The quality of obstetric care in family practice: are family physicians as safe as obstetricians?

A literature review on the quality of obstetric care in family practice was conducted to determine whether family physicians are as competent in providing obstetric care as obstetricians. Three types of studies were reviewed: case series, historical cohorts, and population-based studies. No conclusion on the quality of obstetric care in family practice can be drawn from the available studies because of research design limitations. Available evidence suggests, however, that family physicians are as safe as obstetricians when delivering babies, particularly when they concentrate their efforts on providing personal prenatal care, refer high-risk pregnant women appropriately, and practice less technologically oriented care on women who deliver normal-weight babies. In addition, no evidence emerged that family physicians provided significantly poorer obstetric care than obstetricians. In fact, the results from population-based studies suggest that family physicians may be safer than obstetricians in delivering normal-weight infants because of their hypothesized less use of technological interventions in that low-risk group of patients. Further studies, especially prospective randomized trials in which the outcomes are assessed in a blinded fashion and case mix is rigorously controlled, are needed to provide a definitive answer. As practical, ethical, and economic constraints are likely to preclude such studies, the case-control design may provide a reasonable alternative.