Maternal, Fetal, and Neonatal Care

No family wants to hear the words “high-risk pregnancy.” But if you do, it’s important to find the best care possible and get answers to all your questions.

Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Care programs at Children’s Health℠ include experts from the UT Southwestern Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) Program, neonatologists, OB/GYNS, as well as community-based MFM specialists and other pediatric specialists across the region. Together, we provide the highest level of care for families with all types of pregnancy complications, including the most complex ones.

Maternal-fetal medicine centers care for families facing a complication during pregnancy. This specialty also focuses on caring for babies in the womb diagnosed with health problems found during a fetal ultrasound. Our multi-disciplinary team starts by providing you with the most accurate diagnosis possible, using the most advanced diagnostic tools available. We also work closely with your established pregnancy provider and any other pediatric specialists your baby may need.

Together, we develop a detailed plan for every step of your pregnancy, delivery and beyond. Your family’s care will also be supported by a team of expert social workers and psychologists who can offer emotional, logistical and financial counseling support. This coordinated, holistic care helps your family know exactly what to expect, while also ensuring the healthiest possible future for you and your baby.  

Multidisciplinary care for you and your baby

Research shows that the more we understand a baby’s health problems before birth, the better the outcome. That’s why we coordinate a team of experts from several fields of medicine.

Our team includes MFM specialists, neonatologists and perinatal genetic counseling, cardiologists, neurologists and other fields. We provide you and your baby with the highest level of care – before, during and after pregnancy – through several programs:

• FETAL Center: Our specialists use advanced diagnostic tools, including fetal MRI, to identify the most complex prenatal conditions. We’re skilled in the latest procedures, such as fetal and ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT), which can treat critically ill babies even before birth.

• Fetal Heart Program: Our pediatric heart experts can diagnose even the rarest of congenital heart conditions in babies before they’re born.

• Prenatal Genetics Program: UT Southwestern Medical Center’s reproductive genetics service connects patients with board-certified genetic counselors specializing in genetic testing and pregnancy. Our team helps patients understand information and make decisions about genetic testing that are right for their family.

• Fetal and Neonatal Neurology Program (NeuroNICU): Our pediatric neurologists focus on early care for babies with neurological disorders. These conditions affect the brain, spinal cord and nerves, and they range from epilepsy to neural tube defects.

• Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): Our NICU provides the highest level of care for premature and critically ill babies. Year after year, our NICU is ranked one of the top neonatology programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Neonatologists in the NICU have experience in advanced, lifesaving therapies including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Partnering with top-notch providers

Our partnerships with Neonatal, MFM and pediatric specialists across the region provide you with seamless, coordinated care. And that seamless, coordinated care can begin in pregnancy and continue through birth and throughout your baby’s childhood. In many cases, we’re able to coordinate appointments so that you can see multiple specialists on the same day, if needed. We can also arrange virtual visits with multiple specialists, to help make care more convenient for you.

Our web of partners also give you access to the power of collaborative expertise. When you know that not just one doctor – but a team of some of the area’s top specialists – are regularly consulting about you and your baby, it can provide reassurance that you’re in the best hands possible.

Depending on you and your baby’s specific health needs, you may receive care closer to home from nationally ranked UTSW neonatologists at:

• William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital

• Parkland Health

• Texas Health Dallas

• Texas Health Frisco

Integration with your existing medical team and care beyond delivery

At Children’s Health, your MFM specialist will work closely with your established pregnancy provider throughout your pregnancy, delivery and after your baby is born. We're happy to manage your ongoing care with your pregnancy provider – or create a care plan for them to carry out. And after your baby is delivered, we offer support through our:

• Thrive Program: This highly successful program provides physical, nutritional, emotional and behavioral support for premature babies for up to 5 years after they’re born.

• Lactation Support Services: Support from one of our lactation (breastfeeding) consultants can make a positive difference after birth.

• Primary Care Clinics: We help many families establish care with a pediatrician close to home, at one of several primary care clinics in North Texas.  

Our commitment to neonatal and perinatal research

Our doctors are also researchers dedicated to improving neonatal and perinatal care. We’re committed to finding new ways to prevent and treat congenital conditions and training tomorrow’s neonatologists.

We conduct clinical trials (research studies), participate in multi-institutional research and stay active in the Fetal Heart Society, the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPC-QIC), and the Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Consortium. Our research focus means you can feel confident that your care comes from the latest medical advances, procedures and guidelines.

Learn more about our innovative efforts to improve and transform pediatric health care.