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Maternal-foetal Medicine

Code: 103651
Credits: 3
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Medicine OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Núria Torre Monmany
Email :
nuria.torre@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It is advisable that the student has reached the competences developed during the previous courses.

Sufficient knowledge about the psychological basis of health and disease states is desirable, as well as an adequate level of knowledge in interpersonal communication.

The student will acquire the commitment of preserving the confidentiality and professional secrecy of the data to which he/she may have access because of the learning in the assistance services. Also to maintain an attitude of professional ethics in all its actions.

Objectives

It is an optional subject that can be taken from the fourth year and whose general objective is that the student becomes familiar with professional practice in the real context of perinatology.

Learning outcomes

  1. Compare one's own opinions with those of colleagues and other healthcare professionals as a basis for teamwork.
  2. Assess the relationship between efficacy and risk in the main therapeutic interventions.
  3. Assess the efficiency of the main therapeutic interventions.
  4. Establish a method for complementary examinations, in accordance with the standard process and the diagnostic expectations.
  5. Indicate and interpret the basic techniques and procedures for laboratory diagnosis, diagnostic imaging and others.
  6. Obtain, in an appropriate way, clinical samples needed for laboratory tests.
  7. Critically assess the results of complementary examinations, taking their limitations into account.
  8. Order signs and symptoms to perform a differential syndromic diagnosis.
  9. Establish a therapeutic action plan considering the needs of patients and their family and social environment, and involving all members of the healthcare team.
  10. Maintain and sharpen one's professional competence, in particular by independently learning new material and techniques and by focusing on quality.
  11. Demonstrate, in professional activity, a perspective that is critical, creative and research-oriented.
  12. Use information and communication technologies in professional practice.

Contents

1. Introduction to Perinatology. Perinatal mortality and maternal mortality. Concepte de risc obstetric elevat. Organització sanitària in function of the risc.


2. Medical research in perinatology.


3. Perinatal mental health: Perinatal pain. 


4. Great advances of the perinatology. Historical perspective. Who are the current challenges?


5. The myths of pregnancy and lactation.


6. Maternal diseases during pregnancy with influence on perinatal health: emerging diseases.


7. Impact of fetal life on adult health.


8. Congenital perinatal infections I: General. Infection by herpesvirus type 1 and type 2, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus, other herpesviruses. Infection with parvovirus B19, enterovirus. Infection by zika virus. COVID-19.


9. Congenital perinatal infections II: Infection for HIV. Hepatitis B, hepatitis C. L. Parasitic infections: toxoplasmosis, Chagas disease, malaria.


10. Neonatal infections: Early sepsis. Late sepsis, nosocomial infection. Immunoprophylaxis during pregnancy and neonatal (influenza, whooping cough).


11. Fetal life and transition to extrauterine life. Hypoxico-ischemic encephalopathy. Consequences in the short, medium and long term. Measures to improve neurological outcomes.


12. Screening newborns of metabolopathies and other diseases. Inborn errors of metabolism. Genetic and chromosomal diseases of neonatal presentation.


13. Neonatal respiratory distress Respiratory causes and their treatment. Congenital cardiopathies of neonatal presentation.


14. Malformations and congenital surgical diseases in the prenatal or neonatal period.


15. Social pediatrics during pregnancy and the neonatal period: Prenatal visit. Fetal and neonatal abuse. Perinatal bioethics.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
ASISTENCIAL CLINICAL PRACTICES (PCAh) 15 0.6
Directed 15 0.6
Autonomous 41.25 1.65

The final organization of the subject with respect to the number and size of groups, distribution in the calendar and dates of examinations, specific evaluation criteria and review of exams, will be specified in each of the hospital teaching units (UDH), which will make it explicit through its web pages and the first day of class of each subject, through the professors responsible for the subject at the UDH.

For the current academic year, the coordinators of each Teaching Unit (UD) will be:

  • GTiP: Roser Porta — Roser.Porta@uab.cat
  • VH: Félix Castillo Salinas — felix.castillo@vallhebron.cat
  • Sant Pau: Roger Esmel — Roger.Esmel@uab.cat


In certain exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the teachers and also depending on the resources available and the public health situation, some of the theoretical classes, practicals and seminars organized by the Teaching Units may be taught either in person or virtually.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Delivery of reports / written works. 50% 1.75 0.07 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Practical evaluation 50% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Continuous evaluation, discussion of cases: evaluation of the qualitative participation of the student and delivery of resolutions of cases worked in the seminar.

Evaluation of the works: each student will have to elaborate and present a work based on a clinical case lived during the practices of the subject.

Oral recovery test in case the student does not pass the initial evaluation.

When it is considered that the student has not been able to provide enough evidence of evaluation in the minutes, this subject will be recorded as non-evaluable.

This subject does not provide the single assessment system.


Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Restricted use: “For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively as a support tool for literature and information searches, language editing, text translation, and the preparation of content related to the theoretical or literature review sections of academic assignments. The use of AI is not permitted in the description, analysis, interpretation, discussion, or resolution of the clinical case, nor in the preparation of the conclusions, which must reflect the student’s own clinical reasoning and learning process.

Students must explicitly acknowledge any use of AI tools, specifying the tool used, the purpose of its use, and the sections of the assignment in which it has been employed. Students are also responsible for the final content submitted and must verify its scientific and academic rigour. Furthermore, students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools employed, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity.

Failure to disclose the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the activity grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.”

Any irregularity committed during an assessment activity (academic fraud, plagiarism, or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorised in the course guide) that may lead to a significant alteration of the assessment result will result in a grade of 0 for that assessment activity. If the course guide establishes that obtaining a minimum grade in that assessment activity is an essential requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities are detected in assessment activities within the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student involved in such irregularities.


Bibliography

Obstetrics

Obstetric clinical algorithms . Wiley Online Library eBooks EBS 2019 Errol R. Norwitz, George R. Saade, Hugh Miller, Christina M. Davidson. 2nd edition. ISBN 9781118849873 (pdf) | ISBN 9781118849880 (epub)

https://login.are.uab.cat/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edspub&AN=edp11791960&site=pfi-live

Protocol de seguiment de l'embaràs a Catalunya 3ª ed.: Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Sanitat i Seguretat Social, 2018 (http://salutpublica.gencat.cat/web/.content/minisite/aspcat/promocio_salut/embaras_part_puerperi/protocol_seguiment_embaras/protocol-seguiment-embaras-2018.pdf).

Protocol de cribratge prenatal d’anomalies congènites a Catalunya. Departament de Sanitat i Seguretat Social, 2018 (http://salutpublica.gencat.cat/web/.content/minisite/aspcat/promocio_salut/embaras_part_puerperi/protocol_cribratge_prenatal/Protocol-cribatge-prenatal-anomalies-congenites-2018.pdf)

Tratado de Ginecología, Obstetricia y Medicina de la Reproducción. 2 tomos. Dir. Luis Cabero Roura. Editorial Médica Panamericana.2012. https://login.are.uab.cat/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edspub&AN=edp14309925&site=pfi-live

Neonatology

Avery’s diseases of the newborn. T Sawyer, CA Gleason, 11th ed. Elsevier, 2023.

Cloherty and Starks. Maual of Neonatl Care. Wolters Kluwer, 2021.

Drugs in pregancy. RN Al-Zidan. Apple Academic Press, 2021

Fanaroff & Martin’s Neonatal-perinatal medicine. Diseases of the fetus and infant. RJ Martin, AA Fanaroff, MC Walsh, 11th ed. Saunders Elsevier 2019.

Fetus and neonatal physiology. R Polin, NW Fox, SH Abman, 5th ed. Elsevier Saunders, 2017.

Infectious diseases of the fetus and newborn infant. C Wilson, V Nizet, Y Maldonado, J Remington, J Klein. 8th ed. Elsevier Saunders, 2016.

Merenstein & Gardner's Handbook of Neonatal intensive care. Elsevier 2021.

Software

No requiered

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE