healthymamadoc

Dr. Sarah Pachtman. Double board certified maternal fetal medicine physician. No medical advice. Views are my own 🧠

11/04/2026

The bar should not be this low, but here we are. 😌

You know the feeling. You finally get the appointment, you pull out your list, and you can feel the visit wrapping up before you’ve hit question two. So you skip the “small” ones. Then you spend the drive home wondering about them anyway.

Here’s what I want you to know: your questions are not an interruption to your care. They ARE your care. Especially after IVF, especially at 35+, especially when you’ve already waited a long time to be here. You deserve to leave an appointment understanding your plan, not just nodding along to it.

Tag the friend who needs a pregnancy care team like this. 💕

11/04/2026

Let’s talk about the longest four minutes of your life: the sonographer says “I’ll be right back” and leaves you alone with gel on your belly, staring at the ceiling tiles and writing a worst case screenplay in your head.

If you’ve been through IVF or a loss, that empty room hits differently. Your brain has earned its caution. So here’s the part nobody explains while you’re lying there.

In many practices, the sonographer isn’t the person who shares results. That’s the doctor’s job. So when your tech goes quiet or keeps a poker face, it’s usually policy, not a hint. A lot of them can’t tell you the good news either. (Brutal for people who got into this job because they love babies.)

What you can always ask: “When will the doctor review these, and how will I hear?” That’s an answer they can give you before you leave the room.

Save this for scan day. And if you want more of this, everything I teach, start to finish, is coming. Comment WAITLIST to hear first.

10/30/2026

If there’s a costume party on your calendar this weekend, the food table is where I’d slow down.

Perishable food that has been out for more than two hours, or more than one hour somewhere warmer than 90°F, is the part to skip. Pregnant people are about ten times more likely to get infections like listeriosis. Listeriosis is rare, but it can affect the placenta or raise the risk of preterm labor.

Before you fill a plate, check three things.
How long the food has been out. Two hours is the line.
The deli meat. Cold cuts are safe when they’re reheated until steaming, so the slices on a cold board are a pass.
The cheese. Pasteurized soft cheese is completely fine, and most cheese sold in the US is pasteurized. At a party you usually can’t check the label, so if you’re not sure, skip that cheese.

Pregnancy is not the time for a sniff test. Listeria doesn’t change how food smells or tastes. When in doubt, throw it out.

Food safety is part of what I walk you through start to finish, right down to your fridge temperature. Comment WAITLIST and you’ll hear first when I open up everything I teach.

10/29/2026

I had my son at 39, after four years of IVF. I’m also the MFM on the other side of the room for a lot of IVF pregnancies, so I’ve sat in both chairs for these conversations.

The one I’d act on this week is slide 4. If you’re pregnant after IVF, bring up low-dose aspirin at your next appointment and ask whether it’s right for you. It isn’t something to start on your own off an Instagram post, and it’s exactly the kind of question that too often doesn’t come up.

Comment WAITLIST and you’ll be the first to hear when I open up everything I teach, from the positive test to delivery day.

10/28/2026

Before 37 weeks, regular contractions every 10 minutes or less mean you call your pregnancy care team right away.

You will see the 5-1-1 rule everywhere: contractions every 5 minutes, lasting 1 minute, for at least an hour. That rule is for labor at term. Under 37 weeks, everything deserves more attention, and you call sooner rather than later.

The other early signs of preterm labor are worth knowing too: rhythmic back pain, pelvic pressure that doesn’t go away, fluid leaking, vaginal bleeding, or any dramatic change in discharge.

Preterm labor signs matter for IVF pregnancies in particular. Most IVF pregnancies go smoothly, and the higher risks that do come with IVF are mostly about timing, with preterm birth at the top of the list. Carrying twins raises the chance of preterm birth further.

At your next prenatal visit, ask what your practice wants you to do if contractions start early, including the number to call on nights and weekends.

Your care team wants to hear from you. If something feels off, call.

Which rule belongs to which week is the kind of thing I walk you through start to finish. Comment WAITLIST and you’ll be among the first to hear when I open up everything I teach.

10/27/2026

Morning sickness once made me leave brunch at Sarah Beth’s, my favorite spot in Manhattan, because they only had outdoor seating and the sidewalk smelled like dog p*e.

Pregnancy turns your sense of smell into a superpower you absolutely did not ask for. For most women it starts around week 5 or 6, peaks around weeks 8 to 10, and eases somewhere between weeks 16 and 20. If you’re in the thick of it right now, these five are where I’d start.

My free Pregnancy Starter Guide has the whole nausea ladder on one page, from the first things to try to the medication steps. Comment RELIEF and I’ll send it your way.

10/26/2026

If your phone’s most-used apps right now are your clinic portal, your injection tracker, and the calendar where you’ve mapped out every transfer date, hi. I see you. 👋

IVF is a part-time job you didn’t apply for, stacked on top of the full-time job you still have to show up to. Trigger shots in the work bathroom. Bloodwork before your 8am meeting. Smiling through a baby shower invite while your portal still says “results pending.”

And then if it works? You get to be the person who’s grateful and terrified at the same time. Both can be true.

This is the corner of the internet for you, from IVF through pregnancy. Drop a 💉 in the comments so the other women in this season can find you. You’re not the only one refreshing.

10/23/2026

Just another week of 15 years of training vs. “my cousin’s friend tried...”

Anyway, see you at your next scan. I’ll bring the ultrasound. You bring the questions.

10/22/2026

Long before Instagram, I was already the friend who answered panicked positive test texts at 11pm.

The replies don’t change much from friend to friend, so here are the seven I’d send you. Screenshot them now, so they’re sitting in your camera roll on the day you need them, or on the day a friend texts you.

The first prenatal visit can feel very far away when you’re holding a test in the bathroom. Most of those early weeks are waiting, and waiting goes better with a short list.

Everything else I’d want you to have on day one is in my free Pregnancy Starter Guide: the safe meds chart, what to eat, your due date math and the screening timeline. Comment PREPARED and I’ll send it your way.

10/21/2026

Look, I get it. It’s 11pm, you just felt a weird twinge, and the search bar is right there. I’m not here to shame the scroll. But Google doesn’t know your history, your IVF journey, your labs, or that you’re 35+ and already a little tired of hearing the word “risk.”

Your pregnancy care team does. That’s literally the job.

So here’s my ask: the next time you catch yourself on page four of a forum thread from 2014, write the question down instead. Bring the list. Ask all of it. No question is too small, too weird, or too “I probably should know this already.”

Send this to the friend who has Dr. Google on sp*ed dial. 📲

Address

Scottsdale
Scottsdale, AZ
85253

Website

https://www.healthymamadoc.com/, https://linktr.ee/healthymamadoc783

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when healthymamadoc posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.