Neonatologist’s Day

Neonatologist’s Day is celebrated on April 5 in honor of all doctors who treat and care for premature and newborn babies.

The policy of the WHO, UNICEF, and the International Pediatric Association (IPA) in the coming decades is focused on combining efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality with widespread dissemination of family planning technologies and child protection programs. The first priority is the provision of mandatory prenatal care for pregnant women and the integration of neonatology into the perinatal service system.

Over the last decade, breakthrough technologies have emerged that have changed approaches to raising newborns and made it possible to dramatically reduce infant mortality. At the current stage of development of neonatal medicine in Ukraine, babies are officially registered and discharged starting from 22 weeks of gestational age and weighing more than 500 grams at birth. Children’s departments of perinatal centers and maternity hospitals are currently equipped with the most modern equipment for the discharge of small patients.

In Ukraine, the pediatrician-neonatologist was included in the nomenclature of medical specialties and positions in November 1987. In 1999, at the 1st Congress of Neonatologists, which took place in Odesa, the Association of Neonatologists of Ukraine (ANU) was created, the president of which was Dr. Med. Sc. Professor T. K. Znamenska, whose main task was to promote the development of priority directions for the development of medical care for newborns, to determine the general policy on these issues; study of modern achievements in the field of neonatology; promotion of raising the level of sanitary culture of the population in matters of health care of newborns; protection of social, economic and other interests of Association members.

A permanent member of the board of ANU is a corresponding member of NAMNU, Doctor of Medicine, Mykola Aryaev, professor, head of the Department of Pediatrics of ONMedU. On his initiative, the primary branch of ANU was created — the Odesa Association of Pediatricians and Neonatologists.

Employees of the Department of Pediatrics of ONMedU conduct consultative examinations of newborns in the Department of Intensive Care for Newborns and Premature Children and in the Department of Pathology of Newborns and Premature Children.

The “Neonatology” cycle is taught in the 5th year at the Department of Pediatrics of ONMedU. According to the work program, students of higher education have the opportunity not only to acquire theoretical knowledge, but also to develop relevant practical skills in providing assistance to a newborn child in a simulation room. At the Department of Pediatrics, neonatology issues are also studied by interns specializing in “Pediatrics” and “Neonatology”. Cycles of thematic improvement for neonatologists are proposed. In 2024, specialization in neonatology is planned. Every year, issues of providing neonatal care are discussed at conferences with international participation “Latest technologies in pediatric science, practice and family medicine”, dedicated to the memory of academician B. Ya. Reznik. At the department, research was devoted to the problems of the neonatological spectrum in a number of research works with competitive financing of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and with the support of international grants.

The Day of Neonatologists of Ukraine is a day of recognition of doctors who are building our future.