Misgav Ladach ( he, מִשְׂגָּב לַדָּךְ) is a
hospital in
Katamon
, settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem
, image_skyline = בית רה"מ לוי אשכול ברחוב בוסתנאי 3 בשכנות קטמון בירושלים.jpg
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, image_caption = House ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
that belongs to
Kupat Holim Meuhedet, Israel's third largest
HMO
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded hea ...
.
Etymology
The name of the hospital, literally "refuge for the suffering," derives from
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
9:10.
History

Misgav Ladach hospital was established in 1854 in the
Old City of Jerusalem, funded by the French
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...
. The hospital, founded to enable the Jews to be independent of Christian missionary hospitals,
served the city's Jewish population in this location until the Israeli
1948 Arab–Israeli War in 1948, when the Jordanian army conquered the
Jewish Quarter. The hospital reopened in
Katamon
, settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem
, image_skyline = בית רה"מ לוי אשכול ברחוב בוסתנאי 3 בשכנות קטמון בירושלים.jpg
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, image_caption = House ...
in western Jerusalem, where it operated for 40 years as a maternity hospital.
After moving into new premises, a 6,700-sq.m., three-story building on Hizkiyahu Hamelech Street, the non-profit Sephardi organization that owned it went bankrupt. The building was purchased by Kupat Holim Meuhedet, renovated and reopened in 2005. In 2022, Meuhedet announced the hospital will be renovated and turned over to its subsidiary management company Medica.
Medical innovations
Misgav Ladach method
The Misgav Ladach method for
Cesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or ...
was developed by Michael Stark based on the
Joel-Cohen incision originally introduced for
hysterectomy
Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. It may also involve removal of the cervix, ovaries ( oophorectomy), Fallopian tubes ( salpingectomy), and other surrounding structures.
Usually performed by a gynecologist, a hysterectomy may ...
. The technique was first introduced at Misgav Ladach and is now being used in medical centers around the world. The Misgav Ladach method eliminates many conventional steps, resulting in a quicker birth, less trauma for the mother and more rapid recovery. There is less need for painkillers and antibiotics, less scarring, less bleeding and less need for anaesthesia. Risk of exposure to HIV is minimized and the speed of the operation saves operating room and staff time.
Natural childbirth
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Misgav Ladach was known for its personalized approach to
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births glo ...
. The hospital was an early supporter of
natural childbirth
Natural childbirth is childbirth without routine medical interventions, particularly anesthesia. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained popularity in industrialized societies. Natur ...
techniques and the presence of fathers in the delivery room.
Medical directors
*Maccabi Salzberger
*Michael Stark
Michael Stark's C-section method
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See also
*Health in Israel
Health in Israel is generally considered good.
Infant mortality is low. Life expectancy, 82.1 years is high. There is good management of chronic disease and excellent primary care. Expenditure on healthcare is 7.2% of Gross Domestic Product, co ...
*Science and technology in Israel
Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. Israel spent 4.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2015, the highest ratio in the world. In 2019, Israel was ranked the world' ...
References
{{Coord, 31, 45, 40.44, N, 35, 12, 37.94, E, display=title
Hospitals in Jerusalem
Katamon