medicine
Around 90 premature babies are born at the Kepler Clinic in Linz every year. The perinatal center at the KUK is now the first clinic in Austria to be recognized by independent experts in Germany.
Eleven months ago, a young woman from Perger, Anika Patrasso, gave birth to twins. It was a high-risk pregnancy, she says. “A shortened cervix and an impending collapse of the amniotic sac were diagnosed, which meant that our children might be born at almost any time,” said the mother.
Birth should be delayed
Anika Patrasso was taken to the Perinatal Center of the Kepler Hospital. Birth should be delayed as long as possible. “We waited hour following hour and hoped that the babies would not come,” says the mother. The ultimate goal was to reach at least the 28th week of pregnancy. The obstetrician Patrick Stelzl used measures such as inhibition of contractions to prolong the pregnancy.
Emergency caesarean section in the 30th week of pregnancy
In the 30th week of pregnancy, the time had finally come: “The first child was delivered normally, and the second had problems with the umbilical cord, which is why it had to be brought in with an acute emergency caesarean section,” says Patrick Stelzl .
Both children had a birth weight of well under 1,500 grams and required intensive medical care. “In the beginning there are often problems with breathing – the respiratory center is still very immature and the intestines are also still immature,” says Nadja Haiden, head of the neonatology clinic.
Premature babies are cared for until they start school
The children are looked following from the center until they start school. One of the reasons why the perinatal clinic at the Kepler Clinic was awarded a certificate from Germany, according to Doctor Patrick Stelzl, Head of Obstetrics. “We have a very high quality of care. Especially with regard to high-risk pregnancies,” he says.
