teleMFM · Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Tele-MFM: the MFM subspecialty, wherever your patients are.

Q: When is a maternal-fetal medicine referral needed?

An MFM referral is typically warranted for pregnancies with conditions such as chronic hypertension, diabetes, prior preterm birth, or fetal anomalies. Ouma makes that consult available virtually, so the referral does not depend on a local MFM being present.

Q: Is maternal-fetal medicine the same as high risk?

Maternal-fetal medicine is the OB subspecialty focused on high-risk and complex pregnancies. With no practicing MFM physician in 90.3% of U.S. counties that report preterm birth data, virtual MFM lets you offer that expertise anywhere.

Q: What does an MFM specialist do?

An MFM specialist manages medical and fetal complications of pregnancy alongside the primary OB, reviewing imaging, guiding treatment, and co-managing high-risk cases. Ouma's MFM physicians do this by telehealth while the local team continues hands-on care, including remote ultrasound interpretation.

Q: Do patients have to leave their community for high-risk care?

No. Fewer than 10% of Ouma patients require transfer to in-person MFM care; the rest are co-managed locally with their existing OB.

Tele-MFM is maternal-fetal medicine subspecialty care delivered by telemedicine. Board-certified MFM physicians consult, co-manage, and read imaging remotely, so patients reach subspecialty expertise without traveling to a distant center.

With only ~3,000 maternal-fetal medicine specialists in the country, nearly all in major metros, Ouma is the nation's largest independent, physician-led maternity telehealth practice. We bring board-certified MFM expertise into your clinic, your hospital, and the communities most in-person care cannot reach.

Talk to our team →See how teleMFM deploys ↓

Licensed in all 50 statesMedicaid-enrolled in 20+24/7/365100% board-certified MFM on every consult

90.3%¹of U.S. counties with reported preterm birth data have no practicing MFM physician

56%¹higher odds of above-average preterm birth where no MFM practices

<10%²of Ouma patients need transfer to in-person MFM care

24 / 7 / 365subspecialty coverage, nights, weekends, and holidays

1Greiner AL, Haeri S, Nidey NL. "Preterm Births and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician Workforce Location in the United States." Am J Perinatol, 2025. Of 2,981 U.S. counties with reported preterm birth data, 90.3% had no practicing MFM physician; those counties had about 56% higher odds of a preterm birth rate above the national average (unadjusted OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.99). PubMed

2Ouma program data: under 10% of Ouma patients require transfer to in-person MFM care.

What is a tele-MFM consult?

A tele-MFM consult is a visit with a board-certified maternal-fetal medicine physician by video, requested by a patient's OB, midwife, clinic, or hospital team. The MFM reviews the records and imaging, sees the patient, and sends a written plan back to the referring team, which keeps managing the pregnancy. Ouma provides these consults, ongoing co-management, and ultrasound reads to hospitals, clinics, FQHCs, midwives, and health plans, and is licensed to practice in all 50 states.

The Landscape

A subspecialty in the wrong places

1 in 6³More than 1 in 6 U.S. births happen in rural facilities. Nearly all MFMs practice in urban centers.

Maternal-fetal medicine manages the most complex pregnancies: diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune disease, fetal anomalies, prior loss. See what a high-risk pregnancy doctor does, how pregnancy age affects risk, and what gestational carrier medical clearance involves. It is also one of the scarcest resources in American medicine.

The map does not match where patients live. Ouma's own workforce research found that 90.3% of U.S. counties with reported preterm birth data have no practicing MFM physician. Counties without one are significantly more likely to see above-average preterm birth rates.¹

In parts of the country, a patient drives two, three, even four hours for a single consult. That distance is not a scheduling problem. It changes outcomes.

We are not here to argue that virtual MFM beats in-person care. Each model has its place. We are here because the supply-and-demand math is broken, and telemedicine is the way to close the gap at scale.

It is routine for a single Ouma MFM to see patients across four or five states in a day. Ouma turns a local clinician into a national one.

1Greiner AL, Haeri S, Nidey NL. "Preterm Births and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician Workforce Location in the United States." Am J Perinatol, 2025. Of 2,981 U.S. counties with reported preterm birth data, 90.3% had no practicing MFM physician; those counties had about 56% higher odds of a preterm birth rate above the national average (unadjusted OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.99). PubMed

3SMFM Special Statement on rural and underserved MFM access, via Contemporary OB/GYN, 2026: nearly all MFM subspecialists practice in urban centers, even though more than 1 in 6 births occur in rural facilities.

How teleMFM deploys

Three modes. One subspecialty standard.

Outpatient

Outpatient teleMFM

Consultative MFM care in the patient's community.

Stand up a virtual MFM clinic that sees patients where they live
Add capacity to a short-staffed MFM practice without new hires
Embed a consultative service inside an OB/GYN office or birthing center
Manage growth restriction, diabetes, hypertension, and more

Settings: OB offices, birthing centers, freestanding clinics, MFM practices

Inpatient

Inpatient teleMFM

24/7/365 support for L&D, postpartum, and the OB-ED.

Support labor and delivery, the postpartum unit, and the OB-ED
Guide the primary provider when a high-risk patient arrives
Cover nights, weekends, holidays, and peak-volume gaps
Keep patients local, so fewer transfer out and revenue stays in your hospital

Settings: community and rural hospitals, health systems, academic overflow

Imaging

Ultrasound Interpretation

Expert MFM reads that raise quality and open reimbursement.

MFMs train ~18 months on pregnancy imaging, far beyond other reads
Improves diagnostic quality and reduces the referring OB's liability
Works on your existing PACS, or deploys on our cloud solution
Follows AIUM, SMFM, ACOG, and ISUOG standards

Settings: OB offices, mobile ultrasound, community and home-birth midwives

Not sure where to start?

We'll help you match the right teleMFM model to your organization.

Let's map it out together →

Why teleMFM works

Principles we practice by

01

Real clinicians, real continuity.

Every patient is matched with a licensed, board-certified MFM, not a coach or a chatbot. And they see the same clinician across the journey. A return to relationship-based medicine.

02

A local clinician, made national.

Telemedicine and the right tools let one subspecialist safely cover several states. Scarcity stops being destiny. Expertise reaches the patients who need it.

03

We integrate into you, not around you.

Ouma is a partner to your practice, not a replacement. As clinicians ourselves, we protect the relationship between you and your patient.

Founder credibility

We didn't just read the research on the MFM shortage. We wrote it.

Ouma was founded and is led by maternal-fetal medicine physicians. Our CEO, Dr. Sina Haeri, co-authored the study mapping how MFM workforce location tracks with preterm birth across the country.¹

We have spent a decade building the largest maternity telehealth programs in the country. We have lived this problem.

We are not Silicon Valley selling maternity.

American Journal of Perinatology

Original Article · 2025 · Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Preterm Births and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician Workforce Location in the United States

Greiner AL, Haeri S, Nidey NL

Ouma Health · University of Iowa

Key finding

90.3% of U.S. counties with reported preterm birth data have no practicing MFM physician.

PubMed Read the study ↗

1Greiner AL, Haeri S, Nidey NL. "Preterm Births and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician Workforce Location in the United States." Am J Perinatol, 2025. Of 2,981 U.S. counties with reported preterm birth data, 90.3% had no practicing MFM physician; those counties had about 56% higher odds of a preterm birth rate above the national average (unadjusted OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.99). PubMed

Frequently asked

Common questions about tele-MFM

Our clinical partnerships team can walk through how teleMFM deploys in your organization.

Talk to our team →

What is tele-MFM?

Tele-MFM is maternal-fetal medicine subspecialty care delivered by telemedicine. Ouma's board-certified MFM physicians provide consultative and inpatient high-risk pregnancy care into your clinics and units, so patients access subspecialty expertise without traveling to a distant center.

When is a maternal-fetal medicine referral needed?

An MFM referral is typically warranted for pregnancies with conditions such as chronic hypertension, diabetes, prior preterm birth, or fetal anomalies. Ouma makes that consult available virtually, so the referral does not depend on a local MFM being present.

Is maternal-fetal medicine the same as high risk?

Maternal-fetal medicine is the OB subspecialty focused on high-risk and complex pregnancies. With no practicing MFM physician in 90.3% of U.S. counties that report preterm birth data, virtual MFM lets you offer that expertise anywhere.

What does an MFM specialist do?

An MFM specialist manages medical and fetal complications of pregnancy alongside the primary OB, reviewing imaging, guiding treatment, and co-managing high-risk cases. Ouma's MFM physicians do this by telehealth while the local team continues hands-on care, including remote ultrasound interpretation.

Do patients have to leave their community for high-risk care?

No. Fewer than 10% of Ouma patients require transfer to in-person MFM care; the rest are co-managed locally with their existing OB.

From Ouma Answers

Where telemedicine counts for a level-of-care designation

The short answer

National guidance allows maternal-fetal medicine availability to be met by telemedicine at some levels. Several states do not. The difference decides what counts.

Read the full answer →

Medically reviewed by Sina Haeri, MD, MHSA

Let’s Talk

Bring the MFM subspecialty to your patients.

Tell us about your organization and the gap you are trying to close.

Get in Touch →Learn How It Works

Expert maternity telehealth, extending the reach of subspecialty clinicians to every patient who needs it.

Tele-MFM: the MFM subspecialty, wherever your patients are.

What is a tele-MFM consult?

A subspecialty in the wrong places

Three modes. One subspecialty standard.

Outpatient teleMFM

Inpatient teleMFM

Ultrasound Interpretation

We'll help you match the right teleMFM model to your organization.

Principles we practice by

Real clinicians, real continuity.

A local clinician, made national.

We integrate into you, not around you.

We didn't just read the research on the MFM shortage. We wrote it.

Preterm Births and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician Workforce Location in the United States

The specialties that ride on teleMFM

Ultrasound Interpretation

Advanced Diabetic Management

Perinatal Behavioral Health

Remote Patient Monitoring

Built for the people responsible for maternity

Hospitals & Health Systems

Clinics & Healthcare Providers

Health Plans

Common questions about tele-MFM

Where telemedicine counts for a level-of-care designation

Bring the MFM subspecialty to your patients.

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Resources

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