Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care, Suite 4F
55 Fruit Street
Boston,
MA
02114
Phone: 617-724-2229
Fax: 617-724-3498
The Obstetrics Program at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to providing women and babies expert, personalized prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. We believe every childbearing experience is unique, so we work in partnership with each woman and her family to design a care plan tailored to her particular needs and preferences. In addition, we view education as a cornerstone of our care and promote family involvement throughout the process.
Unlike many other hospitals, our program does not include private-practice physicians. This benefits our patients because:
Each year, our Obstetrics Program delivers more than 3,500 babies. And as part of Mass General, our patients have access to the highest level of care in virtually every medical subspecialty as well as psychology, genetic counseling, pediatrics and other areas, all in one convenient location.
Our team of providers includes general obstetrician-gynecologists, specialists in high-risk pregnancy and midwives. Our physicians are active faculty members at Harvard Medical School. Many hold national leadership positions in organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
Melissa Nelson, MSN, CNM, WHNP-BC
View additional photos from our Labor & Delivery Unit.
View additional photos from our Postpartum Unit.
Education resources, including pregnancy-related information, childbirth and parenting resources and access to women's health information.
We offer classes to help new and expectant parents prepare for childbirth and parenthood.
Browse videos from our obstetricians and midwives.
What to expect after childbirth, including breastfeeding, pain management and healing.
Our program offers state-of-the-art testing to assess your baby’s health before birth.
Integrated obstetric and endocrine care for expectant mothers with all types of diabetes.
Expert care for pregnant women with placenta accreta and related placental complications.
Our goal is to allow each mother to have a birth that best meets her individual needs‚ whether that involves a natural childbirth, a medicated childbirth or an epidural. Your doctor, midwife or nurse can help you decide what options are best for your birth. For patients interested in natural childbirth, Mass General now offers nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) as a tool to cope with anxiety and pain during labor. Nitrous oxide is administered through a breathing mask that you control, so you get just the right amount of gas. This option is safe for both moms and babies.
Should complications arise during childbirth, Mass General surgeons and obstetrical anesthesiologists are immediately available to assist. Our facilities include four nurseries that offer all levels of care depending on the needs of the baby. Additionally, our obstetricians collaborate with the neonatologists, pediatric surgeons and subspecialists at Mass General for Children if necessary to care for sick newborns.
Through our Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division, we are well-equipped to handle high-risk pregnancies and childbirths. Our subspecialist maternal-fetal physicians have in-depth expertise in all areas of high-risk obstetrics, including complications like diabetes, placenta accreta and vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), as well as the skills and experience to treat critically ill women and perform the most complex childbirth-related procedures.
Learn more about Maternal-Fetal Medicine
In addition to our physicians, nurses and other staff members, another vital component of our team is the Midwifery Service. Our midwives provide expert care during both labor and your postpartum time. More than one-third of the babies born each year at Mass General are delivered by nurse-midwives.
Early in pregnancy, women who are not considered to have a "high-risk" pregnancy may choose to have a nurse-midwife manage their prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. If a problem arises, your nurse-midwife can consult and collaborate with our obstetricians in caring for the mother and baby.
All of our nurse-midwives are members of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and are educated in the disciplines of nursing and midwifery on a master's level. They see patients on our main campus and at our health centers
We encourage patients of the Midwifery Service who have an uncomplicated pregnancy at term to labor at home until contractions are strong and steady. A certified nurse-midwife will then attend you as you give birth at the hospital. If needed, an attending obstetrician can help with an assisted vaginal birth or an emergency Cesarean section.
Appointments are available at the Mass General main campus in Boston, Mass General Waltham, and at our healthcare centers in Chelsea, Revere and Charlestown.
