Discover care for both mother and baby at the Fetal Center at Riley Children’s Health, where advanced treatments combined with compassionate support ensure the best outcomes for complex pregnancies.
Press release: Indiana’s first successful in-utero repair of spina bifida performed at Riley Hospital for Children
Riley Children’s Health is now among the select few in the nation offering minimally invasive, life-changing in-utero surgery.
Refer a Patient
Riley Children’s Health is committed to working closely with referring providers in order to deliver the highest quality of care for our youngest and most vulnerable patients—from newborns to adolescents.
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Learn more about our comprehensive program.
About the Fetal Center
About the Fetal Center
The Fetal Center at Riley Children’s Health offers comprehensive, coordinated care for expectant families through a multidisciplinary approach. Referring providers can rely on advanced imaging services, including MRI, fetal echocardiography and detailed fetal anatomic ultrasound, all coordinated within the Riley Outpatient Center on the same day.
Families receive a dedicated counseling session with Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatology and any necessary pediatric subspecialists to discuss the baby’s anomaly and develop a tailored treatment plan that spans the pregnancy, delivery and post-birth care.
In addition to medical support, the Fetal Center prioritizes the well-being of the family. A registered nurse fetal care coordinator offers ongoing assistance to families and referring provider offices throughout the pregnancy. A family support coordinator is also available to provide tours and address non-medical and financial needs, ensuring families receive the comprehensive care and support they deserve.
Ranked among the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Riley Children’s Health provides specialized care for patients with complex fetal diagnoses. Our team members represent the full spectrum of pediatric medical and surgical sub-specialties necessary for comprehensive care, including:
- Fetal Intervention and Surgery
- Fetal Cardiology
- Fetal Radiology
- Fetal Neurosurgery
- Genetics
- Interventional Cardiology
- Infectious Disease
- Interventional Radiology
- Maternal Fetal Medicine
- Maternal Fetal Anesthesiology
- Neonatology
- Obstetrics
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Pediatric Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pediatric Neurology
- Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Pediatric Urology
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Pediatric Ear, Nose & Throat
- Plastic, Craniofacial and Reconstructive Surgery
- Perinatal Pathology
- Perinatal Psychiatry
Services offered
Services offered
Advanced Imaging
Our center utilizes advanced imaging techniques, including:
- Comprehensive ultrasound
- First trimester ultrasound including first trimester echocardiography
- Fetal neurosonography
- 3-D and 4-D ultrasound
- Fetal echocardiography
- Fetal MRI
Genetic counseling
Our genetic counselors provide a range of services to help individuals and families understand and manage genetic conditions. These services include:
- Risk assessment
- Genetic testing
- Education and counseling
- Support and guidance
- Referral services
Prenatal invasive diagnostics
The Fetal Center performs standard and advanced diagnostic procedures, including:
- Chorionic villus sampling
- Amniocentesis
- Fetoscopy
- Fetal blood sampling fetal tissue biopsy
- Thoracocentesis
- Vesicocentesis
Multidisciplinary care
We coordinate care with specialists in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatology, Pediatric Surgery, Cardiology and other fields to provide holistic treatment plans. This collaborative approach ensures that all aspects of the mother’s and baby’s health are addressed, from prenatal care through delivery and postnatal follow-up.
Fetal intervention and surgery
Our highly skilled fetal surgeons offer a full spectrum of standard care procedures as well as innovative approaches and therapies to improve neonatal survival and reduce morbidity. These include:
- Amniotic band release: Releases constriction and prevents further damage caused by amniotic bands.
- Fetal Blood Sampling: A procedure that involves taking blood directly from the umbilical cord during pregnancy.
- Fetal Surgery for Spina Bifida (Myelomingocele): Fetal repair to close a birth defect to reduce morbidity and improve health outcomes.
- EXIT Procedure: Secures a baby’s airway to perform lifesaving procedures while the baby is still receiving oxygen through the placenta.
- Radiofrequency ablation and selective bipolar cord coagulation: Interruption of vascular supply to a mass that poses a risk to the fetus, twin fetus, and potentially mother.
- Selective Fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (SFLP): Corrects the blood-sharing imbalance in a monochorionic twin pregnancy between the “donor” twin and “recipient” twin.
- Thoracic-amniotic shunt: Provides continuous drainage of fetal pleural space into the amniotic space, thus promoting lung development and reversal of hydrops.
- Vesico-amniotic shunt: Provides continuous drainage of fetal bladder, thus reducing further renal damage and increasing amniotic fluid to improve lung development.
If referred for fetal surgery, the patient will be seen urgently and will have a care plan in place at the end of the evaluation. A Fetal Center provider will follow up with you directly to keep you informed.
Meet the Team
Patient Stories
Learn more
Physician Education
The Fetal Center offers free, live virtual education via our Fetal Care Friday CME-series to provide physicians the opportunity to ask questions and interact with our highly skilled team in real time. To add the next learning event to your calendar or join live, visit live.iuhcpe.org. To access on-demand recordings, visit *The Center for Physician Education. Once logged in, search for “Riley Fetal Fridays.”
*The site requires creating a new account for first-time users.
Sign up for the Fetal Center Newsletter
Stay up to date with the Fetal Center at Riley Children’s Health. Sign up here and receive email updates from the Fetal Center, including:
- Program developments
- Latest research publications
- Fetal surgery updates
- Continuing education opportunities