Winnenden Clinic provides immediate help for babies with a new first aid unit
Two things are important so that babies can start life fit: They are provided with everything their mothers can give them via the umbilical cord for a long enough time - and at the same time they receive the best medical care. The Winnenden Rems-Murr Clinic now offers this dream combination of nature and high-tech thanks to an innovative first aid unit for premature and newborn babies.
Their name “Concord Neonatal” is reminiscent of supersonic aircraft, but behind it lies a no less ingenious invention for children's health. She plays with the English word “cord” (umbilical cord) and uses an old insight: “As early as 1801, the doctor and natural scientist Erasmus Darwin knew that it was harmful for babies for many reasons if their umbilical cords were removed too early,” says the clinic. Senior physician Dr. Janaina Rauch. At the inauguration of the Concord, on behalf of her newborn protégés, she thanks the people who support this investment: District Administrator Dr. Richard Sigel, chairman of the supervisory board of the Rems-Murr Clinics, clinic managing director André Mertel as well as Robert Mayr and Michael von Winning, the board members of the Waiblingen Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation and sponsors of the primary care unit.
“As one of only two clinics in the region, we can now provide medical care for newborns at the umbilical cord,” says Dr. Rauch and names the most important advantages of this method: “Respiration, blood pressure, oxygen saturation in the blood and heart rate improve, the baby receives optimal iron stores for the first months of life. Even in the medium and long term, health and brain performance develop positively. In four-year-olds, it was proven that they are neurologically healthier if their umbilical cord was removed later after birth. Later this means: The umbilical cord is cut within a period of at least three minutes to at best six to eight minutes after birth. “That’s how long it takes for the full amount of blood, including its ingredients, to pass from the mother to the baby. During this time, the child stays close to the mother, which is psychologically important and strengthens the relationship. Nevertheless, we can begin the necessary treatment program immediately.”
For District Administrator Dr. For Sigel, this method is another milestone in the care of the little ones, for which he personally advocates in the Rems-Murr district - most recently with an appeal from the Baden-Württemberg district administrators, who are committed to maintaining perinatal centers in the state. “Our Winnender Perinatal Center Level 1, in which obstetrics and the children's clinic really work together at the highest level, has been an indispensable facility for families in the district since 2014. It is all the more important that, in addition to the great effort that doctors, midwives and nursing staff put in every day and individually for each child here at the clinic, we continue to set new standards. With such sensible and forward-looking methods, we clearly underline the regional importance of our perinatal center: It is a fundamental advantage that we can continue to provide such offers close to home.”
The managing director of the Rems-Murr Clinics, André Mertel, is also proud of the highly motivated team in the perinatal center, which approaches projects such as the primary care unit with a lot of commitment. “Selecting, purchasing and installing a device is not the end of it. The main thing is to establish the appropriate processes and provide the team with professional training. That's why I'm happy and thank Dr. We thank Rauch for always looking out for such innovative options with her colleagues that we can use to further improve the care of mothers and newborns. This benefits the health of the particularly sensitive premature babies, and at the same time, if necessary, the benefits benefit all other babies who are born here in Winnenden.”
In the case of premature and caesarean section births, the advantages of the first aid unit can even be vital to survival. As soon as such a high-risk baby is announced, the team in the perinatal center gets the Concord ready to go within five minutes. It looks like a large, technically sophisticated mobile changing table and contains, among other things, a ventilator, an exhaust system, a radiant heater to prevent hypothermia and monitoring monitors.
The initial care unit was purchased with 48,000 euros from funds from the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, which regularly supports projects in pediatric medicine at the Rems-Murr Clinic. These include a study on the effects of prematurity on the heart and lungs, the establishment of the “Bunter Kreis Rems-Murr” socio-pediatric aftercare program and the purchase of devices for rapid PCR testing. Most recently, the foundation supported the construction of the new milk kitchen in Winnenden in order to be able to meet the increasing demand for donor milk in the local human milk bank. Robert Mayr, CEO of the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, is once again impressed by the services and offerings of the Perinatal Center at Rems-Murr-Klinikum: “Extraordinary, what Dr. Rauch and her team are doing what they do here. It’s not difficult to offer our support for other projects too.”
Contact the perinatal center at the Rems Murr Clinic
Information about the Winnender Perinatal Center Level 1 and the most important contact persons can be found at https://www.rems-murr-kliniken.de/medizin/winnenden/neonatologie.html
Further information about the Rems Murr Clinics is available online at www.rems-murr-kliniken.de and on their own YouTube channel. There you will find exciting videos about the modern treatment methods at both clinic locations.
