Search For Obstetricians & Gynecologists: OB-GYNs in Columbus, OH

What is Obstetrics & Gynecology?

An obstetrician / gynecologist, or OB/GYN for short, is a doctor who specializes in women's health, pregnancy, and disorders of the female reproductive system. Obstetrics refers to medical care for issues surrounding pregnancy, from preconception until after birth; gynecology refers to other health issues specific to women, such as birth control and infertility treatment, female urology, breast care, and disorders of the ovaries and uterus.

There are four recognized subspecialties of obstetrics and gynecology:

• Maternal-fetal medicine, which is a branch of obstetrics caring for high-risk pregnancies
• Reproductive endocrinology, a subspecialty focused on the treatment of infertility
• Gynecological oncology, which deals with cancers of the female reproductive system
• Female pelvic medicine, which involves surgical treatments for problems of the pelvic organs

An OB/GYN performs a large range of procedures. Some of these include biopsies, ultrasounds, laparoscopy, breast exams, tubal ligation, endometrial ablation, cervical cerclage, amniocentesis, and newborn circumcision.

Obstetricians and gynecologists are one of the few specialists that can provide preventative care for their patients when they are healthy, medical care for patients when they are sick, and surgical care. For example, an OB/GYN may counsel an adolescent about safe sexual health, prescribe medication such as birth control pills, take a pap smear, and perform a cesarean section surgery all in the same day. OB/GYNs specialize in providing care for healthy women and pregnancies, as well as treating medical issues from incontinence and infertility to cancer.