Every 4.5 minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect or congenital anomaly.

In other words, about one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect. Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality, accounting for more than one of every five infant deaths. In addition, babies born with birth defects have a greater chance of illness and long-term disability than babies without birth defects.

Most major birth defects are often diagnosed by ultrasound during pregnancy. This gives doctors and nurses an opportunity to begin planning follow-up and treatment before birth. Often the care is fragmented with families left alone to navigate our complex medical system.

As a response to care fragmentation during this critical time for mothers and their unborn babies, the newborn intensive care units at Miami Valley Hospital and Dayton Children’s Hospital came together and created the Southwest Ohio Neonatal Collaborative as a joint venture. One of the first initiatives of our joint venture is to improve fetal and newborn care across the Dayton region through collaboration. The Fetal to Newborn Care Center makes navigating the continuum of care from fetal diagnosis through birth and beyond as seamless as possible. Our goal is to put a mother’s mind at ease during this overwhelming process while optimizing the outcome for both her and her baby.

• Coordinated care: At the Fetal to Newborn Care Center we have combined the expertise of the region’s leaders in maternal-fetal care, high-risk obstetrics, neonatology, neonatal surgery and pediatric subspecialties to provide coordinated care for mothers facing a high-risk pregnancy or fetal anomaly.
• Nationally-recognized: Our team is nationally-recognized for their work in advancing care for both mothers and babies and our continued collaboration continues to raise the quality of care available in our region.
• Prepared for all possibilities: Our center sees the highest volume of high-risk pregnancies and fetal conditions in the region. We have the capability to diagnose, intervene and treat a wide variety of fetal conditions using leading technology and procedures. Our expertise means we can be prepared for all possibilities that may arise over the course of a pregnancy.
• Unique care plans: Our expertise and experience, along with input from a referring physician, will guide the creation of an individualized care plan based on the needs of each mother and her baby referred to the center. This unique plan may include diagnostic tests such as ultrasound, fetal MRI and genetic testing, innovative procedures and interventions, and advanced labor and delivery and newborn intensive care services all available in our region.
• Pediatric specialists: We have access to a full complement of pediatric specialists capable of treating your child from diagnosis to treatment to follow-up, giving you peace of mind in knowing who is caring for your baby.
• Nurse navigator: We have a specialized nurse navigator who will guide a mother through the pregnancy assisting with all of the subspecialty appointments and tours needed at Dayton Children’s and Miami Valley Hospital. In addition, she will provide emotional support, educational materials, and be the first line contact for the families for all of their needs, and in rare cases, assist the family through the perinatal hospice path. The nurse navigator will communicate throughout the pregnancy with the referring physician.

At the Fetal to Newborn Care Center, our collaborative team is focused on delivering the high-quality care you deserve and expect.