Sara N. Iqbal

Sara N. Iqbal, MD, is the division chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) and program director for MFM and the MFM/Genetics Fellowship, MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC). In addition, she is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn), Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Dr. Iqbal specializes in high-risk pregnancy. Her clinical work focuses on diagnosis and management of high-risk conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, intrauterine growth restriction, preterm labor, history of premature delivery and other medical complications in pregnant women. Services she provides to her patients include comprehensive ultrasound screening, amniocentesis and genetic counseling.

Medical education and research development also interest Dr. Iqbal. She is the chair of the Ob/Gyn Research Development and Review (RDR) Committee, and she supervises the monthly RDR meetings at MWHC and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. In addition, she is the director for the High-Risk Obstetrics Conferences and Morbidity and Mortality Conferences at MWHC. She also serves on the committees for graduate medical education, Ob/Gyn residency education, and Ob/Gyn practice.

Dr. Iqbal reviews manuscripts for the American Journal of Perinatology, the American Journal of Perinatology Reports, and the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Dr. Iqbal is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is board-certified in both Ob/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. To further her knowledge and collaborations with other professionals, she maintains memberships in the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Dr. Iqbal completed her medical school education at Dow University of Health Sciences. She then completed her residency training in Ob/Gyn at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, and pursued further specialization in high-risk obstetrics with the completion of a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. During her fellowship, Dr. Iqbal studied human immunodeficiency virus in pregnancy and intrauterine growth restriction.

Research Interests

Dr. Iqbal’s research interests include the following:

  • Intrauterine growth restriction

  • Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

  • Postpartum hemorrhage

  • Diabetes and pregnancy

  • Chronic hypertension and preeclampsia

  • Management of the morbidly obese pregnant patients

  • Ultrasound

A multicenter trial with 12 hospitals in the United States

Prospective, Single Arm, Pivotal Clinical Trial Designed to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of the InPress Device in Treating Primary Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH-02)
Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02883673
MedStar Washington Hospital Center site PI: Sara N. Iqbal, MD 2018 - 2020
Outcomes: Published: D’Alton, ME, Rood KM, Smid MC, Simhan, HN, Skupski, DW, Subramaniam A; Gibson KS, Rosen T, Clark SM, Dudley D, Iqbal, SN, Paglia MJ, Duzyj CM, Chien EK, Gibbins KJ, Wine KD, A. Bentum, NA, Kominiarek MA, Tuuli MG, Goffman D. Intrauterine Vacuum-Induced Hemorrhage-Control Device for Rapid Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage. Obstetrics & Gynecology: September 09, 2020 -PMID: 32909970

Predictors of poor neonatal outcomes in women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Dr. Iqbal is a principal investigator on this study. This project is designed to determine the predictors of poor neonatal outcomes in pregnancies affected by intrahepatic cholestasis.
Outcomes:
Published: Kawakita T, Parikh LI, Ramsey PS, Huang CC, Zeymo A, Fernandez M, Smith S, Iqbal SN.Predictors of adverse neonatal outcomes in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Oct; 213:570. e1-8. PMID: 26071912.

Maternal outcomes associated with early preterm cesarean delivery

Dr. Iqbal is a principal investigator for this project comparing maternal outcomes associated with classical vs. low transverse cesarean, stratified by weeks of gestation (23-27 vs. 28-31 weeks).
Outcomes:
Published: Kawakita T, Reddy UM, Landy HJ, Grantz KL, Desale S, Iqbal SN Maternal Outcomes associated with early preterm cesarean delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Mar; 216(3): 

