Women’s Hospital – a member of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), recently hosted the Third Qatar National Obstetric Ultrasound Training Course to highlight the latest technologies and techniques in pregnancy-related ultrasound scans.
More than 300 healthcare professionals from HMC, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Primary Health Care Corporation, and other Qatar-based private healthcare organisations gathered at the event.
Course Chairperson and Senior Consultant, Feto-Maternal Medicine Unit (FMU) at Women’s Hospital, Dr Najat Khenyab, said: “Ultrasounds (or sonogram) are very integral to helping clinicians monitor fetal development and screen for any problems during a woman’s pregnancy, childbirth, and the post-delivery recovery period.”
“By providing specialised workshops and training to obstetricians, radiologists, family physicians and sonographers across Qatar, we are enhancing the quality of ultrasound performance. This enables clinicians to provide early detection of fetal abnormalities through the effective use of ultrasound modalities, which could have life changing effects on a baby’s development,” she added. The two-day course was organised by the FMU, a division of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the Women’s Hospital and featured state-of-the-art lectures by local and international guests along with live demonstrations from distinguished experts in fetal medicine. The course provided a platform to participants who were able to gain advanced knowledge and skills to efficiently understand and perform ultrasound examinations.
Course Co-chairperson and Coordinator, and Consultant in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Dr Sawsan Al Obaidly said: “By organising this annual event, we have seen the number of early referrals to Women’s Hospital’s FMU increase. This is almost certainly due to a combination of better screening quality at the referring hospitals and increased awareness among healthcare workers on detection techniques.”
“If an early detection during an ultrasound is not picked up by a clinician, an unborn baby could be at risk of fetal abnormalities. This could have devastating effects on the outcome of a pregnancy. By holding this course, we are mitigating this negative outcome which is why the two-day course is so important,” Dr Al-Obaidly said.
