“There is no better feeling however, than sharing the joy of a family as they bring a new life into this world. It never gets old.”
Lisa E. Polko, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. – Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Polko completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. She received her medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology.
Dr. Polko began Southern Maryland Women’s Healthcare, P.A. in 2002 and has grown her practice to include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives. Together they look forward to not only meeting, but exceeding your obstetric and gynecologic needs. Dr. Polko’s practice works with several sub-specialists in the DC metro area to provide optimum care. The practitioners have special interests in pediatric, adolescent and geriatric gynecology, postmenopausal care, urogynecology, infertility, and minimally invasive surgery.
Q: WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION
What I love most is getting to know my patients and helping them stay healthy. I enjoy meeting sisters, mothers, daughters…the entire family. It’s important to me to be a part of our community as a whole and help them be well.
Q: WHAT SETS YOUR PRACTICE APART
Our practice is special in that we have so many wonderful people here who truly care about our patients and each other. We have diversity in our types of providers too that can meet the different needs of our community.
Q: HOW DO YOU EASE PATIENTS’ FEARS
I like to think that I help ease my patients’ fears by listening to them, validating their concerns and educating them which helps to reassure them. I want them to be able to trust me and everyone here at Southern Maryland Women’s Healthcare, that way it can be less scary.
Q: YOUR MOTTO
My motto is “patient first.” I want them to know that they are the most important thing to me at that moment.
Q: YOUR HAPPIEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT
I love every aspect of my job from delivering babies, to office GYN, to surgery and caring for my geriatric women. There is no better feeling however, than sharing the joy of a family as they bring a new life into this world. It never gets old. I live each moment through the emotions of those parents and feel the excitement and love they have for their newborn child. It is truly a blessing.
Dr. Lisa E. Polko and her team at Southern Maryland Women’s Healthcare, P.A are always accepting new patients. Please call (301) 997-1788 or visit smwomenshealth.com to request an appointment.
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Midwife Care at Southern Maryland Women’s Healthcare
Our midwives, Brooke and Susan, see both gyn and obstetrical patients, which means you may see them for your annual visits and contraception management, as well as for pregnancy. If you are pregnant, you may choose to identify yourself as a midwife patient, which means that you will see them for all or most of your visits and they will be rotating call for your delivery.
Our midwives are committed to the midwifery model of care. A phrase used to describe this model is High Touch, Low Intervention. That means they spend a lot of time with patients, educating and informing them. They limit intervention, tending to only recommend it when medically necessary. Utilizing this model, they focus on prevention of disease and improving pregnancy outcomes.
As midwives, they believe that the phases of a women’s life; puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, are normal stages that most often can be managed with education, presence, and support. They are trained in facilitating “normal,” and to identify when a patient falls out of the norm. When a patient moves off the path of normal, they will collaborate with the physicians of the practice to coordinate care for you. Midwives do not manage patients who have multiple complications or are unstable. Additionally, midwives do not do surgery, so if you require a cesarean section, you will be delivered by a physician.
Perhaps you may equate midwives with natural childbirth, and yes, midwives, are trained to help women who choose to have their birth experience with no medication. However, midwives support women making informed choices, and if an epidural is your choice of pain management, they are supportive of that decision. You can feel confident that during every visit and during your labor and birth, they will strive to inform and educate you on the choices you have for your care, the risk and benefits of any specific intervention, offer any additional alternatives, and allow you to make an informed decision on the plan.
Midwives take care of patients who choose a wide variety of birth experiences. We encourage you to learn more about midwifery and its benefits, even if you are not considering a medication free labor and birth. You may go to the American College of Nurse Midwives website at www.midwife.org . There is much more to discuss regarding midwife care and how it will work at our practice. If midwife care interests you, make an Interview appointment with one of our midwives, so that they can discuss how they can work with you to give you the experience you desire.
