What Is Virtual Prenatal Care?
Virtual prenatal care is a convenient way to get pregnancy care from the comfort of your home or work. Using your smartphone, computer, or tablet’s camera and microphone, you can sign into a private videoconference with your doctor to have your prenatal checkup appointments.
Even though many of your appointments will be virtual and will take place on your smartphone or computer, you will also have in-person appointments with your doctor when you need them.
You can schedule virtual prenatal visits can for both low- and high-risk pregnancies. If you're interested in virtual visits, please talk with your provider to see if virtual prenatal care is right for you. Together, you can decide how and when to incorporate virtual visits into your prenatal care.
Benefits of Virtual Prenatal Care
During pregnancy, women need to have regular checkups with their doctor to make sure both they and their baby stay healthy. This type of care is called prenatal care. Most women have between eight and 15 in-person prenatal visits with their doctor before they go into labor.
Prenatal care is usually a one size fits all approach. This means that every woman receives the same type of prenatal care—regardless of whether their pregnancy is high-risk or low-risk.
Virtual prenatal care gives you more flexibility and control over when and where you have your prenatal appointments.
By having your appointments from the comfort of your home over your smartphone, computer, or tablet, you can have more control over when and where you schedule your visits. This can save you and your family time and money.
Some women have to travel far away from home to get medical care during their pregnancy. Virtual prenatal visits let you spend more time with the people you love because you’re not traveling to as many doctor’s appointments.
How it Works
Before all of your prenatal virtual visits, you will take recordings of your:
- weight,
- blood pressure,
- and your baby’s heart beat.
Then, 48 hours before your appointment, you’ll upload these measurements into MyChart. Your doctor will then review these measurements before your virtual appointment.
These measurements will let your doctor see if your pregnancy is healthy, just like an in-person prenatal appointment. During your virtual appointment, your doctor will also answer any questions you have and guide you through your pregnancy care.
If your doctor has any concerns, they can recommend that you come in for an in-person appointment.
Equipment
For all your virtual prenatal appointments, you will need the following equipment:
- a bathroom scale
- a blood pressure cuff
- a fetal doppler monitor (to hear your baby’s heart rate)
- a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a video camera and microphone
- an internet connection and browser (Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, or Google Chrome). Apple Safari and Mozilla FireFox ARE NOT compatible.
- a MyChart account
This equipment will let you take measurements and upload this information into MyChart before your virtual appointment.
To purchase this equipment directly from University of Utah Health and have shipped to your home, please contact the Midvalley Pharmacy (toll free) at 844-635-5641.
If you are a U of U Health Plans Healthy U member, the equipment is included with your plan. Please call 801-587-6480, option 2 to arrange pick-up or delivery of your equipment. Learn more about Healthy U and U of U Health Plans.
To purchase equipment in-person, visit one of the following University of Utah pharmacy locations. You may also purchase equipment at other stores.
YoMingo®: Prenatal Education On the Go
YoMingo®: Prenatal Education On the Go
University of Utah Health offers anytime, anywhere education for expectant mothers through YoMingo®, with all the tools and support you need at every stage of your pregnancy, including:
- Evidence-based information on prenatal care, labor & birth, postpartum, breastfeeding, and newborn care including lots of videos,
- List of available classes, and
- Kick counter, contraction timer, personal journal, feeding log, immunization log, and other tools.
