The Obstetrics Dept of Shenzhen Bao'an Women's and Children's Hospital is a Key Clinical Discipline of Guangdong Province, Key Medical Discipline of Shenzhen, Key Discipline of Bao’an District, and Critical Pregnant Women Rescue Center of Bao’an District. It is also a member unit of the Southern Maternal–Fetal Medicine Specialty Alliance. Undertaking maternal and child health services across the district, the department has long been responsible for the treatment and referral of critically ill pregnant women in western Shenzhen and surrounding areas. With the continuous development of the hospital, under the leadership of senior experts and through the diligent efforts of successive medical teams, its capacity in medical services, teaching and scientific research has been steadily enhanced. It has grown into a modern medical base integrating prevention, perinatal health care, maternal and infant health education, clinical practice, teaching and research.
The Obstetrics Dept has 8 inpatient wards with 311 beds and 12 independent delivery rooms. There are 327 medical staff in total, including 7 senior chief physicians, 31 associate chief physicians, 2 doctoral supervisors, 4 master’s supervisors, 6 PhD holders, 52 master’s degree holders, 6 research staff and 2 Shenzhen high-level talents.
The department provides diagnosis and treatment for severe and critical conditions such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, placenta previa, placental abruption, gestational diabetes mellitus, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, pregnancy complicated with internal and surgical diseases, various dystocia, and postpartum hemorrhage.
Available technical procedures include cesarean section, forceps-assisted delivery, repair of third- and fourth-degree perineal lacerations, external cephalic version for breech presentation, cervical cerclage, amnioinfusion, cesarean section for pernicious placenta previa, preoperative abdominal aortic balloon occlusion, transverse uterine compression suture, ligation of ascending branches of uterine artery, intrauterine balloon hemostasis, total hysterectomy for postpartum hemorrhage, and repair of uterine rupture in late pregnancy.
The hospital serves as a teaching base of Jinan University and a standardized residency training (collaborative) base of Guangdong Province. As a key medical specialty of Shenzhen, the department has established sub-specialty wards covering obstetric critical care, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, placenta previa and twin pregnancy, miscarriage and preterm birth, metabolic diseases, and scarred uterus.
Specialized outpatient services include general obstetrics clinic, clinics for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, placenta previa, diabetes mellitus, scarred uterus, miscarriage and preterm birth, twin pregnancy, AIDS-syphilis-hepatitis B blocking clinic, prenatal nutrition clinic, midwifery consultation clinic, breastfeeding clinic, and psychological sandplay clinic.
Each sub-specialty is equipped with backbone professionals, reserve talents and research assistants, forming a high-quality and high-level talent team. The department has introduced the maternal–fetal medicine expert team led by Professor Leung Tak Yeung and Professor Choi Kwong Wei from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as the recurrent miscarriage team led by Professor Zhang Jianping from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, to implement whole-process follow-up and management of maternal and fetal health throughout pregnancy.
I. Introduction to Sub-specialties
Obstetric Critical Care Sub-specialty
It serves as the vice-chair unit of the High-Risk Pregnancy Committee of China Maternal and Child Health Association and Guangdong Province, the referral and treatment center for critically ill pregnant women in Bao’an District, and the training and teaching base for the rescue of critically ill pregnant women in Bao’an District.
Through standardized management, an early warning system for high-risk pregnancy has been established to reduce the incidence of severe maternal complications. Information construction has improved the pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency linkage system. Discipline capacity building has cultivated a professional team for critical care, building a regional referral and treatment center for critically ill pregnant women in western Shenzhen.
Advanced technologies such as preoperative aortic balloon occlusion, superselective uterine artery embolization, plasma exchange and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are performed. The department has successfully treated critical cases including amniotic fluid embolism, septic shock, acute fatty liver of pregnancy, acute left heart failure, pernicious placenta previa, refractory postpartum hemorrhage, and diabetic ketoacidosis.
Miscarriage and Preterm Birth Management Sub-specialty
Standardized diagnosis and treatment as well as personnel training help resolve clinical difficulties in recurrent miscarriage and explore its pathogenesis. Collaboration with Prenatal Diagnosis Dept, Neonatal Dept and Pediatric Healthcare Dept improves the survival rate and long-term follow-up rehabilitation of very low birth weight preterm infants.
Common admission conditions include recurrent miscarriage, subchorionic hematoma, cervical insufficiency, oligohydramnios in the second trimester, complicated twin pregnancy complications such as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, preterm premature rupture of membranes remote from term, and fetal growth restriction.
The sub-specialty focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of recurrent miscarriage, and carries out featured techniques including cervical cerclage, especially emergency cervical cerclage, and amnioinfusion. Distinguished expert Professor Zhang Jianping, a nationally renowned specialist in reproductive immunology and miscarriage management, is specially invited to conduct teaching rounds and case discussions to enhance the team’s clinical and research capacity, building a well-known specialized center for miscarriage and preterm birth management in Shenzhen.
Twin Pregnancy and Placenta Previa Sub-specialty
Standardized management of high-risk pregnancies such as twin pregnancy and placenta previa ensures maternal and fetal safety. In April 2021, the department was approved as one of the first units carrying out standardized twin pregnancy outpatient services and standardized management promotion projects by China Maternal and Child Health Association.
Integrated management covering specialized twin pregnancy clinics, inpatient wards and postpartum follow-up has been established. The sub-specialty aims to build a regional demonstration center for standardized twin pregnancy management to fully safeguard maternal and fetal health.
Gestational Metabolic Diseases Sub-specialty
Relying on the Internet-based perinatal nutrition clinic, the sub-specialty conducts screening, assessment, guidance and intervention on gestational nutrition and weight management, and implements big data management to guide healthy diet and reasonable exercise for pregnant women, reducing the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and other metabolic diseases as well as adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.
It is the first and only sub-specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of gestational metabolic diseases in western Shenzhen.
The one-day diabetes clinic is an important standardized management measure for pregnant women with GDM and pre-gestational diabetes. Within one day, patients receive systematic training covering the understanding of gestational diabetes, causes, maternal and fetal impacts, and standardized management including dietary therapy, exercise therapy, blood glucose monitoring and insulin treatment, achieving remarkable clinical effects and wide recognition among patients.
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Sub-specialty
A complete VBAC management and rescue system has been established through health education, special case registration, specialized outpatient services, and designated professional management in VBAC wards and delivery rooms, providing professional guidance for pre-pregnancy, intrapregnancy and intrapartum periods.
Big data analysis is applied to explore high-risk factors and potential risks of pregnancy after cesarean section, and formulate safety prevention strategies. Integrated measures including early recognition of uterine rupture, a rapid response system for 5-minute emergency cesarean section, 100% labor analgesia, and comprehensive humanistic care fully ensure maternal and fetal safety.
II. Specialty Features
1. New Obstetric Management Mode — Prenatal Control Center
Awarded as the Sino-US Training and Demonstration Base for New Obstetric Management and Service Mode, the center optimizes medical procedures, acts as the hub of obstetric services, improves operational efficiency, and strengthens pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency linkage. It supports early identification of critical conditions and emergency interventions such as 5-minute emergency cesarean section, ensuring maternal and fetal safety.
(1) Admission and triage of obstetric patients: Providing one-stop services including blood sampling and auxiliary examinations, and unified ward allocation according to disease type and real-time bed availability.
(2) Observation beds are arranged to manage the labor progress of pregnant women in latent phase, screen false labor, and avoid unnecessary admission.
(3) Preoperative preparation: Elective surgery patients are admitted two hours in advance for same-day surgery, with full preoperative preparation also provided for emergency cases.
(4) Early identification of critical conditions: Delivery supplies are equipped in the emergency department to manage urgent deliveries. A 5-minute emergency cesarean section mechanism is fully implemented. The Prenatal Control Center enables immediate treatment for critically ill patients without ward searching, reduces accidental events, improves bed turnover efficiency, and serves more residents.
2. Modern Delivery Ward
As a practical education base for midwifery specialty in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, it features safe, painless, accompanied, privacy-protected and humanistic childbirth services. The ward is equipped with 12 independent delivery rooms and 16 labor beds, allowing full-time family accompaniment. Services include non-invasive delivery, free birthing positions, full skin-to-skin contact after delivery, and delayed cord clamping.
Vaginal birth after cesarean section is actively promoted. Non-pharmacological analgesia methods such as breathing pain relief, hydrotherapy, music therapy, delivery ball and acupressure are available, while pharmacological labor analgesia coverage reaches 75%. Anesthesiologists and neonatal physicians are stationed in the delivery ward 24 hours a day, with the 5-minute emergency cesarean section mechanism providing full safety guarantee.
(1) Painless Childbirth: The department launched painless childbirth services in 2005, joined the “Painless Childbirth China Tour” in 2012, and implemented the Advanced Obstetric Anesthesia Program in 2015. Epidural analgesia remains the safest and most effective method, adhering to the principles of voluntariness and safety to minimize labor pain while exerting minimal impact on maternal and fetal outcomes.
(2) 5-minute Emergency Cesarean Section: A standardized workflow is established for emergency situations such as fetal distress, placental abruption, umbilical cord prolapse and uterine rupture, which can be activated immediately by the control center, wards or delivery rooms, saving numerous pregnant women and newborns.
