Obstetrics is a branch of gynecology. It deals with the monitoring of pregnancies as well as birth preparation, birth and postnatal care. The services offered to expectant parents are diverse and vary greatly from clinic to clinic.
Services offered by a gynecology or obstetrics department before a pregnancy:
- Pre-conception counseling, i.e. medical consultations that take place before conception
Tasks and services during pregnancy:
- Prenatal diagnostics: e.g. amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, umbilical cord puncture (choracentesis)
- Birth preparation courses
- Special courses for pregnant women (yoga, belly dancing, etc.)
- Infant care course
Additional services and tasks for problematic pregnancies:
- Labor control
- Cervical closure surgery, i.e. surgical closure of the cervix to prevent a miscarriage or extremely premature birth
- External turning of the unborn child in a breech or transverse position
- Special care for mothers with certain illnesses (high blood pressure, infectious diseases, diabetes)
- Special care for pregnancy diseases (gestosis) such as pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia) or gestational diabetes (gestational diabetes)
- Care for blood group incompatibility (blood group antibodies, rhesus incompatibility)
- Peridural anesthesia (PDA)
- Alternative forms of pain therapy (acupuncture)
- Caesarean section
- Diagnostics for newborns
Services and tasks in the cot:
- Rooming in
- Support for the mother during breastfeeding
- Psychological support for the mother after traumatic births, in the event of illness of the child or a stillbirth
