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About Me

Local media outlets recently interviewed Sean Daneshmand, MD, about the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program at Scripps Clinic, which continues to expand its services for high-risk pregnancy patients. The program has created an extensive regional network of specialists and subspecialists, extended its services to new clinic locations and established its Diabetes in Pregnancy Program, with more improvements in the works. The program is open to all high-risk patients planning to deliver at a Scripps hospital.

I have been in practice as a maternal-fetal medicine specialist since 2002 in San Diego, CA. I am currently serving as the medical director for the division of perinatology at Scripps Clinic/Health. I am also the founder of a non-profit, Miracle Babies, established in 2010 where we serve patients with transportation to families with babies with congenital abnormalities to their appointments or to the Neonatal intensive care unit. Miracle Babies also provides maternal mental health therapy for women with complicated pregnancies through a program called, My Brain and My Baby.

Charity work

My earlier publications addressed hypothesis-driven research

such as in assessing a vascular endothelial growth factor which is a known angiogenic and permeability factor locally expressed in fetal membranes and decidua. Understanding its role as a potential primary regulator in the pathway that eventually leads to preterm premature rupture of membranes was a significant first step. Publications then followed in early phase animal experiments designed to better understand the basic mechanisms occurring during up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth gene expression and fetal urinary flow rate. Basic research publications paved the way for clinically relevant publications by providing the evidence and simple clinical approaches needed as an early stage researcher. I served as the lead author and key contributor in these investigations.

Daneshmand SS,ChmaitRH, Moore TR, Bogic L. Preterm premature rupture of membranes: vascularendothelial growth factor and its association with histologic chorioamnionitis.Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;187(5):1131‐1136. doi:10.1067/mob. PMID: 12439490.

Daneshmand SS, Cheung CY, Brace RA.Regulation of amniotic fluid volume by intramembranous absorption in sheep:role of passive permeability and vascular endothelial growth factor. Am JObstet Gynecol. 2003;188(3):786‐793. doi:10.1067/mob.2003. PMID:12634658

(MFM) Specialist

As a Clinician and Maternal and Fetal specialist. I have continued interest in clinical research and have published papers focused on unique cases and reviews of clinical challenges for diagnosis and treatments. Examples include genetic predispositions, retrospective analyses of clinical management strategies, and an uncommon event of intrapartum rupture of the unscarred uterus. Publications also included myelomeningoceles which are routinely diagnosed prenatally using ultrasound where the level of the neural defect was shown to correlate with functional and cognitive outcomes in infants with myelomeningocele supporting prognostic importance to identify prenatally. These studies help to fill crucial gaps in our understanding of perinatal medicine to ultimately improve maternal and neonatal outcomes while emphasizing the importance of careful patient monitoring.

GRACE W. PERKINS K-8 SCHOOL

Our Foundation, with your support, has adopted Perkins K-8 school located in the Barrio Logan district. The needs are great, as this school has a homeless population of 37%. The poverty level has increased greatly during the pandemic.
Personal Statement

Asa Perinatologist and Medical Director of the Scripps Clinic Division of Maternal and Fetal Medicine

 I have focused my career on developing programs to improve resources for woman and children to ultimately improve clinical, quality of life, and health outcomes during pregnancy. At Scripps Clinic I have offices at multiple locations in the San Diego region including La Jolla, San Diego, Encinitas and Chula Vista. As a Clinical Professor in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, I am involved in the teaching and mentorship of medical students and fellows while also participating in clinical conferences and educational activities for our referring providers. For 20+ years, my passion has been on the delivery of care in high-risk pregnancies where I care for a wide range of conditions and complications that can occur during pregnancy, including preterm labor, hypertension, preeclampsia, diabetes, abnormally invasive placentation and clotting disorders. Within my capacity at Scripps, I have been fortunate to deliver thousands of babies while offering my dedication and continued commitment to reducing premature birth and preeclampsia with a goal to improve the health of mothers, neonates and infants.
In addition to my clinical experiences, I am founder of a nonprofit organization, Miracle Babies, where our mission is to provide financial assistance and support to families with newborns in the NICU and to enhance the wellbeing of women, children and families through education, prevention and medical care. Healthy Women, Healthy Children(HWHC)is a preventive arm of Miracle Babies, which I established to enhance the wellbeing of women and children in partnership with federally funded community clinics to provide comprehensive health and nutrition programs for low-income women who are likely to have at-risk pregnancies.
The HWHC, along with other investigators study fetus’ development to assess if environmental impacts (such as nutrients, stressors, or toxins) can affect or even reset organ, tissue, and cell function by changing the child’s genetic makeup via epigenetics.  Based on my background and experiences, I have the leadership, training and motivation necessary to successfully carry out the proposed research project. My research and business activities have laid the groundwork for the proposed AMAG research by developing effective measures relevant to reducing premature birth and preeclampsia with the goal to improve the health of mothers, neonates and infants.
In addition, I have successfully administered projects, collaborated with other researchers, and have produced meaningful peer-reviewed publications.  As a result of my previous experiences, I am aware of the importance of frequent communication among project members and of constructing a realistic research plan, timeline, and budget. 

a.       McEwing RL, Pretorius DH, James HE, Daneshmand S, McEwing RL, et al.Prenatal assignation of lesion levels in neural tube defects by using ultrasonography. Case report and review of the literature. J Neurosurg. 2005 Mar;102(2Suppl):248-51. doi: 10.3171/jns.2005.102.2.0248.PMID: 16156240.

b.       Catanzarite V, Cousins L, Dowling D, Daneshmand S,Catanzarite V, et al.Oxytocin-associated rupture of anunscarred uterus in a primigravida. Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Sep;108(3 Pt 2):723-5. doi: 10.1097/01.PMID: 17018478

Maternal Mental Health Is Crucial For The Development Of Children

Studies show that mothers experiencing depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders may have difficulty providing the nurturing care and stimulation that young children need to thrive.

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