APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. the branch of medicine concerned with pregnancy and childbirth. Obstetricians provide routine care to women before, during, and after birth, including regular examinations, education about labor and giving birth, and delivery services or cesarean sections (if necessary). They also manage high-risk pregnancies involving medical, genetic, or other complications in the mother or baby, and they may address, often as part of an interdisciplinary health care team, concomitant emotional issues (e.g., depression, anxiety) that arise. Obstetricians also trained in gynecology are known as OB/GYNs for short. —obstetrical adj.