Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, will host its first research based symposium dedicated to maternal and child health from March 7-9 at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) symposium is based on the theme “From Clinical Research to Advanced Therapeutics and Precision Medicine and organised by the Research Branch at Sidra Medicine.
The MCH research at Sidra Medicine is aligned with Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2018-2022 priority targets: Healthy women leading to healthy pregnancies.
The MCH Symposium aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform to discuss the most recent developments, innovations and challenges related to maternal and child health as well as to promote and advance clinical practices in the field.
Dr Souhaila al-Khodor, chair of the MCH symposium and director of Maternal and Child Health Programme, Research Branch, Sidra Medicine said: “Qatar has a high prevalence of gestational diabetes in pregnant women at approximately 21% posing risks for both the mother and her baby. While pre-existing obesity is a major risk factor, other non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and hypertension have also been cited with an alarmingly increasing rate in women during reproductive age. This also increases the risk of pregnancy related complications.”
The MCH Symposium will cover both translational and clinical research with sessions looking at understanding the role of lifestyle and women’s health in fertility; the role of infectious and chronic diseases in reproductive health as well as the latest updates on the novel tools and protocols used in IVF and in management of pregnancy complications.
Dr Annalisa Terranegra, MCH symposium chair and investigator in Nutritional Genomics and Metabolism, Research Division, Sidra Medicine said: “The MCH symposium is further affirmation about Sidra Medicine’s efforts to enhance Women’s health in Qatar both from a clinical and research perspective. Our exciting line up of international experts will make it a strong educational platform that will positively impact knowledge sharing in best practice methodologies as well as patient care.”
Dr Terranegra and Dr al-Khodor
