DENVER, Colo. (July 14, 2020) – Earlier this month, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and TriHealth announced the expansion of the special delivery unit at the Cincinnati Children’s Fetal Care Center. Located at Cincinnati Children’s, the collaboration provides comprehensive care for healthy moms who are expecting a baby with known medical conditions that require specialized care at the hospital’s level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and cardiac intensive care unit (CICU).
Over the past few years, fetal care centers have emerged as a new delivery model in healthcare. These centers provide the integration of comprehensive care in a one-stop-shop meant to provide the best possible outcomes for families dealing with a high risk pregnancy. According to Talitha McGuinness, executive director of the national nonprofit Fetal Health Foundation, fetal centers that care for mom and baby in the same area provide a multitude of benefits.
“Both the mom and fetus or newborn have access to a full range of hospital services from labs to imaging to counseling and surgery in one area. The close proximity also allows for further bonding between the parents and the infant at a critical time. Additionally, co-locating the care team fosters collaboration in emergency situations,” stated McGuinness.
Daniel von Allmen, MD, surgeon-in-chief at Cincinnati Children’s, is excited about the expansion, stating,
“Our Fetal Care Center is one of only a few comprehensive fetal care centers in the country. Moms, who are having babies with the most complex fetal conditions, will be able to deliver at Cincinnati Children’s and recover on-site while their baby receives immediate care from our pediatrics specialists.”
Currently, many of these fragile babies, whose lives are in the balance, are born at other hospitals in the region and urgently transported to the Cincinnati Children’s NICU and CICU. By collaborating with TriHealth, these babies will avoid emergency transport, as they will be born just down the hall from the specialized intensive care unit.
“This collaboration provides the opportunity for healthy moms with medically fragile babies to have a one stop shop for all of their care from the very start of their pregnancy through delivery and baby care. This integrated model of care will bring better outcomes for mom and baby in our community and around the country,” said Mounira Habli, MD, Clinical Director, TriHealth Fetal Center.
In addition to two new operating rooms to increase access to fetal surgery procedures and c-section deliveries, the expansion will include a triage room and six dedicated rooms for labor, delivery and postpartum recovery. Special delivery services will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that moms will no longer stay behind at a birthing hospital, separated from their newborns. Families will be together in one location.
Through this collaboration, Cincinnati Children’s will provide expertise in fetal therapy, NICU care and pediatric sub-specialty services. TriHealth, with the largest group of maternal-fetal-medicine specialists in the market, will provide expertise in obstetrics/maternal-fetal medicine.
Learn more.
About Cincinnati Children’s Fetal Care Center
Cincinnati Children’s Fetal Care Center is one of a few comprehensive fetal care centers in the world. We provide mothers and their babies with comprehensive care from prenatal diagnosis and fetal treatment to delivery, postnatal care and long-term follow-up. Since 2004, our team has evaluated more than 6,264 high-risk pregnancies; this experience enables us to provide the most sophisticated, effective therapies available. As we explore the unique challenges and opportunities facing each patient and unborn baby, we often are able to provide unexpected treatment options that offer real hope.
About The Fetal Health Foundation
The Fetal Health Foundation (FHF) is a national nonprofit focused on empowering and supporting expectant parents by providing information, access to world class maternal fetal medical experts, financial support, connections and counseling. In addition, FHF funds research, increases awareness, and serves as an outlet for leading medical information pertaining to fetal conditions and syndromes.
