Our speakers and topics
With advances in neonatal resuscitation and intensive care, the gestation of what’s considered ‘viable’ has been falling. In 2020-1, Safer Care Victoria published guidelines on ‘Management of threatened extreme preterm labour’ and ‘ Management of the extremely preterm newborn’. Similar guidelines have been issued across the world, recognizing that decision making for births at 22+0 to 24+6 weeks’ gestation presents clinical and ethical challenges. Babies born between 22+0 and 23+6 may fall within the zone of parental discretion where parental wishes may determine the level of care provided.
It’s had a big impact on our practice. When do we transfer families to tertiary centres? Can we provide ‘in situ’ paediatric counseling by telehealth? When do we decide to offer the Big Resuscit-8: Transfer, Corticosteroids, Tocolysis, Magnesium Sulphate, Fetal Monitoring, Caesarean section, Delayed cord Clamping, Active Resuscitation at birth.
So next Wednesday will be a very special Twilight indeed where all will be made clear at '22-24 weeks@Twilight’: check out the topics and expert speaker line up!
- So where are we now? Dr Stefan Kane is a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist and is currently the Maternity Services Director at The Women’s. He was instrumental in the drafting, revising and delivery of the SCV guideline. Stefan will be presenting a balanced reflection of where our obstetric practice is now 2- 3 years post guideline: '22- 24 weeks: Obstetric Decision Making in the Birth Suite’
- But how do the babies go, really? Dr Rose Boland is a postdoctoral neonatal nurse researcher and academic whose research and clinical interests are perinatal epidemiology, neonatal transport and translating neonatal resuscitation research into practice. Rose will follow in with a discussion about individualized risk counseling using contemporary data, ‘Using NIC-PREDICT to predict outcomes for extremely preterm babies’
- Who gets to decide? Professor Dominic Wilkinson is Professor of Medical Ethics and Director of Medical Ethics at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He is also a Neonatal Intensive Care doctor and works as a neonatologist at John Radcliffe Hospital, UK. Who better to walk us through ‘Ethical decision making in the zone of parental discretion’
We then have 2 brief updates ‘from the coalface’
- Dr Hannah Gordon, currently undertaking a PhD in Perinatal Epidemiology will give us an update on ‘What happened?’ presenting the most recent Victorian (CCOPMM) data on outcomes from 22-24 weeks.
- Finally, Dr Shiraz Badurdeen is a neonatologist who has recently completed his PhD as one of the Principal Investigators for the Baby-DUCC (Baby-Directed Umbilical Cord Clamping) Study. Shiraz will present on what do we actually mean when we agree to ‘attempt resuscitation/ trial of life’
Then, it’s over to you as our panel answer your questions!
As you can see, this Twilight has something for everyone who provides pregnancy or newborn care. We have extended the time slightly to allow time of panel discussion at the end, so get your questions ready! Twilight’s free and always will be, but please register for WEDNESDAY, 5th JULY, 6:00pm- 8:15pm.
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