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Show Jications in Childbirth !D)spital-to-hospital transfer of mewboras jOte: While American .1 is equipped to handle the babies delivered at ne out of every hundred must be transfered to h special facilities. In i of a three-part series, how these transfers are er think it's going to owe child," explained ibi emotionally. "You jnonths expecting this erfect baby, and then j something's wrong." j., Anita delivered her 1 at American Fork vithout complication. Nalthy newborn, the Al-ll.as Al-ll.as sent to the nursery I ne check-up. However, of the procedure were not routine. . Anita recalled, "They never brought him back to me. Instead, they told me something was wrong..." According to hospital procedure, a tiny tube was passed down the infant's esophagus to establish patency prior to feeding. The connection to the stomach was blocked, and a hole was found between the tube to the stomach and the air way. A Tracheal Esophageal Fistula was diagnosed; an incident oc-curing oc-curing in only one out of every 100,000 babies. If the newborn had been fed prior to diagnosis, the baby would have aspirated the fluid into his lungs, resulting in life-threatening life-threatening pneumonia. Within two hours of diagnosis, the Life Flight medical- transport helicopter had arrived to transfer the Al-Zoubi infant to the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt lake City. Life Flight is considered to be a transport convenience, significantly shortening the patient's time interval between hospitals. During the 1985, 1064 babies were born at AFH. "Just under 30 newborns required intensive care treatment, and only one percent of those 1064 babies actually had to be transported to other hospitals," said Eloise Anderson, Women's Center Director. "Seventy-five percent of all newborn transfers occur because of respiratory problems. These infants are transported in order to provide them with total respiratory assistance," Anderson said. "Most infants born with cardiac problems or marked congenital abnormalities are required to be transferred to Primary's for treatment." Newborn ICU transfers can be classified into three categories involving respiratory, cardiac or congenital complications. ; Of the babies transfered from American Fork Hospital in 1985, nine were premature (under 32 weeks gestation) with respiratory distress complications. Three infants in-fants were transferred because of heart defects and two premature infants were transported with congenital abnormalities. When a transport becomes necessary, the infant is stabilized, and then placed in a portable isolette with the necessary life-saving life-saving equipment. "Everything happened so fast," recalled Anita. "American Fork Hospital saved my child's life and saved us so much agony. His hospital stay was shortened because of their quick thinking and appropriate ap-propriate actions." "Our staff is very well rounded and fully capable of working with high risk babies as well as with laboring and postpartum mothers," said William Parker, a local OBGYN. "Rather than being high tech but not high touch, we have a nice mixture of both approaches," he continued. "Our nurses understand all aspects of the OB spectrum, while providing personalized and empathic care." The empathy of the staff was demonstrated as Anita waited for the transport team to arrive. "The nurses knew that my emotional needs were stronger than my physical ones. I was wheeled to the resuscitation room and allowed to bond with my baby until the Life Flight helicopter arrived." Anita found the transport team's detailed explanations about equipment and procedures very reassuring. She said, "They talked very slowly and calmly. Everything that would transpire was explained to me in explicit detail. I knew that both hospitals were working as a team to provide my baby with the best care possible." According to Anderson, "A team approach to childbirth complications com-plications evolves from an awareness of limitations. The hospital should be alert enough to handle complications and aware enough to recognize when babies need to be stabilized and transported tran-sported to a neonatal care facility." |
