If your pregnancy is affected by fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), your schedule can fill up quickly with various medical appointments. Keeping the condition well managed usually means staying in close contact with a specialized team.
Telehealth—care delivered by phone or video, along with remote monitoring devices—can make that contact easier to maintain.
Sign up here to get the latest news, perspectives, and information about FNAITFetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia A rare condition in which a mother’s immune system attacks fetal platelets, leading to dangerously low platelet levels before and/or after birth. sent directly to your inbox. Registration is free and only takes a minute.
Reaching the right specialists
FNAIT is a rare disorder, affecting about one in 1,000 newborns, so specialist expertise is often concentrated in a handful of referral centers, which may be far from home. Video visits let you consult maternal-fetal medicine and hematology specialists without long trips. Removing the travel widens access to this care, which is especially valuable in high-risk pregnancies, where such specialists are in short supply.
Read more about the FNAIT care team
Fewer trips for routine monitoring
First-line treatment for an affected pregnancy is usually weekly intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusions, alongside regular ultrasound scans to watch for signs of bleeding. That adds up to many appointments, and remote monitoring can move some of that care closer to home:
- Home fetal heart-rate (CTG) and even home ultrasound monitoring have shown promise in high-risk pregnancies.
- Blood pressure and fetal heart rate can often be tracked with remote devices between visits.
Planning ahead as a team
FNAIT care usually involves several specialists in maternal-fetal medicine, hematology and neonatology. Video appointments make it easier for them to plan together and to bring a distant FNAIT expert into the discussion, so more of your care can stay closer to home.
This teamwork matters most as delivery approaches, when the plan covers timing, mode of birth and any treatment your newborn may need, depending on their platelet countPlatelet count A measure of how many platelets are in the blood. FNAIT is characterized by severely reduced counts in a fetus or newborn.. Talking these steps through by video ahead of time can mean fewer surprises on the day.
Support for your questions and worries
A high-risk diagnosis brings a lot of questions and, often, anxiety. Telehealth gives you more ways to reach out, whether it’s a quick video call to go over a scan result, a message asking whether a symptom needs attention or a virtual counseling session.
Anxiety and mental health challenges are common in pregnancy, especially when coping with a high-risk pregnancy, and studies suggest mental health care delivered by video can be comparable to in-person care for many people, while being easier to fit in a busy schedule.
Making the most of your care
If you’re interested in switching some of your care to telehealth, you can:
- Ask which appointments can be virtual and which must be in person.
- Find out whether home monitoring devices are offered and covered.
- Keep a running list of questions for each call.
- Confirm how to reach your team urgently if something changes between visits.
Telehealth won’t replace the hands-on parts of FNAIT care, but it is a supplement to in-person care, best used with quality and safety in mind. Approached that way, it can make a demanding schedule easier to carry.
