Programs and Services

Fetal Concerns Program

Programs and Services

Specialized Nurse Coordinator

Within the Fetal Concerns Program, all care is coordinated through a specially trained nurse coordinator. This individual arranges services and provides ongoing counseling and information, both prior to and immediately after the birth. Having a "familiar face" to turn to during this potentially traumatic time is intended to ease the process of adjustment for both the mother and family.

Preventing Birth Defects

The Fetal Concerns Program offers educational and counseling services to women of childbearing age, with a goal of maximizing the probability of a healthy pregnancy. This can include components such as folic acid education and toxic exposure in the home or workplace.

According to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, there are 3,000 to 5,000 different types of birth defects. Every three and one-half minutes, a baby with birth defects is born. These children may be unable to walk, to hear, to think, or even to fight off disease. While the cause of about 60% of birth defects is unknown, infant deaths from birth defects have been cut in half since 1960.

Early Detection and Counseling

Early on in your pregnancy, you'll be introduced to all of the physician specialists expected to be involved in the care of you and your fetus. Complete and understandable information is provided regarding your specific diagnosis and the options available to you. You will be involved in all decisions regarding your case.

The program provides support for community physicians in diagnosing and managing patient pregnancies suspected to involve complications. Counseling and education are available to help families and physicians make the most informed decisions for their fetus and family — ranging from obstetrical management of the mother and fetus to neonatal and surgical management for the infant.

Seamless Care — Under One Roof

It is common for a child with special needs to be born in a hospital without the special expertise needed to care for it. In such situations, the mother and the newborn infant are often required to be separated, with the infant being transferred to another hospital.

In the Fetal Concerns Program, patients have access to all the care they need — under one roof. From early education on prevention of birth defects, to fetal diagnosis of a birth defect, to provision of prenatal counseling, to obstetrical management and delivery, to optimizing care for both the mother and the fetus, to neonatal management of the infant after birth, to linking families to support services during the child's first year of life — the Fetal Concerns Program offers it all.


	Learn more at Children's Hospital site The Fetal Concerns Program is a cooperative effort between the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Birth Center and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Learn more at chw.org, the Web site for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin has provided this link as a convenience for patients and visitors to this site. We are not responsible for the content of this external site. Whenever you leave our site, we will tell you because we feel it is important to make this distinction as we have not reviewed the privacy policies of any Web sites we link to from our site, and you should exercise care when visiting any other Web site.