The Story of Blue Moon Perinatal
“I’ve been through long journeys and lots of struggles. I’ve got the resources, the knowledge, and the heart you need. I want you to feel empowered, seen and advocated for. Let’s do this together.”
- Dr. Tracy Shevell
I have been fortunate enough to spend the best years of my life deeply involved with women whose stories and families are forever woven into the tapestry of my own. My initial OBGYN residency was fascinating and grueling, but despite that, I knew I wasn’t done. I pursued 3 more years of fellowship training in Maternal Fetal Medicine (High Risk OBGYN) because I wanted to be the one to help my patients make the tough calls when things got really challenging. I knew that I could figure out a way to use my empathy, the right temperament and clinical skills to deliver difficult news in a way that made sense but also showed how much I cared. And then of course, I wanted to be there when a high-risk pregnancy culminated in the sheer joy of a sweet baby. Fellowship allowed me to care for some of the most complicated maternal medical crises and learn how to make sophisticated prenatal diagnoses with ultrasound, which fascinated me and captured my mind in every way. Plus, I got to deliver babies— and I never did lose that ability to cry at a beautiful birth.
Upon finishing training and moving to the burbs with a toddler in tow and one on the way, I quickly took on the role of being an attending in MFM and then became the Director of a Perinatal Ultrasound Unit at a major community and teaching hospital, where my husband and I had chosen to begin our careers. These were some of the most fulfilling times of my life—but medicine kept changing and changing. The time allowed for each patient got less and less. More was being asked of doctors as revenue-based salaries began to become more frequent. I felt patients leaving needing more, needing time, a friend, a referral to a counselor, or just me, their doctor. I wished every patient could have more. I made myself available outside of work and spent so many extra hours giving whatever extra I could. The system felt broken. And maternal mental health care needs and the potential adverse sequelae on pregnancies that would result from a lack of expertise in this area became unacceptable to me.
When Covid struck, I was diagnosed with a complex autoimmune condition, stepped back for the first time in my life and really searched my soul. While I recovered, I realized that almost every day I was still caring for women just sitting on my couch. An infertility patient who was still struggling after the loss of a 4-month pregnancy. A patient who had successfully fought breast cancer in pregnancy struggling with future choices. A patient terrified, on bed rest, new to her OB practice and her home. Sisters, cousins, friends of friends—I realized that not only was I still “working”, but that these women felt that I had helped them just as much as if we were in an office—maybe more. We talked about what each one had for family support, what fears were reasonable, what might be the outcome of a new diagnosis and how it would be handled, who they needed to see or what they needed to stay strong….And we did it without the pressures associated with a waiting room full of people, all of whom needed just as much time and caring, looking around furtively wondering “why me?”, wondering how they would ever be OK.
So, the idea of Blue Moon was born. A new way. I would help take the situation and explain in real language what was going on—what to ask the doctor at the next visit, what I’ve seen in these situations, how to approach a non-supportive partner or how to get more help at home. There would be no more Google needed—I would be there. I made these plans for women as a doctor, a friend, and a mother. And I also knew that the OBGYNs who were overbooked and overworked would benefit too—questions would be direct, answers relevant, and their patients would have extra support. My goal: to help them help you. And it is my hope that this model—of bridging, of being a medical liaison may one day extend beyond this field. But for right now I want to be there for all the women—all of you. All the mothers, or want-to-be mothers, or I-can’t-do-this-and-why-am-I-a-mother mothers. All of you. I want to change how we care for women at such crucial times in life. And I want to create a new way of supporting our next generation’s healers.
I’ve been through long journeys and lots of struggles. I’ve got the resources, the knowledge, and the heart you need. I want you to feel empowered, seen and advocated for. Let’s do this together.
