Our Fetal Care Center is a leader in providing medical care for pregnant women whose unborn babies have health problems, known as fetal conditions.
Audra, prenatally diagnosed at 13 weeks with a sacrococcygeal teratoma. Pregnancy care, delivery and postnatal surgery were all coordinated through the Fetal Care Center.
As part of the Women & Infants Center, the Fetal Care Center draws on the combined expertise of three world-class medical institutions: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University Physicians. Here, your family receives exceptional care in one easily accessible medical campus.
The Fetal Care Center: Why Choose Us?
When you come to the Fetal Care Center, you benefit from:
- Integrated care for mom and baby: We are the only medical center in St. Louis to offer the highest level of specialized care for mom and baby in a single location. Our birthing suites and mother-baby rooms are connected to our Level IV Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), so a mom is close to her baby if special care is needed after delivery. No other medical center in St. Louis offers that convenience and assurance.
- Specialized surgeries: We are one of the few medical centers in the country that provides complex fetal surgeries and interventions for rare fetal conditions. Our highly skilled doctors perform these procedures while your baby is still in the womb. Learn more about fetal surgery.
- Expertise in follow-up care: Some babies have health needs that we cannot treat until after they are born. If this is the case, we develop a care plan for your baby during pregnancy, ensuring he or she receives the best care immediately after delivery. You meet regularly with pediatric specialists at St. Louis Children’s Hospital during pregnancy so you can feel confident about your baby’s care.
- Advanced diagnostic tools: Each year, our specialists perform thousands of high-risk pregnancy tests using the latest diagnostic tools to quickly and accurately diagnose fetal conditions. Our maternal-fetal medicine specialists are present during your ultrasounds. This allows us to provide fast, accurate information about your unborn baby’s condition and treatment options.
- Heart care: If your unborn baby has a heart defect, our pediatric cardiologists at the Fetal Heart Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital provide exceptional care. Our heart specialists excel at diagnosing and treating heart problems.
- Medical transportation: If you go into labor outside the St. Louis metropolitan area and need specialized care, our maternal-fetal transport team has the ability to bring you to the Women & Infants Center. Should you deliver elsewhere, our newborn transport team can safely bring your baby here.
- A focus on your family: Our nurse coordinators walk you through every step of the diagnostic and treatment process. We make sure you are informed about, and involved in, every decision pertaining to your unborn baby’s well-being.
- Newborn care: Infants with health problems receive the highest level of medical care in our Level IV Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Learn more about our NICU.
- Counselors: Our specialists help you cope with the stress of a complicated pregnancy or a baby with health problems. Learn more about our Perinatal Behavioral Health Service and Palliative Care programs.
Contact Us
To make an appointment with a Washington University fetal care specialist at the Women & Infants Center, call 855-925-0631.