As COVID-19 continues to be a concern in the United States, we want to remind our patients what we are doing to make sure you have a safe experience in our office. We have received very positive feedback from our patients who have been to our office recently and we continue to make changes regularly.
Here is a little about what we are doing:
- Contact-less paperwork – Patients will receive paperwork via text message 3 days prior to their appointments. Completing the forms online prevents exchange of papers at check-in. You can even take a photo of your insurance card and securely send it to us as well as pay your co-pay.
- Masks will be worn by all Bedford Commons team members and patients. Although the mask mandate has been lifted in NH, Bedford Commons will continue to require masks for all patients and team members in the building. Masks are NOT optional – they are required.
- Screening – All patients (and accompanying visitors) presenting to our office for a visit will answer a series of questions before entering our building to assess COVID-19 risk. Our Bedford Commons team members are also screened daily.
- COVID-19 vaccinations – We have required all of our team members to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Although we are unable to offer COVID-19 vaccines in our office, we encourage all of our patients to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Wait in your car – In our Bedford location only, our patients can check-in and wait in their cars instead of in our waiting room. If it’s easier for you to check in at our front desk, come on in through Door 2 when you arrive. For our Windham and Derry locations, patients will be brought right back into an exam room.
- Telehealth visits – If you feel uncomfortable coming into our office for a visit, we are happy to virtually see you with a telehealth visit.
Our goal as a practice is to continue to provide you with exceptional care while keeping you safe. We are all in this together.
For our OB patients and families:
Bedford Commons OB-GYN has adopted an alternative schedule for obstetric visits in our office based off guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to limit your exposure risk to COVID-19. Instead of seeing our obstetric patients every four weeks through the end of the second trimester, most visits were scheduled 6-8 weeks apart. Starting in the third trimester, we were seeing our patients every 2-4 weeks depending on risk factors.
As we have watched the COVID-19 pandemic unfold, it is clear that we will be coexisting with COVID-19 for the months ahead. Several of our patients have asked if we will be continuing the alternative schedule for obstetric care or if we will resume the “normal” frequency of visits. For at least the next few months, we plan on continuing to see our OB patients at a more spaced out interval. Here’s what a typical visit schedule might look like:
- 8 weeks visit
- 11-12.5 weeks ultrasound* and visit (*if you’ve already had an ultrasound in your pregnancy, an ultrasound will not be planned with this visit)
- 16 week visit
- 20 week anatomy ultrasound and visit
- 24 week visit
- 28 week visit and glucose testing
- 32 week visit
- 36 week visit and group B strep (GBS) testing
- 37 week visit
- 38 week visit
- 39 week visit
- 40 week visit (your due date!)
At Bedford Commons OB-GYN, we believe that every woman is an individual. It’s important to us that you feel comfortable and confident in the care you are receiving. Although we feel that it is safe to continue more spaced out OB visits, we know that some of our patients would feel more reassured seeing us a little more often. If you would like to see us more frequently, just let us know at your visit. Additionally, some of our patients have risk factors or concerns that may necessitate additional visits. We will let you know if we need to see you more often.
As of January 3, 2022, one adult visitor may accompany you to your ultrasounds; visitors will not be permitted at office visits. We know what an important journey pregnancy is for an expecting family but for the safety of all of our patients, we can only permit one visitor at ultrasound visits only. We hope to again return to having visitors for routine visits but need to see a reduction in COVID-19 positive cases in NH.
Some of our patients have also been asking about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy. We strongly encourage all of our patients to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, especially those who are pregnant. Pregnancy significantly increases the risks associated with COVID-19 illness and vaccination is the best way to protect you and your baby. Click here for more information.