Maternity Care
Who We Are
The Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University is both a clinical and academic department including over 50 primary faculty. There are four family health centers in the Portland Metro area. This clinical network provides approximately 125,000 outpatient visits per year and over 2,200 hospital admissions to our family medicine hospital service at OHSU Hospital.
At OHSU Family Medicine we care for infants, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly both in the clinic and in the hospital. We offer pregnant women a full range of family-centered obstetrical services. Our faculty have admitting privileges to labor and delivery, and three family medicine faculty members have C-section privileges at our hospital.
Values in Maternity Care
Faculty and resident physicians of the Department of Family Medicine value continuity of care. We focus on the health of our individual patients as well as the health of their families. We hope to understand what is important to our patients, and the context in which they each live. Maternity care begins prior to any individual woman becoming pregnant with preconception counseling and attention to nutrition. Prenatal care in each of our clinics follows evidenced-based guidelines, including offering early genetic testing and ultrasound.
In addition, the Department of Family Medicine offers a unique experience for women interested in more of an integrative approach to their care. We have faculty and fellows trained in both allopathic and complementary and alternative approaches to health. Some of our unique services include acupuncture for induction of labor, osteopathic manipulation for low back pain in pregnancy, and moxibustion for breech version.
Our prenatal care culminates in the birth experiences of each of our patients. Many large maternity care practices offer a practice partner to attend births, but this may not be the same provider with which each patient has a unique relationship. The faculty and resident physicians of OHSU Family Medicine make the birth experiences of our patients a priority, as we feel strongly about sharing such momentous times with each of our patients, day or night.
Postpartum, we care for women and their newborn children both in hospital and in the clinic. We provide lactation support, nutrition guidance, and routine well-woman and well-child care with immunizations. Given our unique scope of practice, we bring our knowledge of your pregnancy, birth, and the first moments of your child's life together as we transition to caring for you and your family as it grows.
