High-risk Obstetrical Services

Saint Peter's is a Level III state-designated Regional Perinatal Center. We are licensed and equipped to manage the most complicated pregnancies and the most medically fragile newborns. Our maternal-fetal medicine program provides advanced diagnostic testing and high-risk pre- and postnatal care. Our team includes maternal-fetal medicine specialists (high-risk perinatal physicians), geneticists, a placental pathologist, perinatal nurses, ultrasonographers, neonatologists, diabetes care and control specialists, and other high-risk support specialists.

Services include:

• Perinatal Emergency Triage and Treatment Unit — This eight-bed unit serves as an "emergency room" for pregnant women. Patients admitted to this unit are cared for by OB/GYN physicians and OB nurses who are experts in managing pregnancy complications.
• High-Risk Antepartum Unit — Pregnant women with chronic medical conditions or complex pregnancies are admitted to this 34-bed unit for observation and treatment in an attempt to bring troubled pregnancies as close to term as possible.
• Antenatal Testing Unit — This unit provides advanced ultrasound testing and interventional procedures, including:
  • Third-trimester ultrasound screening for chromosomal abnormalities
  • 3-D ultrasound screening
  • Amniocentesis
  • Chorionic villus sampling
  • Fetal cardiovascular evaluation
  • Fetal surveillance therapy
  • Percutaneous umbilical blood sampling
• Institute for Genetic Medicine — Provides pre- and postnatal counseling, testing and treatment.
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit — For babies born prematurely or with special medical needs.
• Infant and Pregnancy Loss Evaluation Service — Offers diagnostic services and treatment to couples who have lost multiple pregnancies. Of the women we treat, 80% carry a healthy baby to term.
• Infant Prematurity Assessment and Prevention Program — Offers diagnoses and treatment to prevent premature birth.

Through an affiliation with Columbia University Medical Center, Saint Peter's University Hospital is the only hospital in New Jersey to be part of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. This network, created by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, focuses on clinical questions in maternal-fetal medicine and obstetrics, particularly with respect to the continuing problem of preterm birth.