Our fellows have extensive clinical exposure in all areas of perinatal medicine through structured training rotations in inpatient and outpatient settings.
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship
At a Glance
Program Leadership
Name:
Vincenzo Berghella, MD
Position:
- Program Director, Fellowship Program
- Director, MFM Division
Program Contacts
Name:
Whitney Bender, MD
Position:
Associate Program Director
Name:
Rupsa Boelig, MD, MS
Position:
Associate Program Director
Contact
Name:
Kerry Baumer
Department:
Education Coordinator
Clinical Experience
The Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University offers a comprehensive curriculum that progresses from basic obstetrical and ultrasound skills to advanced MFM diagnostics, therapeutics and counseling. As a major tertiary referral center, our fellows have an intensive and varied clinical experience in high-volume clinical settings with patients of diverse backgrounds and pathology.
Rotation Schedule
23 months of clinical rotations are divided into:
Inpatient service (Ante/intra/postpartum):
- Team: fellow, attending, 2nd year resident, medical students
- Responsibilities/Opportunities:
- Complex antenatal care (pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, pre-term birth prevention, maternal cardiac, maternal critical care)
- Complex postpartum care (hypertensive disorders, diabetes, readmissions)
- L&D (forceps, multiples…)
- Inpatient Ultrasound
- Procedures – PUBS, cerclages, etc
- Accreta Team
First Year Ultrasound Rotations:
- Einstein:
- Hands-on scanning
- Attending feedback
- Prenatal diagnostic counseling procedures
- Genetics/Ultrasound at TJUH:
- Ultrasound ‘hands-on’ with dedicated sonographer
- Attending feedback
- Prenatal diagnostic procedures
- Genetic counseling sessions
2nd and 3rd Year Ultrasound Rotation
- All delivering patients at TJUH have ultrasounds done in MFM unit
- Fetal Echocardiography – 3 sessions / week
- Nemours Pediatric Cardiology
- Megan Brett, RDMS and Morgan Grace, RDMS
- Fetal procedures
- CVS, amniocentesis, fetal reduction, etc
- 2026 Numbers (total for 2 graduating fellows): 81 Amniocentesis and 36 CVS
- Genetic counseling and consults
Outpatient High Risk Clinic
- Resident high risk MFM clinics (3 half-sessions)
- Fellow acts as junior attending
- Maternal consults (3 half-sessions)
- Continuity of care sessions (2 half-sessions) - run by fellows with attending supervision
Specialty Programs
- Diabetes & Pregnancy Program
- Diabetic nutritionist
- Endocrinology
- CardioOB
- Join session with MFM and Cardiology
- Join session with MFM and Cardiology
- Prematurity Prevention
- PLUS Clinic (Perinatal HIV and other infectious diseases)
- OUD in Pregnancy
- Other OBGYN Specialty Programs: Centering in Pregnancy, Maternal Mental Health
Jefferson Abington Hospital
- Dedicated ultrasound rotation
Nemours Children's Hospital
- Dedicated fetal diagnosis and treatment rotation
- Outpatient ultrasound
- Prenatal consultations/care
- Fetal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
- Complex deliveries
Volumes & Facilities
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Fellows gain the majority of their clinical experience at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH).
TJUH is one of the major tertiary referral centers in the greater Philadelphia area. While many of the referrals are seen primarily for antenatal evaluation and/or co-management, up to 25 per month are transferred to the in-city hospitals for primary perinatal management of significant complications diagnosed either in the mother or fetus.
Labor & Delivery
Nearly 3,000 patients deliver at TJUH per year. There are 12,000+ births per year at Jefferson Health Hospitals.
The combined programs provide fellows with a substantial inpatient base for both clinical experience and research opportunities.
High-Risk Obstetrical Unit
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has a large, dedicated antepartum unit. Outpatient opportunities on our antepartum unit include antepartum fetal and obstetric ultrasound, testing services, maternal consultations and prenatal care for large populations of both publicly and privately insured patients.
Surgical Facilities
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is a referral center for morbidly adherent placenta, fetal transfusion and fetal reduction, and offers fellows unique opportunities in education, patient counseling and performance procedures. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is continually expanding and renovating its operating room space with over 30 operating rooms equipped with the latest operative technology.
Intensive Care Units
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has surgical, medical and other intensive care units, with capability for both invasive hemodynamic monitoring and ventilatory support. Full-time obstetric anesthesia support is on-site, teaching fellows the importance of co-managing critically ill patients.
In addition, we have an Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital through our partnership with Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. The 40-bed combined intensive care and transitional nursery is a Level III tertiary referral center. Nemours duPont Hospital is an internationally recognized center of excellence, providing neonatal, pediatric and adolescent care to patients from throughout the Delaware Valley and beyond.
Jefferson Neonatology Department
Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital
Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital is a 195-bed regional medical center, with highly skilled clinicians who offer the full scope of medical services—including exceptional care in cardiology, stroke treatment, cancer care, orthopedics, obstetrics and more—with nationally recognized maternity care ranked among the best by U.S. News & World Report. Nearly 2,000 patients deliver at Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital per year.
The rotation at Einstein provides fellows with an extended experience in hands-on ultrasound, office procedures (amniocentesis and CVS) and allows the fellows to expand their research collaborations. First year fellows will spend one month in their first year doing Hand-on ultrasound at Einstein.
Jefferson Abington Hospital
Jefferson Abington Hospital, a 667-bed regional referral and teaching center with a history of providing life-changing care for 100+ years, delivers world-class treatment in cancer care, complex surgeries, neurosciences, obstetrics, cardiology, trauma care, orthopedics, and much more. Nearly 5,000 patients deliver at Jefferson Abington Hospital per year.
The rotation at Jefferson Abington allows fellows to read and perform ultrasounds and do needle-guided ultrasound procedures. Fellows spend time in their second and third years at Jefferson Abington.
Nemours Children's Hospital
Nemours Children’s is one of the largest integrated pediatric health systems in the country. Fellows will rotate at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware at the new Institute for Maternal Fetal Health. Their Advanced Delivery Unit gives healthy expectant mothers the option to deliver where their babies can get treatment right away.
In addition to participating in consultations on complex fetal diagnoses, fellows will be able to perform needle-guided ultrasound procedures (including chorionic villous sampling, amniocenteses, and peri-umbilical blood sampling) and observe fetal therapy procedures including laser therapy for twin-twin transfusion syndrome, shunts, fetoscopy and in-utero repairs of myelomeningoceles, selected congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and congenital heart disease (CHD) cases.