunication and remote patient care devices; and 2) measure the reliability of at-home, patient-recorded, computer-documented prenatal care measurements. The primary outcome is patient satisfaction with prenatal care after delivery.