Dr. Amy Presti has spent nearly two decades caring for the tiniest and most fragile patients at Atlantic Health. Today her work is part of something rare in perinatal medicine: a center built to connect fetal and newborn care as one continuous experience. Trained at Columbia University in pediatrics and neonatology, she joined the team at Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center in 2008. Since then, she has become a steady presence for families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), guiding them from their infant’s first moments through the long, challenging days until their baby is strong enough to go home.
Neonatal medicine, she explains, is about much more than treating premature babies. Her team provides comprehensive care for newborns from the first day of life up to six months of age. That may mean supporting infants born at barely a pound, or caring for full-term babies with complex heart, lung, or metabolic conditions. Neonatology “does a little bit of everything,” Dr. Presti says. Each case requires skill, vigilance, and compassion, and often months of continuous care in the NICU.
What distinguishes her work at the Hersh Fetal Diagnostic and Treatment Center is how seamlessly neonatology is woven into prenatal care. Few programs anywhere connect these two worlds so directly. Here, Dr. Presti and her colleagues are often involved before the baby is born, helping families prepare for life after delivery from the very start. Maternal-fetal medicine specialists bring neonatology into the conversation when an ultrasound reveals an anomaly requiring immediate or long-term newborn care. That early involvement allows Dr. Presti to meet families in advance, explain what life might look like after birth, and work with maternal-fetal medicine to plan a safe delivery. “We meet the babies when we meet their parents,” she explains, and from there the preparation begins.
The Hersh Fetal Center was designed around that philosophy of preparation and coordination. In the past, families with complicated pregnancies often had to make multiple appointments at different offices, sometimes across cities and on different days. Now, at the Hersh Fetal Center, families can see their team of providers in one place. Parents stay in their own consultation room, while specialists come to them. That model, Dr. Presti notes, reduces stress for families and ensures that everyone involved in the baby’s care is aligned.
Her role as a neonatologist also requires constant communication. Weekly case reviews bring specialists together to review active patients. More often, the communication is daily. She describes phone calls, video meetings, and shared notes in the medical record that allow her to stay updated in real time. This level of coordination ensures the delivery room is ready when a baby is born, with the right team in place. It’s what sets the Hersh Fetal Center apart.
Families also receive support that goes beyond clinical care. At the Hersh Fetal Center, a dedicated social worker and nurse navigator help guide parents through scheduling, resources, and emotional challenges. Creative arts therapists and child life specialists provide services such as music therapy, where babies can hear melodies played in rhythm with their own heartbeat. These aspects, Dr. Presti says, help not only the infants but also their parents, making the NICU experience less stressful.
Importantly, this care model does not replace families’ existing providers. Many patients continue prenatal care and delivery with their own obstetrician while still benefiting from the Hersh Fetal Center’s multidisciplinary support. “We don’t want to take people away from what they’re comfortable with,” Dr. Presti emphasizes. Instead, the center acts as a partner, ensuring that babies seamlessly transition to the right subspecialists after birth while families remain anchored to their trusted doctors.
For Dr. Presti, the heart of neonatology is seeing fragile beginnings transform into healthy futures. She carries the memory of one-pound infants who return months later, smiling and thriving. “A good day is when you see an infant who was sick when you first met the family, get better, and go home,” she says. Those moments fuel her commitment to babies and families and are why she encourages providers to trust the Hersh Fetal Center as a partner in care.