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WELCOME TO THE NICU PROVIDERS OF MODERN BABY CARE AT HMC The NICU is located at the ground floor of Women’s Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation Tel: (0974) 393909 Fax : (0974) 393993 The continued development of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Women's Hospital is a remarkable story of creativity and dedication. The Women's Hospital started as an 80-bed maternal facility in 1959. The NICU started in 1975 as the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) in a small space of 50 square meters at the former Women's Hospital. The available space accommodated 12 cribs. The staff consisted of 13 Nurses led by a Head nurse, one Specialist Neonatologist and one Resident. Following its transfer to the new building in 1988, the NICU has grown into a 970 sq.meter Unit with state of the art diagnostic, therapeutic and post discharge-follow up facilities. Expansion had made the NICU into probably the largest and one of the most sophisticated Neonatal Intensive Care Units among the Gulf Countries. Expansion HE the Minister of Public Health and Chairman of the HMC Board of Directors Dr. Hajar Ahmed Hajar cut the ribbon opening the newly expanded NICU in May 1998, 10 years after its transfer to the new building (photo above). Expansion enabled the Neonatal Intensive Care to provide simultaneous ventilation to 27 babies using life-supporting equipment and monitors. A Neonatal Isolation Area for 10 babies has been created with the same facilities as in the ICU. A Step-Down Area for 34 babies was also provided by the latest expansion. The expanded area for patient care occupies 970 square meters and provides comfortable and adequate space for as many as 71 babies at the same time. Staffing for the NICU has likewise improved with the creation of two additional consultant posts. The section is currently staffed by 2 well-trained and experienced consultant neonatologists, 2 senior specialists (Fellows), 4 specialists and 10-14 rotating residents from Pediatrics Department. The Nursing Staff includes one Assistant Director, 1 Head-Nurse, 10 Assistant Head Nurses and 127 well-trained and experienced Staff Nurses. Support staff include 3 general clerks and 10 nursing aides. Maternal and Child Health The Women’s Hospital provides an excellent maternal service to the women of Qatar. It is well-equipped and staffed to care for both routine and complicated pregnancies as well as all aspects of women's health. The only maternity facility in the country, the Women's Hospital delivered a total of 10,687 babies to 10,500 mothers in 1998. The number of births that occur at the Women's Hospital has been steadily increasing since 1958. Admissions to the NICU since 1982 averages less than 10% of live births. Neonatal admissions as a percentage of live births fluctuated between 9.83% and 6.3% (see Tables). An active Infertility Clinic service with an Assisted Reproductive Technology program has helped many couples start their families. The program has stimulated a rise in the number of multi-fetal pregnancies. The products of such conception are usually small pre-term babies who need prompt intensive care. In 1997, there were 12 sets of triplets, 5 sets of quadruplets and 116 pairs of twins. Multi-Fetal Pregnancies Qatar's first quintuplets photographed at the NICU Multi-fetal pregnancies have since become common in the hospital. Qatar had its set of quintuplets, four boys and a girl, delivered to an Indian couple in 1992 (picture above). All the babies have survived and are now in their home country. The onset of multi-fetal pregnancies started in the 1990s with the availability of ovulation induction and other modern methods of treatment for infertility. The products of such pregnancies are usually tiny pre-term babies weighing less than one kilo at birth. Improving the chances of long-term survival of such babies has become the mission of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Another impetus was the success of the Assisted Conception Unit. Delivery of the first triplets conceived under the program took place on April 27, 1994. Qatar’s first successful OPU/MI quadruplet pregnancy took place on May 27, 1995 and the babies were successfully delivered in January 1996. Modern neonatal care for low birth weight pre-term babies has vastly increased the survival chances of these very ill neonates. Due care and support extended by the Government has lowered the perinatal mortality rate to 11.3 per 1000 births from 36 per 1000 in 1975. This good rate is comparable to the mortality rates at well-established units in Western Europe and North America. Women’s Hospital as a whole achieved the lowest first week mortality in 1997 with only 34 babies dying in the first week of life. In that year, Women's Hospital managed 10,264 live births. Added to the 83 still births (8 per 1000 births), the total perinatal mortality rate came up to only 11.3 per 1000. The birth rate in Qatar has steadily increased and now totals about 10,500 babies a year. The expanded and strengthened Neonatal clinical service is able to ventilate 30 babies simultaneously with conventional and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation. Surfactant is regularly used when indicated. Neonatal Color Echocardiography & Ultrasonography The NICU performs sophisticated color echocardiography and ultrasonography, Blood gas monitoring machine and electroencephalography are available as its in-house facilities. Neonatal Surgery: Duct ligation, neonatal cardiac, neural, gastrointestinal, renal and other surgical interventions are undertaken at the General operating theater. Post-operative care is provided at the Unit. An Operating Theater has been proposed at the NICU for emergency neonatal surgery Achievement in Perinatal Mortality: Steady improvement in health care and facilities have reduced the perinatal mortality rate to 12.5 per thousand births with first-week death rate of 5 per thousand out of 10,687 babies born in 1998.
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