Georges Sylvestre, M.D.

"'Is it okay to take an antacid during pregnancy?  Can I exercise? What about coffee?  I had chemotherapy three years ago can I get pregnant?  The magazine articles and books on pregnancy do not answer all questions, so whenever there is a concern, patients are welcome to call me.”

Dr. Georges Sylvestre is an expert in helping women who are at high risk for pregnancy complications to manage the journey from conception through childbirth.  He finds it highly rewarding to help make the birth experience a positive and joyous one.  While always grateful to be able to provide treatment for complicated medical issues, he nevertheless enjoys caring for patients with uncomplicated pregnancies and non-pregnancy related gynecologic conditions as well.

A native of Montreal, Dr. Sylvestre speaks English, French and Spanish fluently and is a strong believer in the need for direct doctor-patient communication. He encourage his patients to ask questions - "there are no silly questions!" - and to learn as much as they can about their bodies and their conditions.

Before coming to Weill Cornell, Dr. Sylvestre spent seven years at hospitals in the Bronx and in Queens, working with high risk patient populations.   During his MFM fellowship and his daily practice, he gained a great deal of experience and clinical expertise in helping patients manage pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, multifetal pregnancies, pre-term labor, diabetes, HIV, substance abuse, heart disease, fetal anomalies and other medical conditions. 

Dr. Sylvestre enjoys helping all types of families fulfill their dreams of becoming parents.  New York City brings many diverse families to Dr. Sylvestre's practice, and he finds working with them all to be very rewarding.  He has also developed a special interest in assisting women pursue pregnancy during and after menopause.

Dr. Sylvestre came to Weill Cornell from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he had been an attending physician and assistant director of the MFM Division.  He has a special interest in perinatal epidemiology and is presently pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Health (M.P.H) at Columbia University School of Public Health.  He is also a collaborator and steering committee member for two large international, multi-center randomized controlled trials: the Twin Birth Study and the Early Cephalic Version Trial (which has been submitted for publication).

He has been an invited lecturer for the obstetrics and gynecology residents at the New York Presbyterian Hospital and has frequently been a guest lecturer for Grand Rounds in the NYC area and abroad.  His other areas of expertise include the prevention of pre-term birth, multifetal gestation, and medical complications of pregnancy.  Dr. Sylvestre has been certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in MFM and Obstetrics and Gynecology, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  He was recently involved in the writing of a text book in obstetrics, which was published recently.

As part of the MFM group at Weill Cornell, Dr. Sylvestre is able to offer his patients the facilities and technical resources of one of the world's great academic medical centers, as well as the support of colleagues from related medical disciplines who are all leaders in their fields.  Despite the elite level of expertise, Dr. Sylvestre finds the atmosphere at Weill Cornell to be highly supportive and friendly for patients as well as physicians.

"As a team of Ob/Gyn physicians, we all have a common goal: to provide the best possible outcomes and the best possible patient experience.  We help each other, we like each other, we like what we're doing, and we like being here.  It's a great atmosphere."

A graduate of McGill University, in Montreal, Dr. Sylvestre received his M.D. from the McGill University Faculty of Medicine.  His post-doctoral training included a five-year residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency at McGill, and a Fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City.  He joined the faculty of Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2004.