Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) Specialists: The Women’s Anesthesiology Division faculty work closely and have developed and maintained close-knit relationships with MFM specialists to improve safety and to develop careful plans for pregnant women with complex medical conditions. They attend joint weekly multidisciplinary conferences to develop delivery plans specific to each patient’s needs. They also run an anesthesia consult service and clinic to meet high-risk patients requiring special planning for their care.
The Pregnancy Heart Team: To provide the highest level of care for women with cardiac disease in pregnancy at Duke, a multidisciplinary team of cardiologists, maternal-fetal medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, and cardiac surgeons have collaborated to form the Pregnancy Heart Team. Dr. Marie-Louise Meng is the obstetric and cardiothoracic anesthesiology champion on this team and participates in a monthly team meeting to discuss current and upcoming patients with cardiac disease to optimize all aspects of care during pregnancy as well as plan for delivery and postpartum care. This Pregnancy Heart Team is unique to Duke and highlights the specialty cardio-obstetric care that patients can receive at our institution.
Gynecologic Surgery Specialists: Our faculty have worked closely with different divisions of Duke Obstetrics & Gynecology to develop care pathways for enhanced recovery after surgery specific to those patient populations.
Duke Anesthesiology Global Health Program: Global outreach is a major emphasis of the Women’s Anesthesiology Division. The obstetric anesthesia faculty and their colleagues in obstetrics and neonatology have partnered with the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) and Kybele, a non-profit organization based in North Carolina, to improve delivery of maternal and neonatal care in low and middle income countries. Dr. Adeyemi Olufolabi leads the Kybele work in Ghana and has previously expanded his outreach efforts to Rwanda through the Human Resources for Health grant from the Clinton Foundation. Olufolabi was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award in 2017-18 to support his work in Rwanda and was recognized by the Duke University School of Medicine with the 2020 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award for his work both here and abroad. Senior anesthesiology residents and obstetric anesthesia fellows have had opportunities to spend a month’s rotation in either country, a rotation recognized by the American Board of Anesthesiology.