The 5th Yangtze-Rhine Neonatal-Perinatal Forum is held on Jan 5-7 in Chongqing. [Photo/CQHCWC]

The 5th Yangtze-Rhine Neonatal-Perinatal Forum, hosted by the Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children (Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University), or CQHCWC, was held on Jan 5-7 in Southwest China's Chongqing.

Held simultaneously was the annual meeting of the Newborn Healthcare Committee of the Chongqing Maternal and Child Health Association.

Attendees included Li Pan, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, Wang Hao, deputy director of the Division of Maternal and Child Health of the commission, Zou Ming, president of the Chongqing Maternal and Child Health Association, Wang Jian, secretary of the Party committee of CQHCWC, and Qi Hongbo, president of CQHCWC.

Zhong Xiaoyun, director of the Pediatric First Department of CQHCWC, presided over the opening ceremony.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Li said that by taking the opportunity to build a perinatal medical center that met the German Class I standard – the highest in the world – CQHCWC has made significant achievements in developing perinatal medicine.

Li added that the center's management of premature baby delivery rooms and the level of comprehensive treatment of ultra-premature babies have reached international standards, helping increase the survival rate of premature babies and improve perinatal medicine in the city.

Qi Hongbo, president of the CQHCWC, addresses the opening ceremony of the event. [Photo/CQHCWC]

Qi welcomed attendees to the event, pointing out that the Yangtze-Rhine Neonatal-Perinatal Forum has witnessed the achievements of CQHCWC in China-Germany medical exchanges and cooperation over the past five years.

He said that the center prioritizes the in-depth integration of the Obstetrics Department and the Pediatric Department, and is committed to building a complete treatment system with strong comprehensive treatment capabilities.

According to Qi, the survival rates of super and extremely premature infants were 86.7 percent and 98.5 percent in 2022, respectively. The minimum gestational age of premature infants which were successfully treated was 24 weeks, and the minimum birth weight was 490 grams, the lowest in the country.

At the annual meeting of the Newborn Healthcare Committee of the Chongqing Maternal and Child Health Association, Wang Jian praised the work done by the committee over the past year, expressing hope that it will maintain a healthy academic atmosphere and strengthen exchanges so as to improve the city's newborn health management level.

Zou Ming also expressed hope that the committee would deepen cooperation in the new year and strive for greater achievements.

Zhong Xiaoyun, chairwoman of the committee, delivered a report on the committee's work in 2022 and announced the work plan for 2023.

Foreign experts attend the forum online. [Photo/CQHCWC]

A number of experts from abroad specializing in neonatal respiration, infection and transition/resuscitation of premature infants – including Gerhard Jorch, former head of the Children's Hospital of the Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg; Charles Christoph Roehr, clinical director at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unity, Medical Sciences Division, Population Health Department of University of Oxford, and the president of the European Society for Paediatric Research; Arjan B te Pas, director of the neonatal intensive care unit in Leiden University Medical Center; Professor Michael Zemlin, director of the Department of General Pediatrics and Neonatology, University Hospital Saarland/ Homburg, Saarland University; Heike Rabe, director of Academic Department of Paediatrics of Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, and professor of perinatal medicine (clinical and experimental medicine) at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

More than 20 domestic well-known experts in neonatology and obstetrics – such as Professor Zhang Huayan from the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center and Professor Zhou Wei from the CQHCWC, were also invited to give lectures at the forum.

They shared cutting-edge research on delayed umbilical cord ligation and respiratory support during the transition period of premature infants. Zhong's team also shared independent research results in this field, and gave an in-depth interpretation of the "Expert Consensus on Transitional Management of Extremely Premature Infants in the Delivery Room", which was the first of its kind in the country, showcasing the leading role of CQHCWC in the country in terms of fully implementing the transition management technology for premature infants.

Issues such as infection and respiratory topics focused on the update of guidelines for neonatal sepsis in China and Germany, infection and borderline personality disorder (BPD), and ventilator-associated pneumonia, were all discussed during the forum.

In addition to discussions and exchanges, medical records were also shared during the forum.

The forum, held both offline and online, was broadcast live simultaneously in Chinese and English, attracting a total of 12,300 views.

It explored the latest diagnosis and treatment plans, technologies, and research around the world, and is expected to make positive contributions to the promotion of the high-quality development of neonatal medical care in Chongqing and the country as a whole.