Overview
Who We Are
Our team’s internationally renowned physicians and specialized fellows, nurses, and staff are committed to supporting patients and educating trainees in the country’s most decorated maternal-fetal medicine program.
The Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine provides prenatal care and delivery services to women experiencing high-risk pregnancies in Dallas and its surrounding communities in both the UT Southwestern Health System and the Parkland Health and Hospital System.
Renowned Experts
Dr. Gary Cunningham, Professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, is a world-recognized authority on the hematological and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and one of the most renowned obstetricians in the United States.
He was the chief author/editor of the landmark textbook Williams Obstetrics from its 18th through 26th editions. He has published hundreds of academic articles, more than 100 book chapters and has edited dozens of books.
In 2021, Dr. Cunningham received the Luella Klein Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In 2016, UT Southwestern established the F. Gary Cunningham, M.D. Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynecology in his honor.
Dr. Catherine Spong, Professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and holder of the Paul C. MacDonald Distinguished Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology, joined UT Southwestern in 2018 after more than two decades with the National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
She has contributed to multiple landmark clinical trials in obstetrics, gynecology, and fetal surgery that have defined the standard of care in maternal-fetal medicine and best practices in obstetrics and gynecology.
In 2023, Dr. Spong was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in recognition of her contributions to the field of maternal-fetal medicine, her leadership in women’s health research, and her dedication to advancing health care for mothers and babies.
What We Do
High-Volume Clinical Service
Our maternal-fetal medicine specialists fulfill two fundamental clinical roles at UT Southwestern.
Primarily, we act as consultants to obstetricians who refer high-risk patients to our clinics for evaluation and the creation of a treatment plan. But unlike many other maternal-fetal medicine programs, we also directly care for and deliver many high-risk patients who are referred to us.
As Parkland has one of the busiest labor and delivery wings in the country, averaging 12,000 deliveries each year, our Division serves as a leading community resource.
Patient Care
Members of our Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division serve as the Maternal Medical Directors in five North Texas facilities: William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital (level IV maternity service), Parkland Memorial Hospital (level IV), Texas Health Resources Plano (level IV), Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Irving (level II), and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Frisco (level II).
In 2023, members of the Division served as the Chair of the Perinatal Committee for the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, as well as on the state-sponsored Perinatal Advisory Council. In doing so, our Division has been integral in the development and completion of stated aims for the Joint Pediatric Enterprise between UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center.
Our Division has also partnered with members of the Department of Psychiatry to facilitate the State of Texas’s Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network (PeriPAN) program. The PeriPAN pilot program of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium offers obstetrician-gynecologists, midwives, pediatricians, family doctors, and mental health care professionals across the state free phone consultations with psychiatrists who have experience with treating pregnant and postpartum patients.
Learn More About our Patient Care
Prioritizing Health Equity
We are especially focused on health equity for all patients across each of the systems with which we work. Our passion for this topic is evidenced by several recent projects.
Extending Maternal Care After Pregnancy (eMCAP) Program
The eMCAP program delivers health care to new mothers in an effort to reduce high maternal mortality rates reported in parts of Dallas County. The program utilizes community health workers, nurse home visits, scheduled virtual visits, and an in-person mobile unit with medical providers, social workers, and pharmacy services deployed within the community to extend and enhance postpartum care for diabetes, hypertension, and behavioral health conditions.
Program Highlights:
- Since its inception in October 2020, the eMCAP program has helped more than 3,000 women in southern Dallas County, many of whom had chronic hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
- In late 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognized eMCAP as one of 25 Phase 1 winners of the HHS Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge Award.
- The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum also cited the program’s effectiveness with a 2022 John M. Eisenberg Award, which honors major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and health care quality.
- In 2023, the eMCAP program received the Leaders in Clinical Excellence Award for Program Development from UT Southwestern.
The success of the eMCAP program has been shared with stakeholders in other states at the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative as a demonstration project and is serving as a platform for future deployments of mobile health units in North Texas.
Improving Maternal Postpartum Access to Care Through Telemedicine (IMPACT) Study
In 2023, a group of our Division’s researchers were approved for a $18 million funding award from the nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to investigate ways to improve postpartum health among primarily low-income Black and Hispanic women.
In this multicenter trial, UT Southwestern and Emory University will include patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, two of the busiest delivery hospitals in the U.S. Combined, the hospitals handle nearly 14,000 deliveries each year, and most of their patients either have no health insurance or are on Medicaid.
The study began enrolling patients in March 2024.
Research
The substantial obstetrical volume our Department sees – about 40 deliveries per day between UT Southwestern and Parkland – provides a unique opportunity for outcomes-based clinical research.
Our faculty is dedicated to conducting rigorous controlled trials intended to objectively evaluate principles of obstetrical care. This commitment to research excellence is underscored by our Department’s accolades.
- In 2024, our department received nearly $9 million in grants from the NIH, ranking us as the ninth most funded Ob/Gyn department in the nation in the Blue Ridge rankings published by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
- In addition to the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute IMPACT study award in 2023, faculty members were also awarded an NIH K23 grant to study placental function and were active in applying for NIH R21 funding.
Locally, our members receive institutional support through the Dean's Scholars in Clinical Research Program, as well as the Community Based Research Award Program.
Educational Involvement
We are deeply committed to leveraging our expertise to mentor and educate medical students, residents, and fellows at UT Southwestern.
Our faculty provides core lectures and clinical teaching to trainees in obstetrics and gynecology. We also serve as teaching faculty for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program, which offers exceptional training and professional development opportunities. Additionally, our faculty is involved in teaching and curriculum for the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program in the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions.
Our Division also sponsors undergraduate interns from historically Black colleges and universities. We continue to provide education within the UT Southwestern medical student curriculum and provide direct supervision and oversight to the Department’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, which is the largest U.S. program in this field.