(3) Pregnant Women School: Regular courses are held weekly to provide a platform for learning, communication and interaction. Lecturers are senior obstetric and nursing specialists with decades of experience, offering comprehensive courses covering pregnancy, childbirth, infant nutrition, breastfeeding, and health care.
(4) Obstetric–Neonatal Collaboration: Neonatal physicians are stationed in delivery rooms and operating theaters 24 hours a day, ensuring full monitoring of high-risk newborns and unexpected emergencies to guarantee maternal and fetal safety.
(5) Humanistic Care: Midwifery clinics are arranged during pregnancy to jointly formulate delivery plans with expectant families. Delivery rehearsals and various health education courses greatly enhance childbirth confidence and build mutual trust. Private delivery rooms allow husband accompaniment throughout labor. Warm services such as brown sugar and egg meals after delivery create a harmonious doctor-patient atmosphere.
3. Postpartum Continuing Care Service
Responding to national, provincial, municipal and hospital policies, the Obstetrics Dept actively develops Internet-based nursing services and takes the lead in setting up a maternity continuing care team. Senior nurses provide home-based care for discharged mothers and newborns, ensuring continuous and coordinated health services from hospital to family, and promoting maternal and child health in the district.
Postpartum continuing services include neonatal temperature and jaundice monitoring, inherited metabolic disease screening, neonatal umbilical care, feeding assessment and skin care. For puerperae, services cover uterine involution, wound recovery, lochia assessment, breastfeeding guidance, milk stasis dredging, dietary and exercise guidance.
Since the launch of the service, bed turnover efficiency has increased, hospitalization costs have decreased, and average length of stay has been shortened. Door-to-door integrated online and offline standardized care enables high-quality medical services accessible to more residents.
4. Characteristic TCM Obstetric Diagnosis and Treatment
TCM physicians conduct daily ward rounds in the obstetric ward, assisting obstetric teams in the diagnosis and treatment of perinatal TCM indications and dominant diseases with traditional Chinese medicine techniques.
Services include TCM herbal conditioning for postpartum blood stasis removal and tissue regeneration; treatment of internal medicine symptoms such as cough, dizziness, hyperhidrosis and fever; acupuncture and acupoint application for postpartum uterine contraction pain, cervical and lumbago, postoperative intestinal paralysis, postpartum urinary retention and incontinence, and facial paralysis. Nurses are trained in appropriate TCM nursing techniques such as auricular point therapy and Chinese herbal foot bath, and TCM theories are applied to guide dietary health preservation for pregnant and puerperal women.
5. Obstetric Informatization
Smart services and smart medical systems improve patient experience, medical quality and safety. Digital platforms enable real-time monitoring of prenatal observation patients, specimen transportation status, delivery room information, real-time delivery monitoring, operating room status, elective surgery reservation and assessment, surgical arrangement and workload statistics.
Patients can complete online registration, appointment booking, parking reservation, hospital navigation, waiting inquiry, mobile payment (including medical insurance), remote fetal monitoring, report inquiry, pregnant women school registration and health education via the hospital official WeChat account.
Internet-based self-service devices support automatic measurement of height, weight, blood pressure and fetal monitoring, saving manpower and avoiding manual entry errors. The smart maternal–child health WeChat platform, one-stop centralized obstetric outpatient service, Internet-based remote fetal monitoring data collection, and interconnected online health management systems realize perinatal health management, weight and nutrition management, gestational blood glucose management and gestational hypertension management.
6. Special Luxury Ward Features
(1) High-grade single rooms and suites are available with elegant and warm environment, adopting a family-centered maternity care concept that transforms traditional medical-dominated mode into cooperative humanistic care.
(2) Husband accompaniment during cesarean section is optional to enable early father-infant contact and emphasize family participation and personalized care.
(3) Professional services include dietary guidance by dietitians, rehabilitation physiotherapy by TCM physicians, and breastfeeding support by lactation consultants.
(4) Bedside settlement and volunteer escort to the parking lot upon discharge are provided.
(5) Bedside blue light therapy is available for mild to moderate neonatal hyperbilirubinemia without inter-departmental transfer.
With a life-cycle perspective on maternal and fetal development, the Obstetrics Dept safeguards maternal and fetal quality and safety from multiple dimensions including life origin, maternity health care and critical maternal rescue. Through vigorous development of sub-specialties and multidisciplinary collaboration, it builds an integrated discipline for maternal and fetal health covering prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Adhering to the hospital motto of Benevolent Heart and Skilled Practice, Professionalism and Dedication, the department strives to make the whole journey of life conception warmer and provides sincere and professional services for every family.