Selected Research

Original Papers in Refereed Journals
  1. Mokhtari NB, Saeed H, Kawakita T, Huang JC, Iqbal SN. Educational Video on Pain Management and Subsequent Opioid Use after Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Aug 1;138(2):253-259. PMID: 34237764
  2. Mokhtari N, Wang T, DiSciullo A, Iqbal SN, Kawakita T. Intraamniotic Infection Rates after Intrauterine Pressure Catheter with and without Amnioinfusion. Am J Perinatol. 2021 Feb;38(3):212-217. PMID: 32791538
  3. Kawakita T, Iqbal SN, Overcash RT. Negative pressure wound therapy system in extremely obese women after cesarean delivery compared with standard dressing. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2021 Feb;34(4):634-638. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2021. PMID: 31018727
  4. Chornock R, Iqbal SN, Wang T, Kodama S, Kawakita T, Fries M.Incidence of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Women with COVID-19. Am J Perinatol. 2021 May 3. PMID: 33940651
  5. Kawakita T, Gold SL, Huang JC, Iqbal SN. Refining the clinical definition of active phase arrest of dilation in nulliparous women to consider degree of cervical dilation as well as duration of arrest. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Mar 31: 2021. PMID: 33798479
  6. Kodama S, Mokhtari NB, Iqbal SN, Kawakita T. Evaluation of the Maternal-Fetal Triage Index in a tertiary care labor and delivery unit. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2021 Mar 20;3(4):100351. MFM. 2021. PMID: 33757932  
  7. Spiliopoulos M, Kuo CY, Eranki A, Jacobs M, Rossi CT, Iqbal SN, Fisher JP, Fries MH, Kim PCW.Spiliopoulos M, et al. Characterizing placental stiffness using ultrasound shear-wave elastography in healthy and preeclamptic pregnancies. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2020 Nov;302(5):1103-1112. PMID: 32676857
  8. D’Alton ME, Rood KM, Smid MC, Simhan HN, Skupski DW, Subramaniam A, Gibson KS, Rosen, T, Clark SM, Dudley D, Iqbal SN, Paglia MJ, Duzyj CM, Chien, EK, Gibbins KJ, Wine KD, A. Bentum, NA, Kominiarek MA Tuuli, MG, Goffman, D. Intrauterine Vacuum-Induced Hemorrhage-Control Device for Rapid Treatment of Postpartum Hemorrhage. Obstetrics & Gynecology: September 09, 2020 -PMID: 32909970
  9. Chornock R, Iqbal SN, Kawakita T. Racial Disparity in Postpartum Readmission due to Hypertension among Women with Pregnancy-Associated Hypertension.  Am J Perinatol. 2020 Jun 2. PMID: 32485755
  10. Iqbal SN, Overcash R, Mokhtari N, Saeed H, Gold S, Auguste T, Mirza MU, Ruiz ME, Chahine JJ, Waga M, Wortmann G. An uncomplicated delivery in a patient with Covid-19 in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 16;382(16): e34. PMID: 32237670
  11. Adams A, Aggarwal N, Fries M, Muangman S, Donofrio M, Iqbal SN. Neonatal and maternal outcomes of pregnancies with a fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease using a standardized delivery room management protocol. Journal of Perinatology. Feb;40(2):316-323. PMID: 31611616
  12. E Coviello, S Iqbal, R Chornock, M Cheney, S Desale, M Fries. Effect of Implementing Quantitative Blood Loss Assessment at Time of Delivery. American Journal of Perinatology. 2019 May 14. PMID:31087316
  13. Kawakita T, Iqbal SN, Overcash RT, Kawakita T. Negative pressure wound therapy system in extremely obese women after cesarean delivery compared with standard dressing. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019 May 5:1-5. PMID: 31018727
  14. Kawakita T, Iqbal SN, Landy HJ, Huang JC, Fries M. Reducing Cesarean Delivery Surgical Site Infections: A Resident-Driven Quality Initiative. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Feb;133(2):282-288. PMID: 30633146
  15. Coviello E, Iqbal S, Grantz K, Chun-Chih H, Landy H, Reddy U. Early Preterm Preeclampsia Outcomes by Intended Mode of Delivery. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jan; 220(1):100.e1-100.e9. PMID: 30273585
  16. Parikh LI, Iqbal SN, Jelin AC, Overcash RT, Tefera E, Fries MH. Third trimester ultrasound for fetal macrosomia: optimal timing and institutional specific accuracy. Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. 2017 Nov 28:1-5 PMID:29183184
  17. Kawakita T, Iqbal SN, Huang CC, Reddy UM. Non-medically indicated induction in morbidly obese women is not associated with an increased risk of cesarean delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Oct; 217(4):451.e1-451.e8. PMID: 28578171
  18. Parikh LI, Jelin AC, Iqbal SN, Belna SL, Fries MH, Patel M, Desale S, Ramsey PS. Glycemic control, compliance, and satisfaction for diabetic gravidas in Centering® group care. Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 2017 May;30(10):1221-1226. PMID: 27380055
  19. Kawakita T, Reddy UM, Landy HJ, Grantz KL, Desale S, Iqbal SN. Maternal Outcomes associated with early preterm cesarean delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Mar; 216(3): 312.e 1-312.PMID:27840144
  20. Kawakita T, Parikh LI, Ramsey PS, Huang CC, Zeymo A, Fernandez M, Smith S, Iqbal SN. Predictors of adverse neonatal outcomes in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Oct; 213:570. e1-8. PMID: 26071912.
  21. Kawakita T, Reddy UM, Iqbal SN, Huang J, Landy HJ, Grantz KL. Complications associated with fetal scalp electrode. Br J Obstet Gynecol 2015 Dec 8. PMID:26643181
  22. Iqbal SN, Kriebs J, Harman C, Gungor S, Alger L, Turan O, Kopelman J, Malinow A, Baschat AA. Protease Inhibitor Therapy and Fetal Growth Potential in HIV Positive Women.  Am J Perinatol 2008 Jun; 25(6): 335-9.
  23. Iqbal SN, Kriebs J, Harman C, Alger L, Kopelman J, Turan O, Gungor S, Malinow A, Baschat A. Predictors of Fetal Growth in Maternal HIV Disease. Am J Perinatol 2010 Aug; 27(7):517-23.

View Dr. Iqbal’s publications on PubMed.

Visit Dr. Iqbal’s clinical practice page.

 

Research Areas


  • Maternal-Fetal/Women’s Health