Care From Family Physicians Reported by Pregnant Women in the United States

Katy B. Kozhimannil; Patricia Fontaine

doi:10.1370/afm.1510

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Author response: Looking for Models of Collaborative Maternity Care
Patricia Fontaine

Published on: 09 August 2013
Maternity Care and the patient-centered "medical neighborhood"
Carl R Olden

Published on: 31 July 2013

Published on: (9 August 2013)
Page navigation anchor for Author response: Looking for Models of Collaborative Maternity Care
Author response: Looking for Models of Collaborative Maternity Care
Patricia Fontaine, Clinician Researcher
Other Contributors:
I appreciate Dr. Olden's comments. Although our article dealt with all types of family physician care for pregnant women, not just maternity care, the issue of access to prenatal and delivery care is important. Data from a few years ago showed that 50% of counties in the US had no obstetrician, and that 93 percent of those counties have no certified nurse midwives. Collaborative models of maternity care are needed among...
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I appreciate Dr. Olden's comments. Although our article dealt with all types of family physician care for pregnant women, not just maternity care, the issue of access to prenatal and delivery care is important. Data from a few years ago showed that 50% of counties in the US had no obstetrician, and that 93 percent of those counties have no certified nurse midwives. Collaborative models of maternity care are needed among family physicians, obstetricians and midwives. In one of our references, How we built our team, Pecci et. al. present a very effective model of multi-disciplinary collaboration within a teaching hospital. I would welcome more examples of family physicians working collaboratively with midwives or obstetricians.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.
Published on: (31 July 2013)
Page navigation anchor for Maternity Care and the patient-centered "medical neighborhood"
Maternity Care and the patient-centered "medical neighborhood"
Carl R Olden, Family Physician
The implications for decreasing access to maternity care provided by Family Physicians across the US include the need for increasing collaboration between maternity care disciplines in reaching vulnerable populations. It is time for Family Physicians to formally embrace models of care that include shared care with Midwives. Current AAFP policy regarding relationships with Nurse Midwives does not foster collaborative car...
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The implications for decreasing access to maternity care provided by Family Physicians across the US include the need for increasing collaboration between maternity care disciplines in reaching vulnerable populations. It is time for Family Physicians to formally embrace models of care that include shared care with Midwives. Current AAFP policy regarding relationships with Nurse Midwives does not foster collaborative care and should be changed to reflect our support of the concepts of patient-centered medical homes and medical neighborhoods.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.