Maternal Fetal Care | Medical City Children's Hospital

Maternal fetal medicine in Dallas, Texas

Moms who give birth at Medical City Dallas Hospital can recover with peace of mind knowing Medical City Children's Hospital is on the same campus.

Care for moms and babies with various conditions, such as craniofacial anomalies, is provided at the Maternal Fetal Institute.

Maternal-fetal conditions treated

Care at the Maternal Fetal Institute starts well before delivery. A multidisciplinary team of expert perinatologists and specialists works together to provide a proper diagnosis and a seamless transition to treatment or pediatric surgery. The maternal-fetal conditions we treat include:

Abdominal wall defects
Abnormal heart
Achondrogenesis
Achondroplasia
Agenesis of the cerebellar vermis
Agenesis of the corpus callosum
Amniotic band syndrome
Anencephaly
Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy
Atrial septal defect
Atrioventricular (AV) canal defect
Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome
Bilateral cleft lip and palate
Bowel obstruction
Bronchogenic cyst
Bronchogenic cyst
Cardiac anomalies
Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)
Congenital heart defects (CHD)
Chest mass
Choledochal cyst
Choroid plexus cyst
Chromosomal abnormalities
Cleft lip and palate
Clubfoot
Central nervous system (CNS) malformation
Coarctation of the aorta
Congenital aberrations
Congenital abnormalities
Congenital kidney disease
Congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasis
Conjoined twins
Craniofacial defects
Critical aortic valve stenosis
Cystic adenomatoid malformation
Cystic hygroma
Cystic mass
Dandy Walker malformation
Diaphragmatic hernia
Double outlet right ventricle, or DORV
Down syndrome (trisomy 21)
Duodenal atresia
Dwarfism
Ebstein's anomaly
Ectopia cordis
Encephalocele
Esophageal atresia

Fetal alcohol syndrome
Fetal anomalies
Fetal ascites
Fetal malformation
Gastroschisis
Heterotaxy
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)
Holoprosencephaly
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocoele
Hydronephrosis
Hydrops
Meckel-Gruber syndrome
Megaureter
Meningocele
Microcephaly
Multicystic kidneys
Multiple anomalies
Myelomeningocele
Neural tube defects
Neurological conditions and disorders
Omphalocele
Open neural tube defect (spina bifida)
Osteogenesis imperfecta
Patent ductus arteriosus
Placenta accreta
Polycystic kidney
Polyvalvular disease
Porencephaly
Prune belly syndrome
Pulmonary hypoplasia
Pulmonary stenosis
Renal agenesis
Skeletal dysplasia
Special needs
Specialty obstetrics referrals
Tetralogy of Fallot
Transposition of the great arteries (TGA)
Thalassaemia major
Thanatophoric dwarfism
Total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage
Tricuspid atresia
Trisomy 13 and trisomy 18
Truncus arteriosus
Turner syndrome
Twin to twin transfusion
VACTERL associations
Ventricular septal defect (VSD)
Ventriculomegaly

About The Maternal Fetal Institute

The health and safety of mothers carrying a baby with a congenital anomaly is our top priority, which is why we created the Maternal Fetal Institute to help parents navigate this trying time.

We are the only North Texas hospital with both a full-service children's hospital and an obstetric hospital within the same facility — keeping mothers and newborns together — even for high-risk pregnancies.

We also house a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), providing the highest level of care to the most medically fragile infants, and a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) capable of treating the most severely ill pediatric patients. Additionally, Medical City Dallas has achieved a Level IV Maternal Designation — indicating the highest level of care available — from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas also treats neonates, infants, children and adolescents with all forms of congenital and acquired heart disease in our Heart Center. Our Craniofacial Center has treated thousands of patients from all 50 states and more than 75 countries, performing more than 15,000 craniofacial surgical procedures.

Our services

Our compassionate experts provide a range of surgical and non-surgical options for you and your little one.

A routine OB/GYN can take care of the pregnancy, but it takes a special program to care for moms and babies. We work one-on-one with you and your referring physician to develop a customized treatment plan, including total transfer of obstetrical care if needed.

The Medical City Children's Hospital Maternal Fetal Institute provides the customized navigation of care that includes fetal heart surgery, abdominal wall surgery, craniofacial surgery, neurological surgery and orthopedic surgery.

Maternal, pediatric and neonatal transport

Our maternal and pediatric/neonatal transport teams stand ready to bring mother and child to our hospital through ground, helicopter, or airplane transport.

The best place for a baby during pregnancy is the mother's womb. Our experienced maternal transport team, including labor and delivery nurses, provides the best chance of extending pregnancy while moving mom to a higher level of care.

Our team is the only maternal transportation unit in the region exclusively staffed by registered nurses with extensive training in caring for critically ill or injured expectant mothers.

Fetal intervention and fetal surgery

Infants born with a complex birth defect can get treatment through fetal intervention or fetal surgery.

As technology, fetal imaging and prenatal testing have improved over the past few decades, so has our knowledge of fetal development and the benefits of performing surgery while the baby is still in the womb.

The Fetal Intervention and Surgery program at Medical City Children's Hospital provides leading-edge treatment for the most vulnerable patients suffering from congenital birth defects.

Receiving maternal-fetal care

Medical City Children's Hospital provides critical care to the most vulnerable patients: unborn and newborn babies with complex birth defects. For more information on maternal-fetal care at Medical City Children's Hospital, contact: