(St. Louis, MO) - SSM Health announces plans to open the region’s first fully integrated maternal and newborn care center within the new SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. The center will bring labor and delivery together with Level IV neonatal intensive care in one coordinated setting—allowing mothers and babies who may require specialized care to receive services in the same place.
Located within the new SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, opening in late 2027, the center places labor and delivery just steps from advanced medical and surgical services and is designed around an integrated model of keeping mothers and newborns together in the same private room, even when the baby requires intensive care. Delivering the highest level of clinical care for both while preserving the mother-baby bond, this combined approach allows care for both to begin and continue within one coordinated, clinically connected setting, reducing stress of separation and limiting the need for post‑delivery transfers.
“Spanning four floors inside the new children’s hospital, the center will include 18 maternal rooms, two cesarean delivery suites with fetal surgery capabilities, 10 maternal newborn couplet rooms, and 90 Level IV NICU beds,” says Hossain Marandi, MD, MBA, FACHE, president of SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and system vice president, Pediatric Services. “When clinically appropriate, the couplet care model allows mothers and newborns receiving intensive care to remain together in the same private room, supporting bonding, breastfeeding, and maternal well‑being while maintaining the highest standards of clinical safety.”
The center builds on the longstanding strength of the SSM Health St. Mary’s maternity program, preserving those services while bringing that expertise into a more fully integrated care environment at Cardinal Glennon. The center will be supported by academic physicians from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and SSM Health SLUCare Physician Group. With a direct connection to SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, mothers have timely access to adult subspecialty expertise, supported by coordinated care for pregnancies requiring a high level of clinical collaboration.
By integrating maternity care within a children’s hospital, SSM Health is establishing a new regional standard for coordinated care. In partnership with the Cardinal Glennon Fetal Care Institute, this approach offers expert care for complex pregnancies and provides families with a more connected experience, from pregnancy through delivery and newborn care. Together, these efforts further strengthen Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital as a trusted destination for families across the St. Louis region and the Midwest.
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About SSM Health
Nationally recognized for quality and innovation, SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit, fully integrated health system working to advance health equity and empower all people to achieve their full potential.
With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, SSM Health provides convenient access to high-quality community-based services as well as world-class academic medicine, clinical trials, and research studies. The organization’s footprint includes hospitals, physician offices, outpatient and virtual care services, senior care, comprehensive home care and hospice services, a fully transparent pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company, and an accountable care organization. As one of the largest employers in every community it serves, the organization’s 40,000 team members and 15,000 providers are dedicated to fulfilling SSM Health’s Mission: “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.” For more information, visit ssmhealth.com or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
