At the Mother and Child Clinic of the University Hospital in Lviv, doctors provided emergency care to 21-year-old Anna Smuk from Sokali, who was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis at 34 weeks of pregnancy, and saved the life of the mother and her prematurely born daughter.
Late in the evening, Anna suddenly developed severe abdominal pain. After seeking help at her place of residence, she was referred to Lviv, where she was examined by the on-duty obstetrician-gynaecologist of the clinic, Bohdan Hrytsyshyn. Due to the complexity of her condition, the patient was examined six times by a multidisciplinary team of specialists. After an ultrasound scan and MRI, the doctors diagnosed acute pancreatitis.
At this stage of pregnancy, acute pancreatitis is dangerous both for the woman and for the premature baby. The doctors had to monitor the mother’s condition, constantly observe the foetus and choose the safest delivery strategy. As intoxication increased, Anna went into labour spontaneously.
The decision to transfer the patient to the delivery room was made by the head of the Mother and Child Clinic of the University Hospital, Kateryna Shatylovych. The birth was attended by the clinic’s obstetrician-gynaecologist and member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University Hospital, Oleksandr Besedin. He notes that in this situation a caesarean section would have placed an unnecessary burden on the patient, so, in the absence of significant abnormalities in the baby’s condition, a vaginal birth was chosen.
At 34 weeks of pregnancy, a baby girl, Eva, was born, weighing 1,590 g and measuring 44 cm in length. Due to being severely premature, the newborn required intensive treatment: respiratory support (mechanical ventilation), administration of exogenous surfactant, antibiotic therapy and parenteral nutrition. According to the clinic’s paediatric neonatologist, Yuliia Dubrovna, the girl has now been weaned off mechanical respiratory support, she is breathing on her own and is tolerating donor breast milk better.
This period has been an extremely difficult trial for Anna; she was very anxious about her own health and about her daughter’s premature birth. She expressed her gratitude to the entire medical team for their support and the attention shown to her and her baby.
Eva is now breathing independently and continues to receive care under the supervision of neonatologists. One of the key advantages of the Mother and Child Clinic at the University Hospital is that the maternity and neonatology units operate within the same facility. This allows neonatologists to be involved in the care of premature babies from the very first minutes of life, promptly providing respiratory, medicinal and nutritional support.
It is thanks to the well-coordinated work of the team of obstetricians-gynaecologists, neonatologists and other specialists that premature babies receive the necessary care and have the chance to gradually grow stronger and move on to independent life.