SMFM hosts first-ever virtual annual meeting

Faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students from Columbia University and around the world presented their research at the first-ever virtual Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine meeting, which took place from January 19-30, 2021. The SMFM's Annual Pregnancy Meeting, now in its 41st year, brings together MFMs-in-training, practicing clinicians, and veterans in the field to share the latest innovations in research and clinical care.

This year’s conference was held remotely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but saw large numbers of attendees to its virtual presentations. Two-thousand six hundred professionals attended the conference in total, including nearly 800 unique presenting authors, from across 50 countries and 47 U.S. states.

Columbia Ob/Gyn has long been a leader among MFM programs. For the 41st Annual Pregnancy Meeting, Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MSc served as Program Committee Chair for the conference, and former Columbia Ob/Gyn resident Timothy Wen, MD, MPH, received an award for his oral plenary presentation on “Influenza in pregnancy and severe maternal morbidity in the United States, 2000-2015.”

At this year's conference, Columbia faculty members presented on various topics related to research and clinical care, including "Disparities in COVID-19 incidence and outcomes by insurance type," "Services and safety-net burden of Black-serving hospitals and related Severe Maternal Morbidity," and "Prenatal genetic diagnostic testing during the COVID-19 pandemic." See the list of oral and poster presentations by Columbia-affiliated faculty and trainees.

Established in 1977, the Society for Maternal Fetal medicine is the premiere membership organization for maternal-fetal medicine specialists. Representing the interests in nearly 3,000 physicians and MFM practice professionals, the Society provides education and engages in advocacy efforts to support the work of MFMs and optimize the health of high-risk pregnant women and their babies.