FETAL Center
When a prenatal ultrasound reveals a health problem, it’s natural to feel scared and unsure about what to do next. The FETAL Center at Children’s Health℠ has helped hundreds of parents—throughout Texas and beyond—understand their baby’s condition, meet their comprehensive care team, and make the healthiest possible decisions for their child and family.
Led by June Hu, M.D., Patricia Santiago-Munoz, M.D., and two dedicated coordinators, the FETAL team works hand-in-hand with UT Southwestern physicians representing more than 50 specialties. Whether families need a urologist, plastic surgeon, ENT physician or other specialist, we’ll assemble a team that gives every baby the best opportunity for a happy, healthy life.
Conditions We Treat
- Pediatric abdominal masses
- Pediatric achondroplasia (dwarfism)
- Pediatric ambiguous genitalia
- Anencephaly
- Pediatric anorectal malformation (imperforate anus or ARM)
- Congenital arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
- Pediatric biliary atresia
- Bladder exstrophy
- Bladder outlet obstruction
- Bowel atresia
- Pediatric chronic lung disease (CLD)
- Cloacal exstrophy
- Colon atresia
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)
- Congenital infections
- Congenital lung lesions
- Congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM)
- Cystic fibrosis (CF) in children
- Pediatric cytomegalovirus (CMV)
- Down syndrome in children
- Pediatric duodenal atresia
- Encephalocele in children
- Esophageal atresia (EA)
- Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD)
- Pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Gastroschisis
- Goldenhar syndrome (oculo-auriculo-vertebral dysplasia or OAV)
- Pediatric head and neck lumps
- Congenital heart disease
- Pediatric craniosynostosis
- Pediatric edema
- Pediatric enteroviruses
- Pediatric hemophilia
- Pediatric high blood pressure (hypertension)
- Hirschsprung's disease
- Hydrops
- Pediatric hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice)
- Pediatric hypotonia (floppy muscle syndrome)
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (intrapartum asphyxia - HIE)
- Pediatric intestinal disorders
- Pediatric intraventricular hemorrhage and stroke
- Jejunal and ileal atresia
- Pediatric lordosis (sway back)
- Pediatric Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension)
- Meconium aspiration in newborns
- Pediatric mediastinal mass
- Pediatric metabolic diseases
- Muscular dystrophy (MD) in children
- Pediatric necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
- Newborn tumors
- Noonan syndrome (NS)
- Omphalocele
- Pediatric patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
- Pediatric persistent pulmonary hypertension
- Pierre Robin syndrome (PRS)
- Pediatric pleural effusion
- Pneumonia in children
- Poland syndrome (Poland sequence)
- Prematurity
- Prenatal drug and alcohol exposure
- Pulmonary sequestration
- Pediatric pyloric stenosis
- Renal malformation
- Pediatric respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)
- Pediatric rubella (German measles)
- Sepsis and meningitis in children
- Pediatric short bowel syndrome (SBS)
- Skeletal dysplasias and abnormalities
- Spina bifida
- Pediatric syphilis
- Tay-Sachs disease
- Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF)
- Pediatric first unprovoked seizure
- Low birth weight
- VATER syndrome (VACTERL association)
- Pediatric laryngomalacia
- Brachydactyly (symbrachydactyly)
- Pediatric Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS or elastic skin)
- Pediatric encephalopathy (encephalitis)
- Open neural tube defects (ONTDs)
Meet the FETAL Care Coordinators
Laura Van Pelt, MSN, RNC-NIC, and Hazel Lazatin, BSN, RN, bring more than 25 years of combined NICU nursing experience to the FETAL team. They use that experience to help families understand their baby’s condition and treatment, and prepare for delivery.
“Our job is to coordinate care, take detailed notes and answer any questions,” Laura says. “It’s rewarding to relieve some of parents’ anxiety and use our NICU and nursing experience to help them along this journey.”
Red carpet service and a spa-like environment
Our FETAL Center is a warm, welcoming environment where expectant parents can meet their care team. We offer complimentary valet parking and a private entrance, so families don’t have to find their way through the busy hospital. Our consultation rooms feature comfortable furniture and a spa-like atmosphere to help parents feel as comfortable as possible.
An expert team, by your side
Each family is matched with a FETAL care coordinator who stays with you every step of the way. The coordinator accompanies families during consultations with doctors, and helps schedule tests and appointments to make care convenient.
