title: Obstetric care in family practice residencies: a 5-year follow-up survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The percentage of family physicians delivering babies decreased from 46% in 1978 to 32% in 1992. Some family practice leaders predicted that, by the turn of the century, training for family practice obstetrics would focus primarily on those planning to work in remote or rural settings. A 1993 study found three primary factors associated with an increased incidence of future maternity care. In 1997 the Residency Review Commission (RRC) stipulated that all family practice residencies have at least 1 family physician serve as an intrapartum attending physician for family practice resident deliveries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using an instrument similar to that used in 1993, we surveyed the directors of 462 family practice residencies in the United States. Sixty-four percent (295) of the program directors responded to one of two mailings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the survey published in 1993, program directors estimated a 16% increase in the number of residents who included obstetrics in their first practice after residency. Factors associated with increased obstetric participation included having only family physician faculty supervise uncomplicated deliveries and having family physician faculty who could perform other perinatal procedures. Programs that had 4 or more family physician faculty doing obstetrics and those that had more than 10 deliveries per month also produced more physicians who provided maternity care. Fifty-three percent of residencies that did not have family physician faculty attending deliveries before 1997 now meet this RRC requirement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that, according to their program directors' estimates, more family practice residents are including obstetrics in their first practice after residency compared with 5 years ago. The new RRC regulation was associated with more than 50% of previously noncompliant programs adding or retraining faculty who could attend resident deliveries within 12 months of the inception of the new policy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City 84132, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Ratcliffe
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Mary Bishop
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sakornbut
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolkomir
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thiese
mesh_terms: D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States