Starting next week, parents seeking follow-up care for their low-risk and high-risk newborns will be referred to Well Baby Clinics at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Women’s Wellness and Research Centre (WWRC).
The Well Baby Clinics are designed to closely monitor and provide follow-up care to low-risk newborns that may be experiencing problems such as low weight, feeding difficulties or jaundice. They will also care for high-risk babies discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
According to Dr Samawal M Lutfi, Deputy Director and Senior Consultant of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine at Women’s Hospital, babies referred to the dedicated clinics may have medical conditions or environmental circumstances that put them at higher risk of developmental delays. Some factors that may increase an infant’s risk are premature birth, extremely low birth weight or other abnormalities that affect the baby’s organs and systems.
Our follow-up clinics are staffed with clinicians who are experts in treating these particular low-risk and high-risk newborns. The aim is to coordinate medical management with other paediatric subspecialties to help these babies reach their full potential.’
The Well Baby Clinics are staffed by a team of clinicians including a neonatologist, a neonatal/paediatric nurse practitioner, a social worker, a dietitian, and a physical and occupational therapist.
Part of the ongoing care we provide at our clinics is offering extra support for families. Our goal is to involve them in their baby’s care as much as possible by understanding and implementing the proper treatment regimens at home to support in their infant’s development.’
Shaikha Mahboub Al Dosari, Assistant Executive Director of Ambulatory Services at Women’s Hospital said they look forward to opening additional outpatient services in the weeks to come and to continuing to deliver high-quality care for women and babies in Qatar.
The WWRC recently saw the opening of HMC’s National Newborn Screening Unit which screens all babies born in Qatar to quickly identify specific harmful or potentially fatal disorders that aren’t otherwise apparent at birth.
For more information, visit the HMC website.