Jennifer R. Niebyl, MD Chair and Department Executive Officer
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Welcome to the website of the University of Iowa Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. I am proud to lead a talented group of hard-working, creative, and caring faculty and staff that works every day to bring the best healthcare to Iowans and beyond. The field of medicine is faced with considerable challenges today. Our team is rising to these challenges to meet the needs of those we serve, while working also to maintain the joy and meaning of being a healthcare provider. A strength of our department is our interdisciplinary composition, as we comprise a diverse group of physicians, nurse midwives, advanced practice nurses, physician associates, nurses, genetics counselors, sonographers, embryologists, and more. We also have important collaborative relationships with the School of Nursing and the Departments of Family Medicine and Pediatrics.
Our comprehensive medical, surgical, and nursing services provide the full spectrum of care for patients with normal and complicated pregnancies and for gynecology, including cancer, menopause, female pelvic health, and reproductive endocrinology. While our care is primarily focused in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Health Care hospitals, we serve all of Iowa, with telehealth and outreach services at sites across the state. The goal of our department is to serve, educate, and care for Iowans, and exemplify all models of care in women’s and reproductive health for the world to see.
We are a primary care provider for women’s health, serving normal and uncomplicated pregnancies and routine women’s health issues. In keeping with the institution's quaternary care role, a number of our patients represent complicated or high-risk conditions within all spectrums of obstetric and gynecologic care. We serve two labor and deliver suites at our two Iowa City hospitals, incorporating both modern technological advances as well as facilities for the family-oriented approach to patient care. The gynecologic oncology program is an integral unit of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. Our in vitro fertilization program is a national leader in outcomes and the latest technologies. Additional specialty areas include genetics counseling, infertility, in-vitro fertilization, gynecologic urology, menopause, pelvic pain, prenatal diagnostics, and reproductive care.
Basic and clinical research in reproductive medicine is an important departmental activity and is generously funded by state, federal, and philanthropic support. Our areas of strength in scholarship include obstetric quality and safety, preeclampsia, ovarian and uterine cancer, female pelvic health, fertility/infertility, and rural women’s health. Our internationally-recognized Women’s Health Tissue Repository attracts researchers from across the spectrum of pregnancy and reproductive health and is a particularly unique resource used to answer the more important questions in our field. Important collaborations with state and federal agencies are an critical part of our scholarship and research as well.
We are dedicated to excellence in the education of medical students, residents, and fellows, as reflected by a competency-based curriculum that is designed to provide practitioners with comprehensive knowledge and outstanding skills. The clinical and research efforts of trainees are closely mentored and nurtured by a dedicated research team. Our graduates move on to successful careers in clinical practice and academic obstetrics and gynecology. We have four ACGME-accredited fellowship programs in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Gynecologic Oncology, Maternal Fetal Medicine and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. We also support an accredited Clinical Nurse Midwife training program.
Whether you are a patient, student/trainee, researcher, physician, midwife, or other provider, we hope you will have a meaningful and rewarding interaction with our department and that we treat you with our unique ‘Iowa nice’ touch.
- Christian Pettker, MD