The United States will face a significant shortage of obstetrician-gynecologists within the next five years, according to projections from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Women need gynecological care throughout their lives from their first period through menopause and beyond, so the deficits affect women of all ages.

The need for nurse-midwives is only likely to grow as more young adults move to rural areas and fewer family doctors choose to practice there.

Nurse-midwives can help fill some of these gaps. Unfortunately, a recent survey found that few Americans are aware of the types of services nurse-midwives provide.

The survey, by researchers from Ohio State University, found that most of the respondents knew that nurse-midwives take care of women during pregnancy and assist at births (93 percent) and water births (69 percent). Far fewer, only 13 percent, were aware that nurse-midwives can perform Caesarean sections.

The percentage of those surveyed who knew nurse-midwives don't just treat women during pregnancy and childbirth was not much higher.

Twenty-six percent of respondents knew nurse-midwives can prescribe birth control. Only 23 percent of respondents appreciated that nurse-midwives care for women who are peri-menopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal.

Michaela Ward, a certified nurse-midwife at Ohio State Wexler Medical Center who was not involved in the survey, was not surprised that many people did not know nurse-midwives can provide routine gynecological care. “People hear the word ‘midwives' and think of home births or people that take care of pregnant women,” she told TheDoctor.

Nurse-midwives can do much more than deliver babies, however. They are also able to care for patients with conditions including abnormal menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and vaginitis. They can prescribe hormone therapy and any other medications women might need to manage menopausal symptoms.

Those concerned about entrusting their care to a nurse-midwife should keep in mind that these trained healthcare professionals can always consult with obstetrician-gynecologists and fetal medicine specialists.

The need for nurse-midwives is only likely to grow as more young adults move to rural areas and fewer family doctors choose to practice there.

Nurse-midwives are well-positioned to step into that gap, Ward pointed out, yet just 20 percent of those surveyed realized that nurse-midwives can do annual well woman visits, including testing for sexually transmitted diseases and taking Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer.

Those concerned about entrusting their care to a nurse-midwife should keep in mind that these trained healthcare professionals can always call obstetrician-gynecologists and maternal-fetal medicine specialists to consult on complex cases and pregnancies. “We can take care of you, even if there is something more complex about you or your health,” Ward explained. “We all work together to provide our patients with the best care possible.”

You can read more of the survey results here.