The world's leading neonatologists shared their experience with Ukrainian doctors at the 13th conference of the Cradles of Hope program

On 4-5 November 2021, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation's Cradles of Hope program held its 13th international research-to-practice conference entitled "Current global trends in neonatal intensive care" in Kyiv. The event introduced Ukrainian neonatologists to the best international practices in the field of intensive care of newborns, including preterm births. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to observe sanitary regulations, this year's conference was held in a mixed format: 70 participants attended it in person while over 1,500 others joined the event online.

For 15 years already, the Cradles of Hope program, in addition to providing neonatal centers with state-of-the-art medical equipment, has carried out systemic work to teach doctors and nurses the world's baby nursing techniques. As part of this project, the Foundation facilitates the introduction of the latest techniques and practices in reforming maternal and child healthcare in Ukraine.

Svitlana Gavrylenko, Head of the Cradles of Hope program: "This year the Cradles of Hope program turned 15. Over this period of time, our centers have saved the lives of more than 60,000 babies while Ukrainian neonatology, thanks to the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in particular, has achieved striking results: care for premature and critically ill infants in our country is in line with high international standards. We will continue to modernize neonatology in Ukraine and strive to give every premature baby in our country a chance for life, while enabling doctors to provide care using the latest equipment and techniques."

The conference brought together Ukrainian neonatologists, pediatric anesthetists and neurologists, pediatricians, representatives of field-specific departments, medical students and media representatives.

This year's speakers included Dr Nadja Haiden (Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria), Dr Jeroen Dudink (Associate Professor neonatal neurology at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands), Dr John Zupancic (Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, the USA), Dr Ursula Kiechl-Kohlendorfer (Head of the Department of Pediatrics II (Neonatology) at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria), Dr Dariusz Gruszfeld (Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Children's Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw, Poland), and Professor Charles Christoph Roehr (the University of Oxford, Great Britain).

Tetiana Znamenska, President of the Association of Neonatologists of Ukraine: "The Cradles of Hope program has given Ukrainian neonatologists an opportunity to introduce into practice new preterm baby nursing techniques, annually obtain new data and world research results, and learn from the experience of the world's leading countries. Owing to the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, 35 neonatal centers in all regions of Ukraine have modern equipment. All this enables the highest level of medical aid to children. Thanks to this long-term program, the infant mortality rate in our country has been decreasing, up to 6.7‰ now. Ten years ago this figure was 7.7‰, and in some regions it was 8‰."

The conference covered field-specific issues concerning the use of non-invasive ventilation, prevention of brain damage, neurocerebral monitoring, treatment of the most common diseases, use of certain medications during therapy, enteral and parenteral nutrition, improvement of medical care quality, etc.

All reports of the conference were professionally filmed by its media partner, StarLightMedia, and will soon be available to watch at the website of the Cradles of Hope program.

Organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation

In cooperation with the Association of Neonatologists of Ukraine, the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine

General partner: N.Z.Techno

Media partner: StarLightMedia

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