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Rocky Mountain Perinatal Associates is primarily a consultative practice, meaning that we work with your obstetrical caregiver to develop a pregnancy management plan for your high risk pregnancy. This enables you to remain, in most cases, under the care of your primary caregiver. Sometimes, if your obstetrical caregiver feels that your pregnancy is at enough risk, he/she may transfer you to Rocky Mountain Perinatal Associates for your entire OB care, including delivery. Generally, your obstetrical caregiver will determine, in discussions with you during your prenatal care, whether you should be referred to Rocky Mountain Perinatal Associates for a consultation.
What is a Perinatologist (Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist)?: A perinatologist is a physician who has completed two to three years of special training in treating complicated or high risk pregnancies. During this specialized training, there is intensive education and practical experience in treating pregnancy complications; performing procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villous sampling; and doing research in the field of high risk pregnancies.
Following the speciality training (the “fellowship”), and after practicing in the specialty for a year, the perinatologist is given an exam by a panel of experts from the field and, upon passing the exam, is “Board Certified in Perinatology.”
Our Staff:
Dr. Gregory Utter, M.D.
Board Certified in Perinatology
Director, Rocky Mountain Perinatal Associates
Medical Director of Obstetrics, Community Medical Center
Dr. Utter graduated from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and then did his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit. His fellowship in Maternal/Fetal Medicine was at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. He practiced high-risk obstetrics in Detroit, at St. John Hospital and Medical Center from 1990 until 1996. During that time, he developed the Prenatal Diagnostic Unit at St. John Hospital and Medical Center, which, upon his departure, was performing about 12,000 ultrasound exams per year and about 300 genetic procedures per year. In 1996, he moved to Missoula and established Rocky Mountain Perinatal Associates at Community Medical Center, in order to serve the high risk obstetrical population in Western Montana.
Sarah Stephens, R.D.M.S.
Sarah is the ultrasound technologist at Rocky Mountain Perinatal Associates. She has been working in the field of high risk obstetrical ultrasonography for seven years, and has performed literally thousands of sonograms in complicated pregnancies. She is certified in the first trimester screening process for chromosomal abnormalities, and has also assisted in the performance of thousands of genetic procedures.