It felt good to be prepared for the experience and know what to expect. It happened just like they said it would – and it worked.
In fact, coordinators arrange care so that all the specialists you need come to you during a single appointment. You don’t have to go from clinic to clinic—or keep coming back to see one doctor at a time.
We’re proud to be the only pediatric hospital affiliated with UT Southwestern. This affiliation means your baby has access to some of the world’s top pediatric doctors, in many different specialties—both medical and surgical—as well as the most advanced treatments.
Help for every condition
From abdominal masses to craniofacial differences, we treat a wide range of pediatric conditions. Whether your baby’s health issue is common or rare, the FETAL team will create a personalized care plan that delivers the best opportunity for a healthy outcome.
We know families have many questions. That’s why we explain your baby’s condition and treatment plan in detail and take time to answer any and every question—whether it’s about what to expect in the delivery room, or about when you can hold your baby after birth.
Follow-up care
After your baby is born, we’ll coordinate any follow-up care they need in the hospital. Our Thrive Program delivers specialized outpatient care once you go home.
Red carpet service and a spa-like environment
Our FETAL Center is a warm, welcoming environment where expectant parents can meet their care team. We offer complimentary valet parking and a private entrance, so families don’t have to find their way through the busy hospital. Our consultation rooms feature comfortable furniture and a spa-like atmosphere to help parents feel as comfortable as possible.
An expert team, by your side
Each family is matched with a FETAL care coordinator who stays with you every step of the way. The coordinator accompanies families during consultations with doctors, and helps schedule tests and appointments to make care convenient.
In fact, coordinators arrange care so that all the specialists you need come to you during a single appointment. You don’t have to go from clinic to clinic—or keep coming back to see one doctor at a time.
We’re proud to be the only pediatric hospital affiliated with UT Southwestern. This affiliation means your baby has access to some of the world’s top pediatric doctors, in many different specialties—both medical and surgical—as well as the most advanced treatments.
Help for every condition
From abdominal masses to craniofacial differences, we treat a wide range of pediatric conditions. Whether your baby’s health issue is common or rare, the FETAL team will create a personalized care plan that delivers the best opportunity for a healthy outcome.
We know families have many questions. That’s why we explain your baby’s condition and treatment plan in detail and take time to answer any and every question—whether it’s about what to expect in the delivery room, or about when you can hold your baby after birth.
Follow-up care
After your baby is born, we’ll coordinate any follow-up care they need in the hospital. Our Thrive Program delivers specialized outpatient care once you go home.
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Meet the care team
Lina Chalak, MDNeonatologist
Sushmita Yallapragada, MDNeonatologist
Noorjahan Ali, MDNeonatologist
Chelsea Anderson, MDPediatrician Newborn Medicine
Dimitrios Angelis, MDNeonatologist
Asya Asghar, MDNeonatologist
Kikelomo Babata, MDNeonatologist
Timothy Brannon, MDNeonatologist
Christina Chan, MDNeonatologist
Becky Ennis, MDNeonatologist
Shamaila Gill, MDNeonatologist
Roy Heyne, MDNeonatologist
June Hu, MDNeonatologist
Jawahar Jagarapu, MDNeonatologist
Mambarambath Jaleel, MDNeonatologist
Venkatakrishna Kakkilaya, MDNeonatologist
Vishal Kapadia, MDNeonatologist
Rachel Leon, MDNeonatologist
Imran Mir, MDNeonatologist
Julie Mirpuri-Hathiramani, MDNeonatologist
Jessica Morse, MDPediatrician Newborn Medicine
Sujir Nayak, MDNeonatologist
Eric Ortigoza, MDNeonatologist
Christine Pazandak, MDNeonatologist
Shalini Ramachandran, MDNeonatologist
Patricia Santiago-Munoz, MDMaternal Fetal Medicine Specialist
Joseph Schneider, MDPediatrician Newborn Medicine
Julide Sisman, MDNeonatologist
Muraleedharan Sivarajan, MDPediatrician Newborn Medicine
Kaili Stehel, MDPediatrician Newborn Medicine
Katherine Stumpf, MDNeonatologist
Myra Wyckoff, MDNeonatologist
Hazel Lazatin, BSN, RNProgram Coordinator
Laura Van Pelt, MSN, RNC-NICProgram Coordinator
