Obstetrics - Maternal Fetal Medicine?

[bradleyba]

Hello,

I am a sophomore in high school. My goal is to one day become an obstetrician gynecologist.

I have looked into this field a lot and I understand that I would first do my undergraduate studies, then medical school, and then residency (I believe it's four years for OB?) But I was curious about maternal fetal medicine. I know this requires additional training of a few extra years, and I know that a sub-specialty in maternal fetal medicine makes you the doctor for high risk pregnancies, but do you still get to deal with routine pregnancies? I read that the perinatologist basically just manages high risk pregnancies and births while the general obstetrician does the low risk, routine ones. Can you have both? As a maternal fetal medicine specialist, do you still get to be a general obstetrician and manage regular pregnancies and births or are you strictly high risk?

Please let me know if I was mistaken on any of this, again I am only a sophomore and this is just what I have gathered from various websites! 🙂

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[Global Disrobal]

Practice specifics vary, and as an OBGYN you can tailor it to suit your interests as well as community needs. While some OBGYN providers focus on low risk cases, others fully manage the high risk cases themselves (especially in resource limited settings), while others utilize co-management by an MFM.

With respect to MFM, it depends on your setting. While many academic MFM programs provide full obstetric care (generally to high risk mothers), many include L&D coverage as well, which undoubtedly leads to an MFM doing a "low risk" delivery. However, the majority of the field is moving toward a consultative role where the MFM remains hands-on and involved (including L&D) but otherwise leaves the full service obstetrical care to the OBGYN.

In a nutshell to answer your question, yes, MFM can include regular pregnancy care, but unlikely given that in referral market where you rely on referrals from OBGYN physicians, you don't want to be doing what they're doing as well and essentially competing with them as well.

Hope this helps.