2022 Letter from the Chief of OB/GYN

This post is part of the Department of OB/GYN’s 2022 Annual Report. You can find the full report here.

To our patients, supporters, and peers –

In a year marked by continued COVID surges and national challenges to fundamental reproductive health care, we are proud to have advanced our department’s mission to lead in the care and science of our patient’s reproductive and gynecologic health. Central to that mission are efforts to assure that our patients have access to the best and most innovative care that aligns with their values, identity, and personal health goals. Together, we undertake this work through a lens of equity, and by embracing the diversity that is our strength.

One of the most joyful parts of our work is caring for you as you build your family. This year, our labor and delivery team welcomed over 3,600 babies; 20% under the care of Mass General midwives and 22% thanks to the Fertility Center, which celebrated 30 years of reproductive fertility care.

In order to meet the growing needs of our patients and to offer care that is convenient for you, we expanded the geographies we serve. Our surgeons operate at Mass General ambulatory surgical centers in Danvers and Waltham and in the operating rooms at Mass General Brigham community hospitals. Our specialists in maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology, gynecological cancer, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery see patients at Wentworth-Douglass (New Hampshire), Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Salem Hospital, and Emerson Hospital.

In collaboration with our colleagues across the hospital and Mass General Brigham system, our department continues to be uniquely well-positioned to offer comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for you including diabetes in pregnancy, gynecologic cancer treatments, gender-affirming surgery, and specialty care for the babies we help you welcome to the world. 

At a time when access to abortion care is limited in too many states, we feel fortunate that the Massachusetts Roe Act codified and expanded access to abortion and a full range of reproductive health care. In our practices, we will continue to offer evidence-based counseling and education and support a complete range of reproductive health options so you can make an informed decision about your health care.

Looking ahead we remain committed to the four pillars of our mission: patient care, research, teaching, and community health. We are grateful and honored that you entrust us with caring for you at milestone moments in your life and your family’s life. In the coming year and beyond, we’ll continue our expert patient care and the ground-breaking clinical research that makes Mass General OB/GYN a special place to grow your family, find answers to complex cases, provide access to specialists, and more.

 

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Ecker, MD

Chief, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Joe Vincent Meigs Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harvard Medical School