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Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit

Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit

Mom cozy in her Special Delivery Unit patient room
Appointments & referrals (800-IN-UTERO)
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If your baby is prenatally diagnosed with a birth defect, they may need specialized care before or during delivery and in the critical moments after birth. The team in the Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit (SDU) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has seen and is prepared for everything.

The SDU is the world's first birth facility in a pediatric hospital. It was created just for mothers carrying babies with known birth defects. Our team delivers the largest number of critically ill infants in the nation. Our facility is specially equipped with high-tech labor and delivery capabilities and infant stabilization areas. This means that you and your newborn will be close by one another as you both receive the world’s most advanced care.

  • Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit: A Tour

    Naomi's mom: When you're carrying a baby with a birth defect, you know the delivery is going to be different and very special. It's incredibly important you and your baby are surrounded by a team of experts in delivery and in providing the highly specialized care your baby will need.

    That's how it was for me. I delivered my daughter, Naomi, in the Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP.

    The Special Delivery Unit, or SDU, is located within CHOP's Richard D. Wood Junior Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, one of the first fetal centers in the world. The SDU is the world's first birthing facility within a free standing children's hospital, designed just for pregnant women carrying babies with known birth defects.

    The dedicated staff in the SDU work together as a unified team. They have the most experience in the world delivering babies with prenatally diagnosed birth defects, such as spina bifida, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, congenital heart disease, and many others. Their skill is just part of the story. They're also very warm and supportive. I know this from experience during that incredibly challenging time, they made me and my family feel at ease and part of the CHOP family too.

    Now, let's take a look at the space together. Everything about the unit has been designed with the wellbeing of parents and babies in mind. Rooms are comfortable and spacious with ample space for partners and family members to visit. You are always steps away from an expert team of labor and delivery nurses and doctors.

    When it comes time for delivery, you will have peace of mind knowing you are in the very best hands. Since the SDU opened in 2008, it's team of high risk obstetricians and specially trained nurses, nurse practitioners and midwives have delivered more than 5,000 babies. If you're delivering by C-section, you'll be taken to one of the state-of-the-art operating rooms just down the hall.

    Most of the time your partner can be with you. Mothers delivering vaginally can stay in one of the labor and delivery rooms within the unit. Your partner can be with you. If you are having fetal surgery, there is an operating room designed just for these procedures. The unit also has a quiet area where family members can wait.

    The SDU team does a wonderful job preparing you for care, so you know what to expect. Well before my scheduled C-section, they explained every detail of what the C-section would be like and answered any and every question I had.

    Deliveries are managed by a specialized team focused on you and your baby. They will be in constant communication with a team of specially trained neonatologists and nurses, called the neonatal surgical team. When your baby is born, they are immediately passed through a connecting window to the neonatal surgical team in the infant stabilization room. There, your baby will receive the specialized care they need, whatever that may be.

    Your baby will then be brought to you for the first meeting before going to the newborn infant intensive care unit or cardiac intensive care unit nearby.

    I'll never forget this joyous moment shared with the team.

    After the delivery, you'll move to one of the unit's spacious postpartum rooms where the obstetrical team will oversee your recovery.

    Lactation specialists will be there to help with pumping, breastfeeding, and milk storage. The psychosocial team will also be there to support the emotional and spiritual needs of you and your family before and after birth. They will help you feel ready to transition out of the hospital, taking into account all of your baby's needs.

    For me, one of the most important things about delivering in the SDU is that I knew my baby would be in one of the very best intensive care units surrounded by some of the best pediatric specialists in the world. The NICU has separate area for babies who may need surgery, where they receive the highly specialized care they need, and bedside cameras allow you to get a realtime view of your baby, day or night on your phone or computer. When you're recovered after the delivery, you'll be able to visit your baby.

    Words can't express what this moment meant. It wouldn't have been possible without the incredible caring team in the Special Delivery Unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. I will never forget the experience of delivering in the SDU and especially the care providers.

    They are like family. My husband and I talk about our nurses, funny things they've said, lessons they taught us, and the support they gave us almost daily, and we talk about them to Naomi. They are so much a part of our journey to parenthood.

    Say "hi!"

Transcript Transcript

How we serve you

Getting every detail right in this critical time period during and after delivery has a direct impact on a child's health. Delivering within a pediatric hospital gives you and your baby access to all the experts and specialized care you might need, under one roof.

Daddy photographing his baby that was just delivered

Why choose to deliver at CHOP

The Special Delivery Unit at CHOP is a state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit. It is fully equipped to provide all the support you and your baby need before, during and after birth. Since opening in 2008, more than 6,120 babies have been delivered here.

SDU patient 1 year later with her SDU team!

Meet your team

Your team at CHOP is one of the most experienced in the world at delivering and caring for babies with serious and life-threatening birth defects. We are prepared to support you every step of the way.

A mom's pregnant belly with dad's hands supporting

Resources for families

As you prepare to deliver your baby with a birth defect or genetic condition, you probably have many questions and concerns. We created a list of resources to help.

Patient stories

Our Stories
Hugh was diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in utero. His parents traveled to the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), which has treated more CDH cases than any hospital in the world. Hugh is now a healthy 10-year-old who proudly claims Philly as his hometown, and the Eagles as his favorite team.

Events

Fetal Firesides Virtual CE Lecture Series

Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024

Join the Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment's team of MFMs as they share information on diagnoses seen in the Center. This virtual, interactive CE lecture series is to update care providers on the latest advances in fetal diagnostic criteria and optimal management to enhance their skills in prenatal diagnosis, counseling and treatment.

Special Delivery Unit's patient room

About your stay in the Special Delivery Unit

Knowing what to expect in the SDU can help ease some of your worry in the days and weeks ahead.

Fetal Family Newsletter Sign Up Form

Be among the first to know about our latest breakthroughs – big and small. Subscribe to receive Fetal Family News, a special e-newsletter for families that includes: updates on our research and treatment advances, patient stories, profiles of our clinicians, news about special Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment events and much more!

Your donation changes lives

Philanthropic donations fuel every breakthrough discovery. With your help, we can continue making advances that will deliver the best possible outcomes for babies with birth defects.

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