BATON ROUGE, La. – A national leader in caring for women with high-risk pregnancies and their babies, Woman’s has become the first hospital in Louisiana to join the North American Fetal Therapy Network (NAFTNet). NAFTNet is a voluntary association of medical centers in the United States and Canada with established expertise in fetal intervention and other forms of multidisciplinary care for complex disorders of the fetus.
“Women have long looked to Woman’s as a leader in delivering babies, but we also provide some of the most advanced care for babies prior to delivery and following birth,” said R. Clifton Moore, MD, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Woman’s. “Being part of this organization will allow us to better collaborate with other leaders in fetal therapy across North America and provide the best outcomes for our patients using evidence-based practices and leading-edge technologies.”
Woman’s provides some of the most advanced diagnosis and fetal interventions available. Medical staff that treat these cases includes maternal-fetal medicine specialists, pediatric cardiologists, pediatric surgeons, obstetrical anesthesiologists, neonatal intensivists and an entire team of specialized care coordinators. Parents who choose to receive care at Woman’s also have the benefit of access to the largest neonatal intensive care unit in the state for post delivery care if needed.
Birth defects are most often managed with a coordinated medical therapy team during pregnancy or immediately after birth. Conditions diagnosed and treated before and after birth at Woman’s include:
- Spina bifida
- Twin-Twin transfusion syndrome
- Twin reversed arterial perfusion
- Lower urinary tract obstruction
- Congenital pulmonary airway malformation
- Fetal anemia/non-immune hydrops
- Cleft lip/Cleft palate
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)
- Congenital heart block
- Congenital heart disease
- Fetal cardiac arrhyhmia
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
- Fetal chylothorax or hydrothorax
For more information on fetal therapy or available interventions at Woman’s, visit womans.org/fetaltherapy.