Family practice OB: to be or not to be? Liability is the question.

Will the family physicians (FP) of the future (including the near future and not just the distant future) be able to include maternity care (OB or obstetrics) in their practices? The title of this editorial, with apologies to William Shakespeare for my literary license, focuses on both a frightening current reality and a very timely study in this issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Practice. One can begin consideration of “the question” by asking what factors determine whether or not family physicians practice OB. The list of determinants is fairly short. Some of the items on the list are within the control of an individual family physician, some fall into the control of the family medicine educational community, some can be impacted by the discipline of family medicine or even organized medicine, and some are societal in nature. Factors involved include the following: