The Women & Infants Center has a combined transport team that provides specialized services for pregnant women and newborns 24/7.
Emergency transport services at the Women & Infants Center
Our transport services include:
- Maternal-fetal: For pregnant women requiring specialized care not available at their local facility
- Newborn: A service for critically ill newborns
Our maternal-fetal transport service is unique to the region because every trip includes a specialized high-risk pregnancy nurse, a neonatal nurse, and a paramedic. The team is specially trained to transport mothers and babies safely, whether by air or ground. Our team ensures that if a mother delivers prior to transfer or during the trip, we are prepared to care for both mother and newborn.
The partnership between Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital offers combined maternal-fetal and newborn transport services in the St. Louis area. Patients are brought to a campus that supports both adult and pediatric care.
Upon arrival at the Women & Infants Center:
- Pregnant women receive expert care guided by WashU Medicine OB-GYNs or maternal-fetal medicine specialists.
- Newborns are immediately transferred to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU), which is connected to labor and delivery.
Why our transport services are unique:
- We deploy ground or air service within 15 minutes of a doctor’s referring call.
- A high-risk medicine specialist or neonatologist answers calls through our call center, providing expert assistance for transporting high-risk mothers and newborns.
- We tailor each transport mission to meet the needs of the mother and child. If necessary, a neonatal doctor joins the transport team.
- When critically ill newborns arrive, they receive care in one of the only Level IV NICUs in the St. Louis region. In our NICU, we provide the highest level of care with specialists to treat every possible newborn health situation.
- We update the referring physician on their patient’s status as their condition changes.
- We operate locally, regionally, and, in select cases, nationally and internationally, to transport high-risk mothers and newborns to our Women & Infants Center.
Our high-tech transport fleet
Depending on the patient’s condition, weather conditions, and location, we can deploy multiple modes of transport. Our fleet includes:
- Eight mobile intensive care units (MICUs) decorated in children’s themes with video devices
- Two twin-engine helicopters: KidsFlight2
- One fixed-wing aircraft for longer flights: KidsFlight3
How to access our transport services
Use of our transport services requires a doctor’s referral. Physicians should call 855-747-5300 to make a referral.
We are ready to respond 24/7 to emergencies with teams stationed at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS).