Abu Dhabi's flagship maternity hospital has launched a new health centre dedicated to the care of patients who are not pregnant.
Corniche Hospital has set up the Women's Health Centre, based at a nearby clinic, to provide extra support for women who may feel "uncomfortable" receiving non-maternity care at the hospital.
More than 20 per cent of patient attending the medical facility who do not require maternity treatment.
Linda Clark, chief executive officer of the hospital, said the clinic was previously used for obstetric (treatment related to childbirth) but has been revamped to improve care provided to all of is patients.
"It has always been called the Women's Health Centre but in the past has been focused on obstetric care. It is now a dedicated to gynaecology and family medicine,” said Ms Clark.
“Now there is a convenient private outpatient clinic that is available for women who are not pregnant. As Corniche Hospital is widely known for obstetrics, some women are not comfortable if they have gynaecological issues and feel like they shouldn’t be in an obstetrics facility.”
The centre will share staffing resources with the hospital, with ten consultants commuting between the two facilities.
Pregnant mothers will be registered and cared for by consultants at Corniche hospital and not at the Women Health Center.
The Centre will have ten consultants and two family physicians at its disposal.
Dr Sadia Malik, a consultant gynecologist at the hospital, said the move acknowledges the differing needs of all patients.
“The idea behind the center is that pregnant women need different management than non-pregnant women," said Dr Malik.
“Every day we will have two to four women walk into our emergency care saying 'I have a problem but I am not pregnant', so we tell them that we have gynaecology clinics which we have been running for many years but now we have a separate centre exclusively for non-pregnant women.”
The new centre accepts both Emiratis and non-Emiratis
Dr Malik also heads up a recurrent pregnancy loss clinic, which she will now hold at the Women Health Centre instead of Corniche Hospital.
Her clinic provides support for couples who have had several miscarriages.
However, Dr Malik said that the main cause for a miscarriage in women is them not taking folic acid (often found in vitamins) three months before trying to conceive
“My advice is always that instead of an engagement ring as a wedding present then give the bride folic acid. The ring will remain in the drawer but folic acid will help protect their child from birth defects and miscarriages," she said.
Dr Malik sees fifteen patients every Tuesday. The numbers of couples with recurrent miscarriages and fertility problems are on the rise, she said.
Other common causes of miscarriages, she says, are obesity and smoking.
