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Maternal-Fetal & Newborn Transport Services

The Women & Infants Center has the only combined transport team in the region that provides specialized transport services for both pregnant women and newborns requiring specialized care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our experienced team of specially trained high-risk pregnancy nurses, neonatal nurses and paramedics make more than 2,200 maternal-fetal, newborn and pediatric trips a year.

Maternal-Fetal Transport team loads a high-risk pregnant woman into the ambulance

Emergency Transport Services at the Women & Infants Center

Our transport services include:

  • Maternal-fetal transport: For pregnant women requiring special care not available at their local facility
  • Newborn transport: A service for critically ill newborns

Our maternal-fetal transport service is unique in the region because we provide a specialized high-risk pregnancy nurse, a neonatal nurse and a paramedic on every trip. The team is specially trained in issues related to transporting mothers and babies safely, whether in flight or in a moving ground vehicle. This team combination ensures that if the mother delivers prior to transfer or goes into labor during the trip, we are prepared to care for both mother and newborn.

Our Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital partnership offers the only combined maternal-fetal and newborn transport services in the St. Louis area that bring patients to a campus that supports both adult and pediatric care. Once transported to the Women & Infants Center:

  • Pregnant women receive expert care guided by OBGYNs or maternal-fetal medicine specialists.
  • Newborns are immediately transferred to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU), which is connected to labor and delivery.

Our transport services are unique because:

  • We deploy ground or air service within 15 minutes of a doctor’s referring call.
  • A high-risk medicine specialist or neonatologist in the hospital answers calls through our call center, providing expert assistance for transporting high-risk mothers and newborns.
  • We tailor each transport mission to meet the needs of the mother and child being transported. If necessary, a neonatal doctor joins the transport team.
  • When critically ill newborns arrive, they receive care in one of the only Level IV NICUs in the St. Louis region. In our NICU, we provide the highest level of care with specialists to treat every possible newborn health situation.
  • We keep the referring doctor updated on the transfer patient’s status through ongoing updates as their patient’s condition changes.
  • We operate locally, regionally and, in selected cases, nationally and internationally, to transport high-risk mothers and newborns to our Women & Infants Center.

Our High-Tech Transport Fleet

Depending on the patient’s condition, weather conditions and location, we can deploy multiple modes of transport. For extended distances, our team uses a chartered jet aircraft. Our fleet includes:

  • Five mobile intensive care units (MICU), which are large ambulances decorated in children’s themes with video devices
  • Two twin-engine helicopters: KidsFlight1 and KidsFlight2
  • One fixed-wing aircraft for longer flights: KidsFlight3

How to Access Our Transport Services

Use of our transport services requires a doctor’s referral. Doctors should call 855.747.5300 to make a referral.

We are ready to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to emergencies with teams stationed at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Parkland Health Center in Farmington, Missouri.