Workshop on foetal health care

A three day international congress, by the Society of Foetal Medicine, was inaugurated on Friday in Hyderabad. Almost 1000 delegates from across the nation and foreign countries like the US, UK, Germany, Columbia and Canada are participating in this mammoth conference.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr B Srinath, a scientist and a member of local organising committee, Institute of Genetics, Hyderabad said that the theme for this congress is ‘Foetal Health Care: Fundamentals and Frontiers’. In the congress, various workshops are being held. Some of the most prominent topics include foetal diagnosis and foetal therapy, genetics and prenatal diagnostic procedures.

“Our main aim is to bring awareness among the public about the foetal technology, premature birth of children, neonatal problems, early diagnosis and exchange knowledge about foetal medicine. Society of Foetal Medicine has been enlightening the medical fraternity about foetal needs and prevention of diseases at an early stage of the fetus. This process is evolving by engaging members from fields like obstetrics, ultrasound, genetics, foetal medicine, radiology, pediatric surgery, neonatology and pediatric cardiology”, said Dr Srinath.

“In our state around one lakh children have been suffering from birth defects and facing many serious health problems such as thalassemia and mental retardation. Across the country almost 17 lakh children have been suffering from birth defects. There are many reasons for the rise in birth defects in our country.

Some of the reasons are genetic, environmental pollution, radiation, consanguineous marriages, lack of hygiene and infections. Late marriages are a predominant cause of concern for children suffering with birth defects in the western countries. Our main objective is to expand education and research in foetal medicine and pronounce guidelines to implement standards of practice,” Dr Srinath added.