Kentucky Health News The Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute, a part of Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s, has announced the creation of the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute Perinatal Program. The program is the first of its kind in Louisville and Southern Indiana, and will expand services available to women with diabetes who wish to have children — something that requires specialized care, according to the news release. “In Kentucky, nearly 10% of pregnancies are complicated by diabetes,” says the release. The release explains that the program “will build on services already offered to patients with diabetes, adding a focus on healthy living, including pre-pregnancy counseling, pregnancy monitoring and education, care planning, and coordination of care with maternal-fetal medicine specialists, primary care providers, endocrinologists and Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute educators. It also will prioritize health equity, health care provider education and research related to the care of patients with diabetes who are pregnant.” “Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute is quickly working to become the premier national location for the treatment, education and research of diabetes,” Lynnie Meyer, senior vice president and chief development officer at Norton Healthcare, said in the release. “This new program will bring yet another level of care that patients need.” The Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute Perinatal Program will be integrated within the Norton Children’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Perinatal Center. “Diabetes poses many risks to both the expectant mother as well as the baby,” Dr. Kristine Y. Lain, maternal-fetal medicine specialist and medical director of Norton Children’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine, said in the release. “Our program will provide services for family planning, pregnancy care and postpartum care to give families the resources they need for the healthiest pregnancies and beyond.” Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute services are offered in both adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings. Patients needing care by specialists who are part of the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute Perinatal Program should speak with their obstetrician/gynecologist provider for a referral. The program is made possible thanks to $623,000 in funding through the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation. The post Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute creates program for women with diabetes who want to have children appeared first on The Lexington Times.