Sepsis in Pregnancy

Megan Snair, MPH, has more than ten years of experience working as a science writer, program director, and public health subject matter expert. She led multiple landmark activities and scientific publications as a senior program officer and study director at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine covering topics of health policy, infectious disease outbreaks, health system resilience, and social determinants of health. However, despite this experience, Megan was blindsided in 2019 when she contracted a Group A strep infection and became septic after the delivery of her son. She spent a week in the hospital, including time in the ICU, while doctors worked to figure out what was causing her condition and then spent many weeks recovering at home. Because she was so unaware of the signs and symptoms of sepsis, she is committed to helping educate others - especially on the dangers of maternal sepsis - so that both patients and healthcare providers understand sepsis can happen to anyone, and are empowered to make a fast and accurate diagnosis.

Dr. Ashlesha K. Dayal is a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, Vice Chair of Obstetrics at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens, in Flushing NY, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College. She focuses her clinical efforts on maternal safety, patient safety, and decreasing perinatal morbidity, particularly in the labor and delivery setting. Dr. Dayal has been on the Preterm Birth Task Force, the 17P Committee and serves as the Chair of Section 3 of District II of ACOG. She is also the residency site director for the Weill Cornell ObGyn Residency Training Program for New York-Presbyterian/Queens Hospital. Dr. Dayal serves on the Sepsis Taskforce for District 2 and the Postpartum Task Force for the District. Dr. Dayal received her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine from the Six Year BA/MD Program and completed her residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park NY. She completed her fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

Loralei Thornburg is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester, where she did both Obstetrics and Gynecology residency and Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship. She now serves as both the division and fellowship director. A native of western Michigan, she went to medical school at Wayne State in Detroit. She teaches annually at the SMFM/Banner Obstetrical Critical Care course, including both lecture and simulation- which focus on optimizing care for pregnant patient with critical illness and events. She has the only neurology in pregnancy book that includes a multidisciplinary authorship across the broad range of specialists needed to care for neurologic disease in pregnancy. She lives with her husband, an internist, as well as 2 children, a leopard gecko, and a rabbit.

Sandra Asanjarani is the perinatal safety nurse and the team leader for the Baby-Friendly Journey at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens. She obtained her RN degree from Queensborough Community College and her Bachelor in Science degree from Adelphi University. Sandra continued her studies and obtained her Nurse Practitioner credential  in Women’s Health and Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as her Perinatal Clinical Specialty Degree at Stony Brook University. Sandra holds multiple certifications in her field of expertise. Prior to working at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens, she worked as an Associate Director for Quality/Safety and Risk Management at Jacobi Medical Center. She has worked in the field of maternal child as an administrator, labor and delivery nurse manager, perinatal informatics specialist, and a labor and delivery nurse for over 25 years in both the private sector and public sector. Sandra is a member of the executive board of directors at the New York State Nurses Association and is on the March of Dimes board of directors for Queens. She recently published a chapter in a medical textbook with Dr. Daniel Skupski about Hypertensive Crisis in Pregnancy. She has received many awards for her expertise and knowledge. Her most recent award was in 2019 for Advance Practice Nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens Hospital.