[The pregnant patient in the Intensive Care Unit]

Pregnant patients require intensive medical treatment relatively rarely: in industrialized countries they account for only about 2% of ICU-patients. Compared to pregnancy, the need for intensive care occurs more often in the immediate postpartum setting, primarily due to peripartum complications such as severe haemorrhage, hypertensive crises, or sepsis. The treatment of such patients requires a multiprofessional and interdisciplinary approach involving obstetricians, neonatologists, intensive care physicians, nursing staff, and other specialists, as well as, if necessary, psychologists. Particular importance is attached to involving the (competent-to-consent) patient and her relatives in clinical decision-making processes. In the case of fetal viability, and if the mother's condition is stable, transfer to a hospital with connected obstetrics and neonatology should be considered. Maternal X-ray examinations are possible during pregnancy, taking into account the fetal radiation dose.