Fetal Care Services

Offering hope to families of infants with congenital differences.

The Fetal Care Service team offers support to families expecting an infant with medical needs that require intervention at birth. We provide comprehensive, coordinated care from prenatal diagnosis to the transition to infant care.

expecting mother looking at ultrasound image.

Learning your unborn baby will be born with a medical condition can be devastating. Families are faced with uncertainty and an endless list of questions about the future of the unborn baby.

Our Fetal Care navigators at Nicklaus Children's are devoted to the care of infants pre-diagnosed with medical needs in utero that will require intervention at birth.

The team well understands the concerns of families anticipating an infant with a complex diagnosis. The Nicklaus Children's network of pediatric subspecialists collaborate with prenatal care providers in the community and beyond to provide families comprehensive, coordinated care and support from prenatal testing to the transition to infant care.

Initial Consultation and Scheduling

Our Fetal Care nurse navigators are committed to optimizing care access and convenience for expectant families. The navigator is the first contact for families to discuss issues and concerns. The navigator arranges the appointments for all diagnostic tests and specialty consultations with the family. The goal is to support families in obtaining a definitive plan of care, definitive diagnosis and counseling plan during a single visit, when possible. The appointment may include:

Diagnostic tests
Prenatal counseling
Genetic consultation
Diagnosis-specific subspecialty consultations

Specialist Programs and Services

Conditions we Treat

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Prenatal Diagnostic Tests

We collaborate with more than 40 pediatric subspecialties for infant care

Fetal Care nurse navigators coordinate care and appointments

Gabrien's Story

During a routine ultrasound early in her pregnancy, Rebecca Jones and her husband Brent were devastated to learn there was something wrong with their baby’s heart. The expectant parents learned their baby, Gabrien, had a rare heart defect called transposition of the great arteries, a condition in which the two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed. Their obstetrician referred them to Dr. David Drossner, a pediatric cardiologist and director of outpatient cardiology at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.