Our Services

In providing care, we treat you like the special person you are. We help you enjoy good health every day and through every stage of life. Our professional staff offers expert guidance and care in all aspects of women’s health. In addition to obstetrical and gynecological care, we provide preventive care, such as women’s physical exams and age-appropriate screening.

Obstetrical Care

At Coastal Women’s Healthcare, we offer routine and high-risk obstetrical management, as well as preconception counseling and breastfeeding support.

We are pleased to offer our patients the opportunity to experience delivery of your baby at The Family Birth Center at Maine Medical Center in Portland. More than 2400 new Mainers come into the world at MMC each year with joy and celebration. Long known as the only high-risk pregnancy service in the state, The Family Birth Center places a renewed emphasis on normal deliveries. The staff at The Family Birth Center works to create an environment that acknowledges that each woman’s and family’s needs are different.

The OB staff at The Family Birth Center believes that hospitals should provide a private setting that encourages and supports parents’ involvement. The Family Birth Center features upgraded rooms, more private rooms, whirlpool tubs, softer colors and new wall and floor treatments. Procedural events, like having the pediatrician come to the baby and family rather than taking the baby to another area, help support a “family unit” theme.

The things you want: a family atmosphere, convenience, safety, privacy and quiet are the cornerstone to The Family Birth Center’s approach to your care.

Gynecological Care

We provide our patients with general gynecological care and surgery. Our care for women also includes:

• Contraceptive counseling and prescriptions
• Comprehensive infertility testing, diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment
• Adolescent healthcare
• Menopause choices
• Treatment of incontinence and vaginal relaxation

Diagnostic Testing

Bone Density Testing

If you’re a woman over 50, you may be one of nearly 30 million women (half of all women in the U.S.) who have thinning bones. Left untreated, a loss of bone density can lead to osteoporosis, a progressive disease in which bones become increasingly fragile, most commonly in the hip, spine or wrist. You many not know you have a problem until bones begin to break.



Fortunately, loss of bone density can be stopped or even reversed with proper treatment. The key to effective treatment is prompt diagnosis through a bone density test. At Coastal Women’s Healthcare, we offer state-of-the-art bone density testing right in our facility.

The test is quick and painless and there’s no need for you to disrobe. A skilled technician will perform the test using low-dose x-rays (much lower than in a dental x-ray). Your provider will recommend appropriate therapy if the test indicates a need.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a safe, non-invasive screening technique that uses sound waves. Our registered diagnostic medical sonographers specialize in gynecologic and obstetrical ultrasound and offer this testing right on-site.



A pelvic ultrasound is an excellent way for your doctor to check the size, shape and condition of your pelvic organs. Because ultrasound doesn’t use radiation, it is safe for pregnant women too. Fetal ultrasound is used to obtain information about the size and position of the fetus. Sometimes in the second or third trimester, it can also determine the baby’s sex.

Our sonographers are certified in nuchal lucency testing to determine the likelihood of a baby having Down’s Syndrome or Trisomy 18.

Mammography

Mammography is an x-ray test used to screen for breast cancer. It is effective in detecting small lumps long before they can be felt. This is important since breast cancer is most easily treated and cured when it is discovered at an early stage.



Our facility houses an accredited mammography unit staffed by our own technologists. Films are interpreted by Spectrum Medical Group radiologists, the same physicians who read mammograms at Maine Medical Center.

At Coastal Women’s Healthcare, we support these breast cancer screening guidelines:

• Breast self exam every month beginning at age 25
• Annual professional breast examinations beginning at age 25
• A mammogram every year or two from ages 40 to 50
• Yearly mammograms beginning at age 50.

Remember that, for the eight out of nine women who will not develop breast cancer, a mammogram report can be very reassuring.

Clinical Laboratory

Our state-licensed clinical laboratory offers a wide range of routine and specialized testing – both on-site and through reference labs. Our laboratory complies with the same quality control proficiency testing found in major hospitals.



