Breaking New Ground in Hospital Obstetrics

Obstetrics hospitalist programs are popping up everywhere these days. The latest newcomer to this trend is the Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas not surprising for this medical center known for delivering more than 3,200 babies a year. Last week, St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois also announced that it would be launching its own obstetrics hospitalist program. There are several reasons why hospitalist obstetrics makes good clinical sense:

1. There are many instances in which a woman will go into labor unexpectedly, and having an OB hospitalist on call can help ensure that patients are receive the proper care in the event that the patient’s regular OB/GYN is out of town.
2. OB hospitalists provide a much-needed, extra set of hands to assist colleagues when it comes to performing tests, assisting with deliveries and Cesarean sections, or, as mentioned in reason # 1, even deliver the child if the regular physician does not arrive on time.
3. OB hospitalists are able to provide the necessary care for women who have previously had Cesarean sections to enable them to give birth vaginally if they desire, a practice that is banned by many hospitals due to the fact that it requires constant physician monitoring because of its many risks. Because of reason # 2, the extra set of hands will allow women that option.

Although there are currently only a limited number of hospitals in the US that have reported having an OB hospitalist on staff, this seems to be a trend that is beginning to gain momentum.

We’ll continue to keep tabs on how many OB hospitalist programs are born over the next year.