Special Delivery Milestone Celebrated in Philadelphia

Published on in CHOP in the Media

April 12, 2012 — For the sickest babies born with highly complex conditions, transfer from where they are delivered at adult hospitals to a children’s hospital can cause added complications. Frequently facing these challenges when caring for such high-risk patients, specialists from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia had an idea — why not create a birthing facility in a pediatric setting, dedicated specifically to mothers carrying babies with known birth defects?

From that idea, CHOP’s Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit (SDU) was born. It was the world’s first delivery unit set in a pediatric hospital with the purpose of caring for babies who have undergone fetal surgery or who will require immediate specialized care after they are born to treat congenital anomalies.

In April 2012, the SDU celebrated a milestone when the 1,000th baby was born in the facility located within CHOP.

Read the local media coverage of the milestone to learn more about the Special Delivery Unit and how it’s helping babies prenatally diagnosed with birth defects.