Our lab tests include:
• Anemia testing
• Cholesterol screening
• Female hormone levels
• Fertility testing
• Diabetes testing
• Urinary tract infections
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Prenatal testing
• Pregnancy duration
• Pap testing
• Pre-op testing

Procedure Room

Instead of going to a hospital for certain minor procedures, you can come to us. We have a procedure room with many of the features you might find in a hospital, but in a more comfortable environment. We offer conscious sedation and local anesthetic as needed for biopsies, colposcopy (an evaluation after an abnormal Pap test) and other gynecological evaluations and treatments. You’ll have the warm, supportive help of our experienced nurses throughout your short stay.

Essure

Essure is a new method of permanent birth control that is an alternative to a hospital tubal ligation. This procedure is the first and only FDA approved female sterilization to have zero pregnancies in clinical trials. It is considered 99.8% effective. This procedure is permanent and is not reversible; therefore, you must be certain that you no longer want children in the future.

Why It Is Done
This procedure is done to prevent pregnancy. It is different from the traditional tubal ligation, as it does not require general anesthesia, incisions, or hormones. It can be performed in our office under local anesthesia. Most women return to their normal activities in less than 24 hours.

Procedure
The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes. Patients should plan on being in the office for approximately 1 1/2 hours. This allows patients to be prepared preoperatively, and recover 10 to 15 minutes after the surgery. It is important to use another form of birth control for three months after the procedure at which time you will return for a test (tubal dye study) to confirm your tubes are fully blocked.

Benefits include:

• Safe and 99.8% effective
• Requires no incisions
• Performed in our office with no anesthesia
• Does not involve the use of hormones
• Allows women to return to their usual activities in less than 24 hours
• Covered by most insurances

For more information, please visit essure.com

Endometrial Thermal Ablation

Thermachoice is a new, innovative procedure for women who are experiencing heavy periods and have completed childbearing. This procedure does not require the use of general anesthesia, incisions, or hormones. It is safe, effective, and offers an alternative to a hysterectomy.

Why It Is Done
Women who have heavy periods that are due to fibroids or a hormonal imbalance may be candidates for this procedure. Some women experience anemia from their heavy periods. Others may have a heavy flow that causes accidents, or it interferes with their normal activities. If an ultrasound and endometrial biopsy (a biopsy of the tissue inside the uterus) are normal and you have completed childbearing, this procedure may be an option for you.

Procedure
The entire procedure takes approximately 30 minutes and can be performed in our office. You can plan on being in the office for about 1 1/2 hours. This allows for you to be medicated prior to the procedure and to recover for 10 to 15 minutes postoperatively. You should plan on recovering at home the rest of the day. You will be given a pain prescription for 1-2 days of medication.

It may take up to three months to know your final outcome of this surgery.

Studies have shown:

• 93% of women are still satisfied five years after treatment
• 96% of women still have normal or no periods five years after treatment
• 75% of women had a reduction of pain and cramping, and nearly 2 out of 3 women experienced either mild or no PMS symptoms.

Benefits include:

• No incisions or the use of hormones
• Minimally invasive
• Performed in our office under local anesthesia
• Allows women to return to their normal activities in 1 to 2 days
• Covered by most insurances

For more information, please visit endheavyperiods.com.

Urinary Incontinence Testing

Urine leakage is a problem for millions of women and it can have a number of causes. Left untreated, it can have a significant impact on your quality of life. The good news is, help is available. At Coastal, we provide in-house urodynamic testing to help diagnose and treat involuntary urine loss. Our urogynecology specialists use state-of-the-art equipment to evaluate the transport, storage and evacuation of urine. Testing is not painful, and a nurse specialist will be there to assist you. The procedure takes about 20 minutes after which we’ll discuss the results and treatment options with you.

Urinary incontinence can take several forms, all of which can respond to treatment:

• Stress incontinence – caused by certain activities such as coughing, sneezing or laughing

• Urge incontinence – characterized as an urgent need to go the bathroom with the urge getting stronger as you get closer

• Mixed incontinence – having a combination of stress and urge symptoms

• Urine leakage can also be caused by a urinary tract infection, an “overactive bladder” may lead to frequent voiding, and interstitial cystitis can cause painful urination.