It can be frightening to learn that your child has a congenital heart defect. But these are relatively common, affecting almost 1 in every 100 newborns in the United States. Advances in medical knowledge and diagnostic technologies can now provide very detailed information regarding your child’s structural heart abnormalities.
If your baby is born with a congenital heart defect, they may require immediate medical assistance after delivery. At the SSM Health Cardinal Glennon St. Louis Fetal Care Institute, our Fetal Heart Program has the maternal fetal medicine and pediatric experts you need to provide the care your baby requires to transition from the womb to the outside world.
EXIT Procedure
For babies facing the most complex deliveries, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital is one of the only places in the country where a baby requiring immediate intervention can be delivered via a cesarean section or EXIT procedure (Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment).
EXIT procedures allow our pediatric and cardiothoracic surgeons to perform life-saving procedures on your baby before cutting the umbilical cord. This allows your baby to be stabilized while attached to the life-support of your placenta.
Our State-of-the-Art Delivery Suite
If additional intervention is needed, your baby is next door to the pediatric operating room and the pediatric hybrid cardiac catheterization suite. This state-of-the-art suite allows SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital's heart experts to conduct advanced diagnostic procedures and fix complex heart problems, in the same room and in one procedure, for safer care and a faster recovery.
We're Here for You
There are many types of congenital heart defects. They range from simple defects with no symptoms to complex defects with severe, life-threatening symptoms. No matter what the diagnosis, you can trust our exceptional team at the SSM Health Cardinal Glennon St. Louis Fetal Care Institute to be by your side when you welcome your little one into the world.