New Fetal Care Center Opens in Connecticut

According to an April 3 press release, Connecticut Children’s, in partnership with the Connecticut Children’s Pediatric Care Alliance with Hartford HealthCare announced the opening of a new Fetal Care Center. The center is the only Fetal Care Center in the New England region and will operate at the health system’s main campus before relocating into a new tower expansion that is set to open in 2025.

The press release states that “The Fetal Care Center at Connecticut Children’s treats mothers with babies who have been identified as high risk for serious birth defects or health conditions that may need advanced care in utero and soon after delivery. Thanks to the powerful Connecticut Children’s Pediatric Care Alliance with Hartford HealthCare, this will allow for a seamless continuum of care for mom and baby.”

Further, “Other treatments include twin-twin transfusion syndrome procedures that tout the nation’s best survival rates and lowest complication rates, robotic fetoscopic myelomeningocele repair for the prenatal treatment of spina bifida and the FETO procedure, which stands for fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion. The FETO procedure is offered at only a handful of fetal centers for the treatment of severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia.”

Connecticut Children’s Fetal Care Center, according to the release, is one of only 15 centers in the U.S. The center features a nurse coordinator who will coordinate and manage all of a mother’s needs while she focuses on her baby.

Timothy Crombleholme, M.D., Fetal Care Center director was quoted in the release saying that “We know expectant mothers and their babies have better outcomes when they receive care close to home. We will bring these lifesaving procedures to the families of Connecticut and beyond to treat conditions such as spina bifida, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and more.”

Bob Duncan, chief operating officer, Connecticut Children’s was also quoted in the release saying that “Connecticut Children’s is committed to advancing pediatric healthcare through innovative centers and programs. This center is an invaluable resource to our state and region and will ensure expecting moms have access to the kind of compassionate and personalized care they deserve, especially when trying to navigate these complex fetal diagnoses.”