Red Crescent Maternity Hospital
The Red Crescent Maternity Hospital is a cornerstone of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society and one of the most prominent hospitals in Baghdad. It operates under the direct supervision of the Society, which gives it significant attention. The hospital strives to provide the best medical, therapeutic, and surgical services to the people of Iraq, especially the most vulnerable groups in society, including pregnant women and children, in accordance with the Society’s humanitarian principles. The hospital receives both natural and cesarean births daily, around the clock. It also has a vaccination department that operates continuously to provide vaccinations for children from birth until the age of six.
The Red Crescent Maternity Hospital was opened in 1972 and is located near the Society’s buildings. It is self-funded through revenue generated from surgical fees. The hospital staff works tirelessly and continuously to provide medical and therapeutic assistance to all citizens, fulfilling the Society’s humanitarian principles and objectives. The hospital building consists of two floors containing two large operating rooms. The first is for cesarean sections and similar procedures, while the second is for natural childbirth, including painless deliveries, a service for which the Red Crescent Maternity Hospital is renowned for its efficiency and speed. The hospital’s services are not limited to cesarean sections; it also performs other procedures such as hysterectomies, oophorectomies, abortions, dilation and curettage (D&C) to remove a deceased fetus from the uterus, lymph node removal, and procedures for bleeding (diagnostic Pap smear), in addition to specialized cosmetic gynecological surgeries. The hospital also has 71 rooms (wards), each with a bed for the patient and another for a companion. There are a total of 66 beds distributed across the wards, along with complete amenities, usually air-conditioned, including a bathroom, television, and refrigerator, to ensure the complete comfort of the patient, who may stay overnight in the hospital under full care with her new arrival. Strict hygiene and continuous sterilization are maintained. It is also worth noting that, as part of the hospital’s routine daily procedures, the patient enters the examination room and undergoes a periodic examination by a specialist physician, in addition to other examinations. The periodic ultrasound is done once a month, and a date is set for the delivery, whether it is natural or cesarean (surgical). The patient’s ward is prepared with the necessary equipment, and the delivery is carried out on the date set by the specialist doctor in the hospital. The arriving child is received and cleaned by the nurse accompanying the surgeon, and the amniotic fluid is drawn from his stomach. If the child was born before the end of the nine months of pregnancy and complains of some symptom in breathing, he is placed in the incubator for premature babies or sent to the children’s hospital in the housing area.
It is worth noting that the former children’s hospital has been merged with Al-Hilal Maternity Hospital, where a pediatrician examines and weighs newborns before they are released to their parents. Additionally, a vaccination department provides vaccines for pregnant women and their children.
We must also mention the crucial role of sterilization (disinfection). The wards and halls are characterized by impeccable cleanliness, with continuous and thorough disinfection and sterilization using fast-acting, sterilizing, and highly effective materials. This is done in cooperation with the Ministry of Health’s swabs department. Approximately twice a month, a culture is performed to assess the wards’ suitability in terms of cleanliness and contamination levels, which are now virtually nonexistent. This replaces the formalin previously used, as the disinfection process is faster, more effective, and results in significantly less contamination. Furthermore, the hospital includes several advanced departments aimed at providing the best, fastest, and most sophisticated medical services. It is worth noting that the hospital has a branch blood bank that provides pregnant women with blood bags as needed, according to the instructions of the attending physician. This is especially important if the pregnant woman suffers from anemia before or during delivery, or if she experiences sudden bleeding. The blood bank quickly provides a blood transfusion matching her blood type to save her life and the baby’s. In the case of a cesarean section, a blood bag may be required from the blood bank, as determined by the attending physician.
The blood bank consists of two main parts: the first is blood typing, which determines the blood type, and the second is blood typing, where the blood type is matched to the live blood available in the blood bank. This ensures that the blood is matched to the patient’s blood type in cases of bleeding or anemia. It should be noted that the blood bags are received from the National Blood Center and have undergone 100% medical and laboratory testing. Cesarean sections are performed at the hospital by a large number of female gynecologists, in addition to a competent anesthesia team. The prices for services, operations, and deliveries at the hospital are set by the association, and discounts are offered to the most vulnerable groups in society. The association has established new regulations to reduce operating fees at the Red Crescent Maternity Hospital, including (government employees, displaced families, families of martyrs, families of orphans, association employees and members of the association’s general assembly, doctors and nursing staff covered by the social welfare network, victims of terrorist acts, people with disabilities of 50% or more, and families of political prisoners). The association has also established a mechanism for purchasing medical supplies for the hospital through the central warehouse and the procurement committee. As for vaccines, they are obtained exclusively from the Ministry of Health and are subject to periodic testing and inspection by the ministry. On another note, in addition to surgical interventions, the hospital has an ultrasound department, which is an effective department and plays a major role in diagnosing most medical conditions and stages of fetal development. The hospital was recently equipped with a new ultrasound machine, and the hospital receives approximately ( Between 30 and 35 births occur daily at the hospital, which is open 24 hours a day from 8:00 AM until the following day.
Furthermore, as part of the hospital’s plans, which are directly and actively overseen by the Society, the hospital will implement several new development projects. These include opening an IVF center and equipping the hospital with a mammogram machine for early breast cancer detection. This will keep pace with advancements in medical and therapeutic practices, raise the level of preventative and health services, and provide the best possible medical care to all members of Iraqi society.
The Iraqi Red Crescent Society continues its future plans, utilizing all available means and efforts to advance and keep abreast of scientific and technological developments. This will support the hospital and all hospitals affiliated with the Society, based on the principles of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society to provide humanitarian assistance to all members of society.
You can visit the hospital’s official website via the link below.