A call center for intrauterine ultra-premature infants referral was set up at the Perinatal Medical Center of the Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children (CQHCWC) – located in the southwestern China's Chongqing on June 1, according to CQHCWC officials.

They said it aims to facilitate the transport and referrals of intrauterine ultra-premature infants’ transport and further improve the success rate of treatment for ultra-premature infants.

According to CQHCWC officials, at present, China still defines the lower limit of preterm birth as 28 weeks of gestational age, while some developed countries have defined preterm birth as 24 weeks, or even 20 weeks.

They said that the best technology, equipment, and medical teams are the best hope for the life and health of a newborn when premature birth threatens to occur.

The CQHCWC first introduced international advanced rescue and intra-hospital transport equipment, such as a so-called Giraffe Shuttle to China. After two years of Sino-German cooperation, a perinatal medical center with international advanced standards has been established and has the ability to rescue 24-week ultra-premature infants.

Officials said the hospital had successfully treated what was recognized as the lightest known ultra-premature infant to date in Chongqing, whose gestational age was only 25 weeks + 5 days and whose birth weight was just 490 grams.

In 2019, according to center officials, the survival rates of very-low birth weight infants reached 97.64 percent; that of ultra-low birth weight infants reached 77.5 percent, while the survival rate for ultra-premature infants (gestational age<28 weeks) reached 81.39 percent at the hospital.

To call the center for intrauterine ultra-premature infants referrals, telephone: 19112976721.