Brenna L. Hughes, MD, MSc
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist
My Locations
About Me
I decided to pursue a career in obstetrics after observing a delivery during my first week of obstetrics training in medical school. The sheer excitement of every birth along with the knowledge of all of the possible complications faced by a mother was what attracted me to the field of maternal fetal medicine. Every day I feel privileged to be a part of this very personal experience for so many women. As a researcher in the areas of infectious diseases in pregnancy, I see it as my duty to help advance the care of women and their fetuses who may experience infectious complications. I hope to leave a mark on our field that leads to improved infectious disease outcomes for women and their children. I moved to the Chapel Hill area after many years of living and practicing in Rhode Island because of the outstanding group of physicians here. My family loves the area and getting out to explore all that North Carolina has to offer.
LGBTQ+ Identified or Ally
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Areas of Expertise
- High Risk Pregnancy Care
- Labor and Delivery
- Preterm Labor and Preterm Birth Prevention
- Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy
- Prenatal Care
Training and Education
Clinical Focus and Research
My research area of expertise is infectious diseases in pregnancy. I generally conduct research that enrolls and follows patients and sometimes work with laboratory scientists. My largest area of focus is on the study of Cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy. Cytomegalovirus, also called CMV, is the most common infectious cause of congenital deafness, yet most pregnant women have never heard of the infection. My goal is to reduce the nearly 40,000 congenital infections that occur in the United States every year. My other research areas of interest include HIV in pregnancy, influenza, surgical site infections and urinary infections.
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SPAN (Heart Health and Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy)IRB# PRO00104812 , NCT# NCT05515744
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PRECEDE (Cesarean C-Section Delivery)IRB# PRO00115734 , NCT# NCT06605118
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
- American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Society for maternal fetal medicine
- UpToDate, Inc