Total guide to maternity services in Qatar launched

A booklet that contains step-by-step information on how women can access maternity care in Qatar has been launched by the country’s public healthcare partners – the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Health Care Corporation and Sidra Medicine. The information in the 'Guide to Maternity Services in Qatar, is drafted in English and Arabic by HMC’s Corporate Communications department and reviewed by Parent Education Taskforce Committee comprising members from all the public healthcare partners, and is useful for all pregnant women (and their spouses as well as other family members) as it clarifies the healthcare pathway for them at all maternity hospitals in Qatar starting off from the primary health care through to Hamad Medical Corporation, Sidra Medicine and other private sector hospitals. The publication of the guide follows the previous launches by the MoPH of the guide to mental health service and three guides for healthcare services in Qatar, one each for children, adults, and the elderly. All guides explain everything people need to know about accessing general healthcare services in Qatar. Dr. Najat Khenyab, National Health Strategy 2018 – 2022 Lead for Healthy Women Leading to Healthy Pregnancies says the initiative to produce the guide that shows the maternity care pathway to women in their reproductive age is another step in the right direction towards achieving the objectives of Qatar National Health Strategy 2018 – 2022. “As Qatar’s population continues to grow and its demography changing, likewise is our plan at the Ministry of Public Health to transform the country’s healthcare landscape, especially in ensuring continuous provision of state-of-the-art maternity healthcare services to all women in Qatar and the region. So, a guide that offers women and their families a clear and comprehensive overview of how to access maternity services in Qatar is very important,” she highlighted. She explained that the NHS 2018-2022 prioritizes women of childbearing age with its plans for healthy women leading to healthy pregnancies because healthy pregnancies lead to healthy children, consequently healthy society, and healthy generations to come. “All citizens and resident women of Qatar aged between 15 and 49 years form the priority population for the NHS 2018-2022 and the goal is to see up to 5% improvement in their health and wellbeing indicators, which would lead to healthy pregnancies by 2022,” Dr. Khenyab, who is also Deputy Medical Director of WWRC and Senior Consultant Obstetrics/Gynecology noted. “As the first point of contact for women once they become pregnant, we at the Primary Health Care Corporation feel elated to have contributed to the guide which highlights how to access care at the primary health care level and the range of antenatal care services that we provide across all our 28 health centers to women in their first and second trimesters making sure the baby and the mother are doing fine. Our contribution to the guide further demonstrates the commitment to deliver community-based primary care services to Qatar’s population in all parts of the country,” said Dr. Hessa Ibrahim Shahbic, Assistant Director of Medicine for Women Health, PHCC. The Guide to Maternity Services in Qatar is available here for download on the newly launched maternal and child health microsite.