(966) Abortion-related training goals for maternal-fetal medicine fellowship: a program director perspective

Friday, February 10, 2023

3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Objective: To evaluate the importance placed by current maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) fellowship program directors (PDs) on abortion-related training during fellowship.

Study Design: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among all MFM PDs in June 2022 as identified on the SMFM fellowship program directory. The primary exposure was fellowship location in a state categorized as either “open” or “hostile” to abortion services, defined by the Center for Reproductive Rights (https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-stat/). The primary outcome was self-assessed importance placed on abortion provision and training during fellowship assessed with a modified Likert scale. Bivariate comparisons of sociodemographic and Likert scale data were performed using Student’s t or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, for continuous variables, and chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests, for categorical variables as appropriate.

Results: Of the 98 eligible MFM PDs, 60 (61%) responded. 30 (50%) and 30 (50%) of PDs were in open and hostile states, respectively. PDs from open states had a higher frequency of being at an institution affiliated with a Complex Family Planning fellowship (p=0.025) and to endorse support for fellow engagement in pro-abortion advocacy (p=0.047, Table). PDs in open states placed a higher importance on feticidal injections as a critical aspect of fellowship training, but otherwise ranked the importance of D&Cs, D&Es, and induction termination of fetuses with cardiac activity during fellowship training similar to the PDs in hostile states (Figure).

Conclusion: The location of an MFM fellowship is not associated with PD importance placed on most components of abortion-related training, apart from training in feticidal injections. In the current political climate, these data are critical to inform governing bodies regarding the needs of MFM fellowship programs and potential changes needed to ensure equitable training opportunities nationwide.

Primary & Presenting Author(s)

CeCe Cheng, MD (she/her/hers)
MFM Fellow
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, United States

Coauthor(s)

JB
John J. Byrne, MD, MPH
Physician
UT Health Sciences Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, United States
BH
Brian S. Hernandez, N/A
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, United States
JM
Joel E. Michalek, PhD
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Patrick S. Ramsey, MD,MPH (he/him/his)
Professor, OB/GYN
University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, United States
JK
Jennifer L. Kerns, MD, MPH, MS
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
Ashish Premkumar, MD
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network
Bethesda, Maryland, United States