FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
This is two-day-old Lillian Elizabeth. Her mother calls her Lilly. This is Lilly's twin sister Anna Belle.
Mom says, "They both need just a little bit help. Her sister Anna Belle needs a little bit more help than Lilly does."
But premature babies like Lilly and Anna Belle have a better chance of surviving in Children's neonatal intensive care unit than any hospital in the state. But what about babies born without access to a specialist?
Perinatologist Dr. Armando Fuentes says, "A lot of the babies did not survive."
If a baby is born somewhere not prepared to treat a heart defect, by the time they get help it could be too late.
"I'm Dr. Fuentes, how are you?"
Dr. Fuentes cares for moms and babies before they're even born.
He says, "We are able to diagnose prenatally before they're born to see if they have any heart defects, kidney defects, any other abnormalities that may need surgical correction when they're born."
This soon to be new mom hoped to find out if she's having a boy or a girl.
Dr. Fuentes tells her, "That's the baby's head right there. And you see this thing moving over here, that's the babies heart."
But the baby's sitting down and won't show them anything today. They can look for other things though.
Dr. Fuentes says, "What we're looking for is to see if there's any abnormal thickening in the babies neck."
Doctors can even fix problems before the baby's born right here at Children's Hospital Central California.
Dr. Fuentes says, "We've taken care of some very sick babies and they've done really well."
And if a mom and dad get frightening news about their unborn baby, they and their docs have time to prepare.
Dr. Fuentes says, "They can meet with the cardiologist, the specialists, doctors, the surgeons, the neonatalogist and it brings down that anxiety level."
And when little ones like Anna Belle and Lilly come into the world, everyone's ready.
