Dr. Nicholson's issue is devoted to providing health care to the underserved woman. Leading experts in the area have written reviews to address the leading thinking and management of patient outcomes in the following areas: Racial/ethnic Disparities in Health and Healthcare; Perinatal Quality Indicators and Achieving Birth Equity among Underserved Women; Reducing Disparities in Unintended Pregnancy; Family planning American style: Why it’s so hard to control birth in the United States; Breaking the Cycle of Obesity in Women in Underserved Communities; Addressing Healthcare Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minorities with Community Initiatives; Comparing Options for Patient-Centered Treatment for Uterine Fibroids: Addressing Patient-Centered Fibroid Management in Underserved Women of Childbearing Age; Aiding Underserved Women with Substance Use Disorders before and after Pregnancy; The Role of Qualitative Research in Gynecologic and Reproductive Care; and Using the Electronic Health Record to Conduct Reserch in Population Health. Readers will come away with state-of-the-art information that they can immediately integrate into patient care.

In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. William Rayburn, Drs. Jeanne Conry and Maureen Phipps have put together a state-of the-art issue of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America devoted to Women’s Preventive Health Care. Expert authors have contributed clinical reviews that span reproductive age, maturity, and post-maturity. Specific topics include the following: Preconception Health: Well-woman Health Care; Reproductive Health: Options, Strategy and Empowerment of Women; Optimizing Health: Exercise, Weight, Dietary Choices, and Impact of Pregnancy; Menstrual Choices and Interference; Environmental Exposures and Impact on Health; Integrated Mind/Body Care in Women’s Health: A focus on well-being, mental health, and relationships; Cancer Screening and Prevention; Menopause: Hormones, Lifestyle, and Optimizing Aging; Finding the Fountain of Youth: Nutrition, Exercise, and Chronic Medical Conditions Management; Heart Health; Bladder Health and Genitourinary Symptoms; Strong Bones Strong Body; and Challenges to Doing What is Right: How to Address Prevention in the Era of Coding and Reimbursement. Readers will come away with the latest information they need to create health and wellness in obstetric and gynecologic patients.

Consulting Editor, Dr. William Rayburn, is serving as Guest Editor for this special issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics devoted to Interprofessional Collaboration for Select Women’s Health Issues. Articles deal with the spectrum of disciplines in response to failures of interprofessional collaboration that resulted in compromises to patient quality and safety. Systematic reviews have shown that this type of learning has led to positive outcomes in relation to participant’s reactions, attitudes, knowledge/skill, behaviors, and practice, as well as patient benefits. Articles in this issue are specifically devoted to the following topics: Reproductive Rights and Women’s Mental Health: Essential Information for the Ob/Gyn; Goals for Collaborative Management of Obstetric Hemorrhage; Role of Lipid Management in women's Health Preventative Care; Stroke in Pregnancy: An Update; Treatment of Viral Infections During Pregnancy; Benign Uterine Disease: The Added Role of Imaging; Racial Differences in Pregnancy-Related Morbidity and Mortality; Psychiatric Medication Use in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding; Neuroimaging During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period; The Midlife Transition, Depression and Its Clinical Management; and Burnout in Obstetricians-Gynecologists: Its Prevalence, Identification, Prevention, and Reversal. Readers will come away with the information needed to improve patient outcomes while aiming toward goals like interprofessional faculty development that result in reducing feelings of isolation, developing a more collaborative approach, and providing opportunities to share knowledge, experiences, and ideas.

Obstetrician Gynecologists are frequently responsible for management of the primary care needs of their patients. A survey performed in 2005 found an estimated 37% of, non-pregnant patients, relies on gynecologists for routine primary care. The same study found that almost a quarter of gynecologists reported they needed additional primary care training across a broad set of medical topics (Acad Med. 2007; 82:602-607). The impetus for training in primary care skills is increasing. In response to language in the Affordable Care Act, the Institute of Medicine developed a report on clinical preventative services necessary for women (Clinical Preventative Services for Women: Closing the Gaps IOM. 2011; also Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology 2011, 23:471-480). The US Department of Health and Human services has adopted these IOM recommendations and, as a result, health plans are required to include these services. While initiatives such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Well-Woman Task Force and recent cross-specialty ACOG educational collaborations have begun to address supplemental educational needs, additional resources covering key primary care topics are necessary. This issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics is an ideal means for accomplishing this important goal.

In this issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, guest editors Drs. Amy VanBlaricom and Brigid McCue bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Obstetrics and Gynecologic Hospitalists and Laborists. Top experts provide clinical updates to help obstetrics and gynecology hospitalists stay current, including important topics such as restricted access to termination; medical innovations; crisis management; risk mitigation; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Contains 14 relevant, practice-oriented topics including obstetric and gynecologic hospitalist fellowships; medical innovation for obstetrics and gynecologist hospitalists' practice and patient experience; the gynecologic hospitalist; can obstetrics/gynecology hospitalists reduce severe maternal morbidity; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on obstetrics and gynecologic hospitalists and laborists, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

The Ob/Gyn Hospitalist, the newest subspecialist in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, has the potential to improve patient safety, patient and provider satisfaction, workforce challenges and clinical outcomes. Programs are exploding across the country, mirroring the growth of the internal medicine hospitalist programs 10 years ago. Ob/Gyn hospitalist jobs are the most sought after in the field. We will present the history of the Ob/Gyn Hospitalist movement, available evidence to date supporting Ob/Gyn Hospitalists, and where we believe the field is going.

In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. William Rayburn, Dr. Paul Gluck has put together a state-of the-art issue of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America devoted to Patient Safety in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Clinical review articles from expert authors are specifically devoted to the following topics: The Patient Experience and Safety; The Certification Process Driving Patient Safety; Just Culture and Patient Safety; Patient’s Role in Patient Safety; Implementing Patient Safety Initiatives; Eliminating Disparities In Perinatal Care; Transparency and Disclosure; Leadership and Teams; Emerging Role of Drills and Simulations in Patient Safety; California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative: The Power of Collaboration; Role of the Patient Safety Organization in Advancing Patient Safety; Office of Patient Safety; Applying Patient Safety to Reduce Maternal Mortality; Benefits and Pitfalls of Ultrasound in Ob/Gyns; Obstetrical Anesthesia; Patient Safety in Outpatient Procedures; and Safety in Minimally Invasive Surgery. Readers will come away with the latest information they need to improve outcomes and safety in obstetric and gynecologic patients.