Supporting Family Physician Maternity Care Providers.

Maternity care access in the United States is in crisis. The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology projects that by 2030 there will be a nationwide shortage of 9,000 obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs). Midwives and OB/GYNs have been called upon to address this crisis, yet in underserved areas, family physicians are often providing a majority of this care. Family medicine maternity care, a natural fit for the discipline, has been on sharp decline in recent years for many reasons including difficulties cultivating interdisciplinary relationships, navigating privileging, developing and maintaining adequate volume/competency, and preventing burnout. In 2016 and 2017, workshops were held among family medicine educators with resultant recommendations for essential strategies to support family physician maternity care providers. This article summarizes these strategies, provides guidance, and highlights the role family physicians have in addressing maternity care access for the underserved as well as presenting innovative ideas to train and retain rural family physician maternity care providers.

Multidisciplinary collaborative development of a plain-language prenatal education book.

During pregnancy, women actively seek out health information that promotes the well-being of themselves and their fetuses. For those with health literacy challenges, access to understandable health information can be difficult. Written information, in particular, needs to be readable and usable by the women served. Plain language is an essential component of effective health education material. In an effort to create standardized prenatal education materials for a diverse population of childbearing women, Boston Medical Center's midwifery service led a multidisciplinary initiative to develop a comprehensive plain-language prenatal education book. Midwives, obstetricians, family physicians, nurses, and community doulas contributed to the content of the book; art students provided graphic design skills; and a literacy consultant assisted in the wording and layout. The Hey Mama! book provides women with woman-centered, readable, comprehensive information about pregnancy, labor, postpartum, and newborn care.

The birth of a collaborative model: obstetricians, midwives, and family physicians.

In the United States, the challenges of maternity care include provider workforce, cost containment, and equal access to quality care. This article describes a collaborative model of care involving midwives, family physicians, and obstetricians at the Boston Medical Center, which serves a low-income multicultural population. Leadership investment in a collaborative model of care from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Section of Midwifery, and the Department of Family Medicine created a culture of safety and commitment to patient-centered care. Essential elements of the authors' successful model include a commitment to excellence in patient care, communication, and interdisciplinary education.