The Women & Infants Center, a collaborative partnership between Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University Physicians is commemorating the one year anniversary since its grand opening in 2018 on the Washington University Medical Campus.

“As the name implies, the Women & Infants Center emphasizes the special bond between families, mothers and their babies,” said Barbara Warner, MD, the division chief of newborn medicine at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “Our new physical facilities have promoted that bond by minimizing separation of mothers from their critically ill newborns. Beyond modern family friendly physical facilities, we provide access to world leaders in advanced diagnostics and treatment. Our integrated program with Washington University offers cutting edge evaluations in fetal and neonatal medicine including pre and postnatal imaging, genomics, neurosciences, nutrition and growth.  Most important, the combined program allows a holistic approach to family, integrating compassionate care from dedicated staff, with medical excellence.”

Within this collaboration, the Women & Infants Center utilizes the resources from all three institutions to provide expert care for women, at all stages of her life, and their babies with a range of specialized services, including obstetrics and gynecology, high-risk pregnancy care, fetal care, fertility and reproductive medicine, genetics, neonatology, urogynecology and gynecological oncology.

The one-year old Barnes-Jewish Parkview Tower and expanded Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital are the cornerstone of the Women & Infants Center.  Parkview Tower consolidates and modernizes maternity facilities with 52 obstetrics inpatient beds, 18 labor and delivery rooms, 12 women’s assessment rooms, two C-section rooms, and one fetal surgery operating room. The Level Four NICU added 40 private rooms, bringing the total number of beds in the unit to 125 and will increase to 132 beds by the end of 2019. A short skybridge directly connects labor and delivery to the NICU, reducing the transition time for critically ill babies and keeps mom close to baby.

“We had an excellent inaugural year at the Women & Infants Center,” said George Macones, MD, a Washington University obstetrician and gynecologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and department chairman. “Great strides were made in improving not only the physical space, but patient care and satisfaction. Our patients have given us wonderful feedback, which makes us really proud of the work we’ve done this past year. We look forward to continually advancing how we practice medicine, improving outcomes for mothers and babies, and focusing on the overall health of women in the St. Louis area.”

THE WOMEN & INFANTS CENTER’S FIRST YEAR, BY THE NUMBERS

3,480 deliveries
121 multiples deliveries (118 set of twins, three sets of triplets)
7,004 patients seen in the Women’s Assessment Center
1,221 total NICU admits
629 pregnancies following fertility treatment
521 Maternal-Fetal Transports (around the St. Louis region, including Springfield, Ill., Carbondale, Ill. and Jefferson City, Mo.)
490 patients seen by the Fetal Care Center
13 fetal surgeries (caring for conditions like twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and spina bifida, among others)
48,664 gynecological appointments
Number 9 NICU in the country by U.S. News & World Report
Number 12 gynecology program in the country by U.S. News & World Report
Only Baby-Friendly® hospital in St. Louis

# # #

BARNES-JEWISH HOSPITAL

Barnes-Jewish Hospital is a 1,386-bed teaching hospital affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. The hospital has a 1,630-member medical staff, and has been listed on the elite honor roll of best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 26 consecutive years. Barnes-Jewish is a member of BJC HealthCare, which provides a full range of health care services through its 15 hospitals and more than 100 health care sites in Missouri and Illinois.

ST. LOUIS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

For 140 years, St. Louis Children's Hospital has provided exceptional care for children in all 50 states and 80 countries around the world. With its academic partner, Washington University School of Medicine, Children’s is consistently ranked among the nation’s best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. A member of BJC HealthCare, St. Louis Children’s Hospital follows one simple mission – to do what’s right for kids. That mission comes to life through medical discovery, innovative therapies and compassionate care. In 2018, Children's expanded with a state-of-the-art, 12-story medical tower. Children’s relies on generous donors to deliver specialized care for families in need, extend health care services to the community, and pursue research that promises to transform pediatric medicine. To find out more, visit StLouisChildrens.org, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

BJC HEALTHCARE

BJC HealthCare is one of the largest nonprofit health care organizations in the United States, delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. Serving the health care needs of urban, suburban and rural communities, BJC includes 15 hospitals and multiple health service organizations. Services include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice. BJC’s nationally recognized academic hospitals, Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, are affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine.