About us
The department of neonatology at the University hospital of obstetrics and gynecology "Maichin Dom" is the largest one of its kind in the country. It is located on three floors and has two units: a physiology ward with a capacity for 65 babies is on the 7th and on the 12th floor of the hospital, and a neonatal intensive care unit ( NICU) with a capacity for 35 newborn infants is on the 8thfloor.
The neonatal department has the most up-to-date equipment, used in neonatology: respirators for high-frequency and oscillatory ventilation, modern neonatal monitors which allow excellent observation and reliable control of the oxygen, heart rate and blood pressure of babies, lamps for intensive phototherapy used in the treatment of severe jaundice, infusion pumps for parenteral nutrition of infants who cannot be fed enterally, a modern ultrasound machine, a mobile X-ray machine, etc.
The main activities of the department of neonatology include:
- Primary cardio-respiratory resuscitation of the newborn babies at risk in the delivery room
- Excellent medical care for healthy newborn infants
- Intensive care and intensive therapy for extremely low birth weight and very low birth weight newborn infants including application of exogenous surfactant for treatment of the neonatal respiratory distress syndrome as a routine practice.
- Treatment and care of infants of mothers with pregnancy-related and chronic diseases (blood type incompatibility, preeclampsia, diabetes mellitus, renal disorders, etc.), and neonates who need intensive or conventional phototherapy.
- Application of modern methods, new treatment modalities and new equipment, which meet the requirements for good medical care of newborn babies at risk
- Diagnostic and preventive procedures for the high-risk premature babies– ophthalmologic screening and treatment of the retinopathy of premature babies born before 34 weeks of gestation
- Follow-up of babies up to one year of age – neurological check-ups, consultations about feeding, vaccinations, cranial ultrasound scanning, etc.
- Application of Synagis to prematurely born babies with very low birth weight for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infection
The medical staff of the neonatal department is highly qualified. All nurses are very skilful with the equipment for cardio-pulmonal resuscitation and all possible procedures performed in the NICU.
There are fifteen medical doctors working in the department. All of them are pediatricians and eight of them have a second specialty in neonatology. Two of them have PhD degree and are associate professors.
The medical doctors and the nurses participate regularly in national and international scientific meetings, present scientific reports and surveys.
The nurses who work at the NICU have an additional qualification in the field of intensive neonatology.
The department has a special office for education of mothers regarding breast feeding as a part of the programs of WHO and UNICEF.
Head of the department is Boryana Slancheva, assoc. prof. MD, PhD.
Assoc. Prof. Nelly Jekova, MD, PhD, is the head of the Intensive care unit .
Medical doctors of the department of Neonatology are:
Aneta Popivanova, MD - head of the Physiology Ward
Zdravka Emilova, MD
Nina Yarakova, MD
Tanya Pramatarova, MD
Lilia Vakrilova, MD
Rumyana Shishkova, MD
Stanislava Hitrova, MD
Viktoria Metodieva, MD
Emilia Doycheva, MD
Petya Radulova, MD
Daniela Goranova, MD
Gergana Petrova, MD
Dobrinka Encheva, MD
Head nurses at the department are:
Tzvetanka Alexandrova – Senior midwife
Eleonora Garlova - Senior midwife
The department of neonatology is a highly specialized institution with important medical and social functions in the structure of the University hospital of Ob/Gyn "Maichin Dom". Its activities and medical staff provide a guarantee for the preservation of the health of the newborn babies and later ensures a good quality of their life.