Pregnancy Transcript
Pregnancy – Marie Beall, MD Video
Announcer: Now, here’s our reporter, Lora Windsor, with more on healthy babies.
Visuals: Announcer is a male in a suit. He is in front of a news studio background with glass and wood panels and a large monitor with the title “American Health Journal.”
Reporter Lora Windsor: Among the factors considered as a high-risk pregnancy are pre-existing maternal disorders: age, problems in previous pregnancies and complications that develop during the pregnancy or during labor and delivery.
Visuals: The announcer is a female in a suit, introduced with the title “Lora Windsor – American Health Journal” in lower-third. In the background are rows of TV monitors playing various medical videos. The largest monitor has the title “Prenatal care” and includes clips of a female technician performing an ultrasound on a pregnant patient; close-up of technician pointing to the ultrasound monitor displaying the results.
Announcer (V.O.): We spoke with Dr. Marie Beall of Valley Presbyterian Hospital to learn more about these risk factors.
V.O. visuals: Dr. Beall in a white shirt and white coat being interviewed in a studio; exterior of the hospital; close- up of Little Treasures Maternity Services sign on the wall in the maternity unit.
Marie Beall, M.D.: In my specialty, we’re trained to supervise high-risk pregnancies. And there are kind of three categories. There are pregnancies that are high risk because the mother has some medical condition. A very common one is diabetes but can be high blood pressure, can be seizure disorders, can be asthma. So those are the things we see very commonly.
Visuals: Close-up of Beall in the studio against an abstract background. She is introduced with the title “Marie Beall, MD – Valley Presbyterian Hospital” in the lower-third. : Text on background includes title “Pregnancy Risks,” with “Diabetes,” “High blood pressure,” “Seizure disorders,” and “Asthma” listed under it.
Beall (V.O.): It can be a pregnancy that’s at risk for a poor outcome because of some obstetrical factors. For instance a mother who goes into premature labor.
VO. visuals: Two angles of Beall sitting in a patient examination room, talking with a young woman.
Beall: Or somebody whose cervix dilates before it’s time for the baby to be born. And, then there are pregnancies that are high risk because there’s a problem with the baby and that can be a genetic disease. It can be an incompatibility between mom and baby so that the baby…
Visual: The title “Dr. Beall discusses High risk pregnancy” appears in lower-third.
Beall (V.O.): …becomes anemic. It can be a reaction of the baby to some viral illness that the mother has. Anybody who is thinking about pregnancy should be supplementing their diet with folic acid.
V.O visuals: Close-up of a mother holding her healthy new baby in her hospital bed with her husband and a female nurse next to her; wider angle of mother holding baby, while father, nurse and a doctor smile at the baby; extreme close up of baby’s hand holding the mother’s finger; close-up on the faces of the mother and baby; nurse and mother laughing.
Beall: And the reason for that is that the use of folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk that the baby is going to have a spina bifida and some people also think it reduces the risk for…
Beall (V.O.): …other congenital defects such as cleft lip.
V.O. visual: Congenital defects test results displayed on a computer screen.
Beall: The government recommendation for folic acid is that every woman of child bearing age should be getting four hundred micrograms of folic acid a day.
Visual: The title “Every woman of childbearing age should have 400mcg of folic acid a day” appears in lower- third.
Beall (V.O.): The vast majority of the patients that we see with diabetes have what’s called gestational diabetes meaning that they’re only diabetic when they’re pregnant. And, people with true…
V.O. visuals: Beall talking with female patient as they walk through the maternity unit towards and past the camera; the Little Treasures Maternity Services sign on the corridor wall after they pass by.
Beall: … gestational diabetes are not really at higher risk for congenital defects in the baby because they weren’t diabetic when the baby’s body was being formed. But they are at risk for the complications of diabetes that happen later in pregnancy.
Beall (V.O.): We know that obesity increases the risk for all kinds of complications in pregnancy immediately such as caesarian section, such as an overly large baby, such as diabetes. But it also makes it much more difficult to see the baby with the ultrasound. If you’re considering a pregnancy, I would supplement with folic acid. I would…
V.O. visuals: A very obese woman carries baby as she and other family members walk through a parking lot; an overweight woman pushes a stroller down a sidewalk; a nurse takes notes at the unit’s front desk as she talks with Beall; close-up of a technician administering an ultrasound to a patient with the monitor in the background; close-up of ultrasound scan on the monitor; a happy couple smile at their new baby as she holds it; another happy couple push their newborn up the hospital corridor toward the camera.
Beall: …consider what medications I was taking because some necessary and important medications may also be dangerous to a developing fetus. I would regulate habits like smoking and drinking. And I’d try to get my body…
Beall (V.O.): …into shape with reasonable physical activity.
V.O. visual: Beall and young female patient talking in patient exam room.
Patient: When I gave birth, they put my son right over me on my chest and what happened is he put his arms over me. He pulled up his head, he looked into my eyes, straight into my eyes and that was it. That moment was worth everything I’ve been through, every difficult thing that was in the way. And what was also keeping me happy were the ultrasounds. When you hear his heartbeat, it’s an amazing thing. When you know that there’s a life inside of you that’s growing and…
Visual: Close-up of patient in studio being interviewed against an abstract background. She is introduced with the title “Liana Gevorgyan – Patient” in the lower-third.
Patient (V.O.): …it’s literally affected by what you do. It’s your responsibility.
V.O. visuals: Close-up of a mother in a hospital bed holding and smiling at her new baby; extreme close-up of the mother kissing the top of her baby’s head.
Patient: It’s your pride. It’s everything that you have in this life.
End screen is black.
