Paediatrics & Neonatology
What is Pediatrics?
Pediatrics is a specialty of medicine that is concerned with the health and medical treatment of babies, children, and adolescents from their birth until they reach the age of eighteen years. Pediatrics is derived from two Greek words: (pais, which means “child”) and (iatros, which means “doctor or healer,” which together indicate “healer of children.”
A pediatrician is a child’s physician who offers medical treatment for children who are acutely or chronically unwell and provides preventative health services for otherwise healthy children. Managing the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of children under their care at every stage of development and in both illness and health is the responsibility of a pediatrician.
What is Neonatology?
Neonatology is a specialization of pediatrics that focuses on the medical treatment of newborn babies, particularly sick or born prematurely. It is primarily a hospital-based specialty most often seen in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Newborn children who are sick or need special medical care due to preterm conditions, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, congenital abnormalities (birth defects), sepsis, pulmonary hypoplasia, or birth asphyxia are the essential typical patients seen by neonatologists.
