Fetal Therapy Center
Our Fetal Therapy Center provides complete diagnostic services and care for a wide range of possible genetic and anatomic
abnormalities. We are staffed by perinatologists who are obstetricians especially trained in diagnosing and treating maternal
problems and also fetal complications such as spina bifida, heart defects, skeletal, gastrointestinal and kidney abnormalities
and blood incompatibility problems. A panel of physicians from many disciplines are available to consult in your care. We
combine the expertise of our perinatologists with the expertise of physicians in radiology, genetics, neonatology, along with
our pediatric specialists in surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and urology.
Our team meets regularly to discuss the care of our patients and to share recent research in fetal diagnosis and therapy which
may help us to achieve the best outcomes for mother and baby.
Our physicians will advise you and your obstetrician as to which diagnostic tests—all available at Jefferson—are most helpful
in your care.
- First-trimester screening for Down syndrome
- Early and standard amniocentesis
- Amniotic fluid evaluation
- Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)
- Fetal blood sampling (PUBS)
- Fetal skin biopsy
- Advanced imaging technnology (MRI, CT-Scan, 3-D ultrasound, fetal echocardiography)
- Other tests to determine fetal well-being, such as non- stress testing and biophysical profiles
In addition, we have highly knowledgeable genetic counselors and nurses on staff who can answer questions and discuss concerns.
They can help guide you through medical choices and provide continuing emotional support. Our team of physicians, sonographers,
genetic counselors, nurses, and support staff work together to coordinate your care in the Fetal Therapy Center from diagnosis
through continuing follow-up during your pregnancy.
If a Newborn Requires Critical Care
Jefferson University Hospital maintains the highest standards for care of newborns in need of special attention. Our neonatologists
(physicians specializing in infant care) care for all of our patients planning to deliver their babies at Jefferson and who
are at risk of premature birth or labor, or having a baby with congenital problems or other abnormalities. Before your baby
is born, you and your perinatologist also will meet with appropriate specialists from duPont Hospital for Children if needed.
If your newborn should require critical care, there is no better place than Jefferson University Hospital's Level III Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit (NICU). "Level III" is the most sophisticated type of nursery available for infants who require surgery
and other high-tech care. About 850 infants a year are admitted to our NICU - more than at any other NICU in the region.
Jefferson was the first and is now one of only two hospitals in the Delaware Valley with life-saving ECMO technology (artificial
lungs) for babies with cardio-respiratory failure. If your child is born at another hospital but requires emergency care after
birth, we offer a unique infant transport program. A Jefferson ambulance will pick up your baby and bring him or her right
to our NICU.
Where needed, a pediatric cardiologist, surgeon or other pediatric subspecialist from duPont Hospital for Children will be
called in to treat your baby onsite at Jefferson University Hospital. In this way, your newborn will have all the advantages
offered by a highly respected children's hospital, while remaining with you at Jefferson.
Fetal Therapy Coordinator
The Fetal Therapy Center's nurse coordinator works closely with you and the rest of the team to help arrange and coordinate
various appointments you may have in the Fetal Therapy Center, or with other departments and specialists at Jefferson for
testing and consultation. She will help communicate these arrangements and subsequent reports to your obstetrician. At any
time that you have questions or concerns, she is available to discuss these with you and help provide the knowledge and support
that you may need.
You should feel free to contact our coordinator anytime before or after your appointment to the Fetal Therapy Center.
Alexa Herman, RN, MSN
(215)955-1606
