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 43,359 practicing obstetricians & gynecologists. Broken out by state, obstetrics & gynecology doctor density in Alabama is 530, in Alaska is 86, in Arizona is 851, in Arkansas is 259, in California is 5,077, in Colorado is 714, in Connecticut is 689, in Delaware is 148, in District of Columbia is 224, in Florida is 2,285, in Georgia is 1,484, in Hawaii is 231, in Idaho is 157, in Illinois is 1,994, in Indiana is 835, in Iowa is 302, in Kansas is 327, in Kentucky is 554, in Louisiana is 627, in Maine is 185, in Maryland is 1,042, in Massachusetts is 1,392, in Michigan is 1,674, in Minnesota is 658, in Mississippi is 358, in Missouri is 873, in Montana is 124, in Nebraska is 217, in Nevada is 280, in New Hampshire is 225, in New Jersey is 1,522, in New Mexico is 241, in New York is 3,515, in North Carolina is 1,335, in North Dakota is 61, in Ohio is 1,603, in Oklahoma is 445, in Oregon is 508, in Pennsylvania is 1,946, in Rhode Island is 211, in South Carolina is 624, in South Dakota is 79, in Tennessee is 841, in Texas is 3,098, in Utah is 325, in Vermont is 86, in Virginia is 1,193, in Washington is 835, in West Virginia is 236, in Wisconsin is 654, and in Wyoming is 60.
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