High-risk pregnancy

There are many factors that can cause a pregnancy to be considered high risk, including:

• Age
• Weight (either too low or too high)
• Number of babies in the womb (e.g., twins, triplets, etc.)
• Chronic conditions
• Complications with previous pregnancies

The primary factor that determines if your pregnancy is "high risk" is advanced maternal age—considered 35 years old and older at time of conception. Advanced maternal age is the leading cause of chromosomal abnormalities (such as Down syndrome) in babies and is strongly correlated with gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension in moms. These babies and their moms need specialty care with hospitals equipped for, and doctors experienced in, treating and managing high-risk pregnancies. This level of care needs to be maintained throughout pregnancy—early in the prenatal phase, during labor/delivery and continuing through the postpartum stage.

We understand the worries that come along with high-risk pregnancies, so we offer prenatal testing and screening with a combination of ultrasound, blood labs or other genetic tests. Mothers and babies also have access to our specialized, multidisciplinary teams, including:

• Maternal-fetal specialists
• Board-certified obstetric hospitalists
• Pediatric specialists in
  • Neonatology
  • Cardiology
  • Nephrology
  • Urology
  • Genetics
  • Pediatric surgery

The Maternal Fetal Institute provides the only labor and delivery program in North Texas with both a full-service adult hospital and a full-service children’s hospital—Medical City Children’s Hospital—in the same location. This allows for optimum maternal-fetal care and means that moms with high-risk pregnancies can deliver in the same hospital where their babies’ special needs can be treated.

As a Level IV Maternal Designation hospital, Medical City Dallas provides comprehensive, expert care for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). PAS occurs when the placenta becomes abnormally attached to the uterine wall — and even to other organs — during pregnancy. If left untreated, the placenta will not detach normally after the baby is born, leaving mom with a high risk of hemorrhage (blood loss) and other severe and life-threatening conditions. Pregnant women diagnosed with PAS will almost always need to deliver via a C-section.

To learn more about placenta accreta spectrum services at Medical City Dallas, call (972) 566-8585.

Our Maternal Transport Team provides prompt transport for high-risk fetal and obstetrical patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With the goal of improving neonatal outcomes, our focus is keeping baby in the safety of mom's womb (intrauterine transport) as long as possible.

This unique service simplifies the process of transferring mom and baby, and it ensures that you are transferred to a facility with the appropriate subspecialties and equipment to handle your needs.

To request an emergency maternal transport, call (855) XFER-MOM (933-7666).

Our dedicated transport teams provide transfers within Texas and throughout the entire Southwest region of the U.S. Our group of highly skilled and specially trained maternal transport registered nurses can be deployed by ground ambulance, helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft featuring a self-contained mobile intensive care environment.

Following the transport, a member of the Maternal Transport Team will communicate with the referring physician regarding your progress and outcome.

The Maternal Transport Team serves all Medical City Healthcare facility in North Texas with applicable advanced maternal care services. These facilities include:

• Medical City Alliance 
• Medical City Arlington 
• Medical City Children’s Hospital 
• Medical City Dallas 
• Medical City Frisco 
• Medical City Las Colinas 
• Medical City Lewisville 
• Medical City McKinney 
• Medical City Plano