Obstetrics and gynecology deals with disorders of a woman’s reproductive system. An obstetrician/gynecologist is sometimes a primary physician for women. The gynecologist treats women and their reproductive systems, but is also concerned with women’s menstrual problems, disorders of pelvic organs, infertility, or cancer of the reproductive organs. Some tests a gynecologist will order or administer are blood tests, a vaginal swab, or X-rays or ultrasound of the pelvic region. An obstetrician can be a gynecologist, and the two practices are closely related.

The obstetrician deals with problems of the woman and fetus during pregnancy and childbirth, and can act as a consultant to other physicians regarding the care of a patient. An obstetrician will see a pregnant woman regularly to check on her health and progress of her pregnancy. Risk factors in a pregnancy include the mother’s diabetes, a previous pregnancy complication, high blood pressure, or heart disease, and will require an obstetrician to check on a woman’s condition more often.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 45,607 practicing obstetricians & gynecologists. Broken out by state, obstetrics & gynecology doctor density in Alabama is 603, in Alaska is 82, in Arizona is 818, in Arkansas is 314, in California is 4,973, in Colorado is 730, in Connecticut is 750, in Delaware is 138, in District of Columbia is 246, in Florida is 2,259, in Georgia is 1,527, in Hawaii is 237, in Idaho is 156, in Illinois is 2,104, in Indiana is 859, in Iowa is 348, in Kansas is 330, in Kentucky is 608, in Louisiana is 714, in Maine is 194, in Maryland is 1,087, in Massachusetts is 1,319, in Michigan is 1,549, in Minnesota is 756, in Mississippi is 370, in Missouri is 840, in Montana is 131, in Nebraska is 238, in Nevada is 296, in New Hampshire is 239, in New Jersey is 1,506, in New Mexico is 298, in New York is 3,617, in North Carolina is 1,347, in North Dakota is 75, in Ohio is 1,668, in Oklahoma is 409, in Oregon is 577, in Pennsylvania is 1,842, in Rhode Island is 223, in South Carolina is 619, in South Dakota is 93, in Tennessee is 999, in Texas is 3,150, in Utah is 299, in Vermont is 100, in Virginia is 1,180, in Washington is 929, in West Virginia is 259, in Wisconsin is 861, and in Wyoming is 62.