• Katy B Kozhimannil and Patricia Fontaine.
• Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis-St Paul, MN, USA.
• Ann Fam Med. 2013 Jul 1; 11 (4): 350-4.

PurposeWe describe the proportion of family physicians providing care of any sort to pregnant women in the United States from 2000 to 2009.MethodsWe used a repeat, cross-sectional design with data from the nationally representative Integrated Health Interview Series (2000-2009) for respondents who reported being pregnant at the time of the survey (N = 3,204). Using multivariate logistic regression, we modeled changes over time in pregnant women's reports of care from family physicians. We used interaction terms to test for regional differences in trends.ResultsApproximately one-third of pregnant women reported having seen or talked to a family physician for medical care during the prior year, a percentage that remained stable for the period of 2000 to 2009 (adjusted odds ratio for annual change = 1.006). Most pregnant women reported care from multiple types of clinicians, including family physicians, obstetrician-gynecologists, midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. There were regional differences in trends in family physician care; pregnant women in the North Central United States increasingly reported care from family physicians, whereas women in the South reported a decline (6.7% annual increase vs 4.7% annual decrease, P ≥.001).ConclusionsTrends in family medicine care for pregnant women have remained steady for the nation as a whole, but they differ by region of the United States. Most pregnant women reported care from multiple clinicians, highlighting the importance of care coordination for this patient population.

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