Families whose babies' lives were in danger at birth share their stories in MS-NBC's documentary "MSNBC Investigates: Miracle Babies," airing at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25. Four babies - including premature twins -- were treated at UCSF Children's Medical Center with surgery soon after birth. Two mothers faced the choice of undergoing an operation themselves in hopes of saving the lives of their babies still in the womb.

Filmed at UCSF Children's Medical Center for MSNBC by Bay Area documentary makers Ray Telles Productions, the hour-long program reflects the skills and experience that make it possible to operate on infants soon after - and sometimes before - they are born.

Each year, several hundred infants are born at UCSF or transported here soon after birth because they need treatment for major congenital anomalies.

UCSF surgeons are leaders in surgical innovations for newborns, including complex operations on hearts and other vital organs, and the world's first fetal surgeries. The surgeons depend on teams of physicians, nurses and other specialists who make these operations possible with their experience in prenatal diagnosis, care for mothers during high-risk pregnancy, anesthesia during operations and neonatal intensive care before and after surgery. A recent study conducted at UCSF showed that for one type of life-threatening heart defect, accurate prenatal diagnosis and expert care from the moment of birth made a significant difference in the number of newborns who survived surgery.

In U.S. News and World's Report's 2001 hospital and graduate school surveys

- UCSF Medical Center is ranked as one of the nation's top ten hospitals

- UCSF Children's Medical Center, a children's-hospital-within-a-hospital, is on the honor roll of the best for care of children and adolescents.

- UCSF's Department of Pediatrics is ranked fifth in the nation for research and residency training.

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ADVISORY TO MEDIA: For interviews with UCSF newborn surgery specialists and patients, contact Janet Basu or Maureen McInaney at UCSF News Services 415-476-2557 jbasu@pubaff.ucsf.edu; mmcinaney@pubaff.ucsf.edu

MSNBC'S programming advisory is enclosed. For more information about the documentary, contact Phoebe Glassner 201/583-5013 phoebe.glassner@msnbc.com
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**MSNBC PROGRAMMING ADVISORY**

"MSNBC INVESTIGATES: MIRACLE BABIES"

PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, JULY 25 AT 9 P.M. EDT and PDT


"MSNBC Investigates: Miracle Babies" delves into the remarkable world of pediatric surgery. Join MSNBC's Forrest Sawyer as he hosts the hour-long special that tracks the incredible advances in modern medicine. See the pioneering work of doctors at the University of California, San Francisco, considered the world's leading fetal treatment center, as they save the lives of numerous newborns and fetuses, who a couple of years ago, wouldn't have survived. One of these procedures is so new that you will see it on MSNBC as it is performed for the very first time.

Join MSNBC as these families go through the trauma of surgery on their newborn babies, see the daily life and death struggle in pediatric surgery and marvel at the science that saves lives.

MSNBC is a joint venture between NBC, a leading provider of news and information, and Microsoft, the leader in personal computer software and a major provider of Internet online services. Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC is a 24-hour cable news network and Internet news service at http://www.msnbc.com/.

MS/NBC Media Contact:
Phoebe Glassner 201/583-5013
phoebe.glassner@msnbc.com