Contact Us
Skip to Content
Contact Us
Skip to Content
As a leading women’s hospital in the Southeast, Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies is committed to advancing the care of unborn babies through expanded treatment options. Our Fetal Care Center, part of Center for Material Fetal Medicine, and in partnership with the Leon Pediatric Neuroscience Center of Excellence, is dedicated to helping families when prenatal conditions are diagnosed.
Our team of renowned doctors, specialists and nurses can explain your choices for care and will stay with you throughout your pregnancy, the birth of your child and afterward into recovery.
We help you get the answers you need. Through personalized care plans, our dedicated team supports your decisions medically and emotionally. Our staff coordinates your care with experts in maternal, fetal and pediatric medicine at our advanced facilities, so you can focus on healing and moving forward.
Our Fetal Care center is here to assist you and your family throughout your pregnancy journey, from diagnosis and prenatal care through delivery and care after birth. Our team of skilled surgeons are trained extensively in specialized procedures, including open fetal options to ensure the best outcome for you and your baby.
At the Fetal Care Center, our skilled surgeons are trained extensively in open fetal, in utero procedures, including:
Our experienced physicians also manage fetal conditions through a number of specialized procedures, including:
At the Fetal Care Center, our goal is to provide the best possible care for mother and child, and that may mean surgery before your baby is born. Our experienced surgeons perform innovative procedures that include repairing the most severe form of spina bifida. Only a few hospitals in the United States can perform this type of open fetal surgery. Orlando Health Winnie Palmer is the first in the state of Florida to offer this option and is the only facility in the Southeast for this treatment.
The benefits of prenatal repair of the spine include the likelihood of better mobility for the child as well as a decreased need for a brain shunt. Our team’s expertise and experience have produced consistent, positive outcomes for babies with spina bifida, and our program continues to flourish.
Mothers at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer can request evaluations for this surgical program. If they meet the strict scientific criteria for fetal surgery, they will be offered the surgery as one of the treatment options available to them. Our fetal surgery team follows the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the MOMS clinical study. Every mother and her fetus undergo a thorough workup to determine their candidacy for fetal surgery. Patients then decide whether they want to proceed with this delicate surgery or opt for treatment after their babies are born. For both medical approaches, patients can feel confident they are receiving the highest level of care available anywhere for babies with spina bifida.
"When my baby was diagnosed with spina bifida, the Fetal Care Center at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies gave me hope. Working together, like a symphony, they gave my unborn baby the best chance for a healthy future. It’s amazing that they could perform surgery on a baby, still in the womb, and basically change her entire life."
"When my unborn baby was diagnosed with spina bifida, I was scared. After learning she was a candidate for in utero surgery, it didn’t take long to decide to go ahead with the procedure. Although Ava was born 10 weeks early, she was breathing on her own and wiggling her toes. The team at the Fetal Care Center took great care of me and my daughter. I am so thankful I was able to find such great care close to home."
"My husband and I were so excited when I became pregnant with our first child. Then at 16 weeks, my AFP test results indicated a possible neural tube defect. Further tests showed that my baby daughter, Mia, had spina bifida. Doctors at the Fetal Care Center offered me the option of in utero surgery for better outcomes for my baby. I’ll never grow tired of thanking them for what they did. I look at Mia and she is perfect, and it’s because of them."
"Everything seemed right on track when I was pregnant with my second child. Then during week 23, everything changed with an ultrasound scan. When the team at the Fetal Care Center suggested fetal surgery as an option to treat spina bifida — explaining both the benefits and risks — I said yes, that’s what I need to do. I’ve never had such great care as I did at the Fetal Care Center. Today, Parker is just like any other baby his age in so many ways."
At the Fetal Care Center, you will have access to our team of internationally recognized experts, including perinatologists, pediatric specialists, and genetic counselors who continuously work to advance the techniques used to treat fetal conditions and improve patient outcomes. Our multidisciplinary approach means you and your baby benefit from highly trained specialists collaborating for the most effective results. This exceptional care happens all in one place during one appointment—no need for separate visits with different providers. We are here to support you every step of the way.
