Maternal-Fetal Transport Services

Maternal-Fetal Transport Services at UCI Health provides swift medical intervention for mothers-to-be who are experiencing pregnancy complications. Critically ill newborns and expectant mothers are safely transported in an ambulance specially equipped to provide an intensive-care environment staffed by a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals. This round-the-clock, emergency service is operated in concert with the UCI Health Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program and its NICU.

For newborns in distress, we also offer a Neonatal Transport Service.

The Maternal-Fetal Transport emergency service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to transport women experiencing maternal medical emergencies, including:

• Bleeding after 20 weeks
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Multiple gestation (twins, triplets or more)
• Preeclampsia
• Preterm labor
• Rupture of membranes

Mothers-to-be experiencing these and other complications are assessed by a highly trained, dedicated transport team and brought to UC Irvine Douglas Hospital at the UC Irvine Medical Center, rated one of the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information, call 714-456-6430.

State-of-the-art patient transport

Maternal-Fetal Transport Services is staffed by medical specialists who safely transfer expectant women experiencing pregnancy-related emergencies. Patients are transported in ambulances specially equipped with a self-contained mobile intensive care environment.

Some of the features each transport unit includes are:

• Calming ambient lighting to help patients relax
• Enhanced hydraulics for a smoother ride
• An X-ray viewing box for en-route diagnosis
• Specially trained dedicated drivers
• Television and DVD player to calm anxiety
• A blanket warmer

The service is the only one of its kind in Orange County and one of only six in California. The transport team also regularly responds to emergencies in the Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas.

Maternal-Fetal Transport Services provides:

• A high-risk maternal-neonatal emergency response team, including a physician and nurse or respiratory therapist
• A communications system that provides constant contact with perinatologists, neonatologists and obstetricians with special expertise in high-risk pregnancies at UC Irvine Medical Center
• A specially equipped helicopter to transport mothers-to-be and newborns from a wide geographic area to the medical center
• Life-saving equipment such as ventilators and heart monitors

Upon arrival, expectant mothers receive expert care from a highly trained team of obstetricians, nurses and neonatologists to ensure safe delivery for both mother and child.