Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists are RANZCOG certified obstetricians in maternal-fetal medicine with advanced training in high-risk obstetric practice. These are doctors who have extra training and qualifications in the management of very complicated pregnancies.
MFMs will have established expertise in assessing and managing:
- All aspects of obstetric ultrasound
- Complicated singleton pregnancies (eg intrauterine growth restriction, abnormalities of amniotic fluid volume, abnormal placental invasion)
- Multiple pregnancies, with a special interest in monochorionic twinning
- Preterm birth prediction (e.g. cervical length assessment, ultrasound review of cervical cerclage)
- Fetal structural malformations and genetic syndromes; encompassing diagnosis, counselling and management options
- Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and management of abnormal/uncertain results
- All aspects of fetal invasive testing (eg. CVS, amniocentesis)
All Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists are fully qualified and practicing obstetricians. They look after women before, during and after pregnancy, deliver babies and perform operations.
In teaching hospitals like King Edward Memorial Hospital, MFM specialists often supervise the labour ward and run specialist antenatal clinics. They also play a role in teaching trainee obstetricians to safely manage pregnancy and birth. They can do everything a normal obstetrician does, but have a depth of skills and knowledge due to their specialist focus on and interest in complicated pregnancies.
It is important to realise there are different types of obstetricians out there. Some obstetricians specialise in infertility, others in laparoscopic surgery or pelvic floor problems, while others mainly look after low-risk pregnancies. MFMs however always specialise in high-risk pregnancies.
For more information see ‘What is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist.’