The Essential Role of Family Physicians in Providing Cesarean Sections in Rural Communities

Abstract

Of family physicians who perform cesarean sections, more than half do so in rural communities and 38.6% provide cesarean sections in counties without any obstetrician/gynecologists. As policymakers in the United States struggle with a widening landscape of 'obstetrical deserts,' efforts to adequately train a family physician workforce prepared to provide cesarean sections could help maintain access to local obstetric services in rural communities and reduce perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: Cesarean Section; Family Physicians; Health Workforce; Maternal Health Services; Obstetrics; Pregnancy; Rural Health.