A statewide, toll-free telephone service to improve obstetric care

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center began in 1993 to provide a statewide, toll-free telephone service for pregnancy counseling to primary care physicians. The service was available 24 hours each day, and responses were made by the on-call maternal-fetal medicine specialist. This report summarizes our first full year of operation. Inquiries came from 34 (63%) of the state's 54 counties having physicians who provide obstetric care. One hundred twenty-eight physicians made 523 inquiries (median 3, range 1-15). Information was sought about prenatal genetic disorders, risks from drugs, exposure to infection, environmental hazards, and active obstetric or medical complications. Funds from targeted ultrasounds, genetic amniocenteses, more detailed counselling, and maternal transfers provided support for this expanding educational resource.