Obstetrics Surgery

The department is responsible for the preventive, health-promoting, treating and coherent efforts for pregnant women who give birth and are to stay in the department. The department aims at births and postnatal confinements to be kept as normal as possible, also in relation to areas that require specialist knowledge.

In case of particularly complicated courses of birth (e.g. women with medical and surgical diseases, obstetric complications or women who are expecting a child with deformities), the midwife coordinates a cross-disciplinary team composed across departments/specialities for the purpose of ensuring an early effort and a coherent patient course. The department works in accordance with the WHO recommendations for the “Baby-Friendly Initiative”. Patient audits and medical records, together with benchmarking on national indicators, are part of the elements to ensure that the department maintains a high focus on patient safety and quality development.

Obstetric ultrasonography is routinely used for dating the gestational age of a pregnancy from the size of the fetus, determine the number of fetuses and placentae, evaluate for an ectopic pregnancy and first trimester bleeding, the most accurate dating being in first trimester before the growth of the foetus has been significantly influenced by other factors. Ultrasound is also used for detecting congenital anomalies (or other foetal anomalies) and determining the biophysical profiles (BPP), which are generally easier to detect in the second trimester when the foetal structures are larger and more developed. Specialised ultrasound equipment can also evaluate the blood flow velocity in the umbilical cord, looking to detect a decrease/absence/reversal or diastolic blood flow in the umbilical artery.