Perinatal Medical Center
Overview of the department
In the Perinatal Medical Center, medical practice associated with a series of “life succession”, involving reproduction, female infertility, perinatal/neonatal care, and care for premature infants, is provided by the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Department of Pediatrics. We are exerting efforts to establish a safer perinatal care system by providing advanced, specialized care to high-risk pregnant women and neonates requiring multidisciplinary treatment.Division of Neonatal Medicine
Consultation system/therapeutic strategies
Our division provides medical services for at-risk babies as a core hospital for neonatal care in Fukui Prefecture. More than 100 high-risk neonates per year are treated in cooperation with physicians specializing in various fields of pediatrics (immunity/infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, endocrine/metabolic disorders, blood diseases, and kidney diseases). The medical level is the highest in Japan. Furthermore, our hospital has been certified as a principal training institute for specialists in neonatology in Fukui Prefecture certified by the Japan Society of Perinatal and Neonatal Medicine. Young physicians responsible for future neonatal care are educated.
Advanced devices
To minimize the harmful influence associated with respiratory care on the premature lungs, our division is equipped with respirators that facilitate high-frequency oscillatory ventilation and transnasal continuous positive-pressure ventilation. An automatic blood cell counter, a blood gas analyzer, and ultrasonic devices are available in our facility, so that prompt, detailed examinations are possible. Furthermore, our division is equipped with a head-cooling system and electroencephalographic monitors. Therapeutic cerebral hypothermia for neuroprotection is possible. Inhaled nitric oxide therapy for persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn is also performed.
Characteristics of our medical services
1) To minimize the harmful influence on babies, invasive examinations are avoided if possible. For developmental care, nursing staff and physical therapists establish an appropriate position similar to that in the womb, and reduce sound/photic stimulations to protect babies against external stress.
2) Serious complication-free babies overcoming the acute phase are transferred back to regional affiliated hospitals (back transfer) when their families live in remote areas (such as the Reinan area in Fukui Prefecture).
3) For babies admitted for a long period, a preparatory period (shared mother-infant room) in which they stay with their mothers in the general ward of the Department of Pediatrics before discharge is established based on their families’ wishes.
4) The Follow-up Outpatient Clinic has been established in the Department of Pediatrics to observe the growth/development of infants after discharge with their families. For infants during follow-up, palivizumab prophylaxis for RS virus infection is conducted in the endemic season.
Division of Maternal and Fetal Medicine
Basic principle
As the basic principle of the Perinatal Medical Center, we recognize that “reproductive/perinatal/developmental medicine” is “medical practice that makes society happy by sending out healthy new individuals into the world”, that is, medical practice for the basic life stages of organisms, “ life succession”. Based on this, the MFICU aims to develop human resources, improve the level of community medicine, and create/develop new medical services as a division responsible for advanced maternal/fetal medicine.
Characteristics of our medical services
1) The Perinatal Medical Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, is a principal training facility for specialists in perinatal care, authorized by the Japan Society of Perinatal and Neonatal Medicine. Physicians qualified as specialists are responsible for prenatal checkups for the early detection of fetal abnormalities. As a division for life succession, we cooperate with the NICU, which belongs to the Department of Pediatrics. The most favorable results of treatment in Japan have been obtained.
2) As a core hospital in a perinatal care network in Fukui Prefecture, we are responsible for the treatment of women with high-risk pregnancies requiring advanced management based on referrals from individual hospitals in Fukui Prefecture and other prefectures. Furthermore, we are exerting efforts to establish a system (back transfer) for patients to go back to their original hospitals after overcoming a high-risk period through acute-phase management.
3) In the Okuetsu area, normal delivery is managed in cooperation with Fukui Katsuyama General Hospital. As a unique medical collaboration to simultaneously provide “convenience” and “advanced medical practice” for the residents, our activities were published in a national paper.
4) We have developed a safe surgical procedure (transverse incision of the uterine floor) for placenta previa and adhesive placenta, which are the primary causes of the death of pregnant women. This procedure has been highly assessed in Japan and other countries. Currently, we are making efforts to promote the widespread application of this procedure in Japan.