Gynaecology, obstetrics and reproductive

Gynaecology, obstetrics and reproductive endocrinology: a we
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Gynaecology, obstetrics and reproductive endocrinology: a
website guide
October 09, 2011
By OBGYN.net Staff [1]
Suppose you want to find a good website about gynaecology and/or obstetrics and you try the
search engine Google, you will get 1,060,000 hits for gynaecology and 1,260,000 for obstetrics. Both
give as the first link www.obgyn.net [2], ‘the Universe of Women’s Health’.
Introduction
Suppose you want to find a good website about gynaecology and/or obstetrics and you try the
search engine Google, you will get 1,060,000 hits for gynaecology and 1,260,000 for obstetrics. Both
give as the first link www.obgyn.net, ‘the Universe of Women’s Health’. This website was launched in
1996 and survived the 2001 shakeout of the medical health portals, most probably because of its
active community of doctors and consumers who visit the site approximately one million times a
month.
OBGYN.net originated from an email list for gynaecologists from all over the world who exchanged
ideas about daily practice concerns. The list is still there in the professional , OBGYN-L, at
forums.obgyn.net/ob-gyn-l. There are three main sections in English for medical professionals,
patients and industry, and divisions in Spanish, Portuguese, German and Dutch. Separate sections
are provided for professionals and patients, which can be accessed by both. This site has many
subsections, each devoted to a gynaecological subspecialty.
“Many websites in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology have their roots in OBGYN.net.”
Many websites in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology have their roots in OBGYN.net, such as the
website of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) (www.figo.org), where
useful information can be found about FIGO’s 102 member societies, of which about 30 have a link to
their own
website, including the Netherlands Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (www.nvog.nl) and the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (www.acog.org). In common with most
professional organisations, the pages also include a calendar of meetings and conferences.
Of course you can always start with the website of your national society, especially if you prefer to
read information in your native language if it is not English. However, if you prefer to have a wider
choice, look at www.medbioworld.com and click on Associations by Specialty.
Clinical guidelines
The website of the UK’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
(www.rcog.org.uk/mainpages.asp?SectionID=5) contains clinical evidence based guidelines and
standards for medical audit and good clinical practice. Crucially, individual recommendations have
been graded according to the level of evidence on which they are based, using a scheme endorsed
by the National Health Service Executive in the UK. Also, the Society of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists of Canada has a rich content of clinical practice guidelines on its website
(sogc.medical.org/SOGnet/sogc_docs/common/guide/library_e.shtml).
An exciting new site is offered by the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research. This is
a non-profit organisation established in 2002. It is supported by the Department of Health of the
Canton of Geneva, the Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University and the Geneva Medical Association,
and works in
close collaboration with the WHO. As well as the English version
(www.gfmer.ch/Guidelines/Obstetrics_gynecology_guidelines.php?langue=English), there are also
versions in Spanish, French, Italian and German.
This article is restricted to an overview of the English language gynaecology and obstetrics websites,
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calling at the different subspecialties/special interests but excluding contraception, climacterium and
menopause, and endometriosis, which are more extensively discussed elsewhere in this issue.
Gynaecology
Minimally invasive surgery
The OBGYN.net section www.obgyn.net/hysteroscopy/hysteroscopy.asp covers hysteroscopy,
laparoscopy and hydrolaparoscopy, and collaborates with the American Association of Gynecologic
Laparoscopists (AAGL) and the International Society for Gynecologic Endoscopy (ISGE). Images can
be found on the ISGE site at isge.org/resource.html. There are plans to build a large catalogue of
images, which has been under construction for some time. The AAGL (www.aagl.org) appears to be
more active in this field. Its publications can be accessed free of charge to members.
Highly focused on hysteroscopy is the Brazilian website www.histeroscopia.med.br/hysteroscopy.htm
. It contains a great deal of information as well as images (www.histeroscopia.med.br/images.htm).
For those who want to surf independently, the links pages at www.obgyn.net/gynlap/home.htm are a
tremendous starting point for accessing clinical information about laparoscopy.
There is also a lot of information about endoscopy on non-gynaecology websites such as
www.sls.org/index.html. Using the page with links to related sites it is possible to make a round trip
back to gynaecology.
Urogynaecology
The American Urogynecologic Society’s website (www.augs.org) is better than that of the
International Urogynecological Association (www.iuga.info). However, the latter earns its place
because it links to its high-quality International Urogynecology Journal and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
of which the full text of many papers is available free of charge.
The youngest OBGYN.net section www.obgyn.net/urogyn/urogyn.asp contains original papers,
congress and links (www.obgyn.net/urogyn/links/mp_links.htm). It is fair to say that the links are
very US-oriented. Among them is the general urology site of the American Urological Association,
www.auanet.org.
For urinary incontinence the International Continence Society has a site with a good links page
(www.continet.org). Patients who suffer from incontinence are in general very embarrassed and it is
essential for them to be able to obtain useful information from the Web in a confidential way. They
can find this information from the American Urological Association at www.urologyhealth.org. [The
sites for children about bedwetting, such as Wetbuster (www.wetbuster.com) and Bedwetting Kids
(www.cambridgekids.com.au/forkids.htm) are very touching, although slightly off the topic of
urogynaecology].
Oncology
Oncology of the female breast is not discussed in this issue, although in some countries it is within
the expertise of the gynaecological oncologist. Instead, we refer readers to general oncology sites.
For oncology of the female reproductive organs, FIGO staging is very widely accepted but is rather
hard to find on the FIGO website (www.figo.org/default.asp?id=32).
The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO) (www.sgo.org) is a non-profit international
organisation made up of obstetricians and gynaecologists specialising in gynaecological oncology.
Abstracts of past SGO conferences can be found at www.sgo.org/meetings. The National Cancer
Institute in the US has a comprehensive site with general information on cancer (www.nci.nih.gov),
where location-specific information can be obtained by clicking on an alphabetical list of all cancers
(www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/types) or selecting Gynecologic on this page. An interesting overview of
ongoing clinical trials worldwide, subdivided by tumour location, is available at
www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/finding, while excellent results can be obtained from performing a
search on a gynaecological oncology topic using www.cancer.gov/search/search_cancertopics.aspx
and selecting Gynecologic Cancers.
The University of Pennsylvania site features tutorials on all gynaecological cancer locations.
OncoLink (www.oncolink.upenn.edu) was founded in 1994 by Penn cancer specialists. Its mission is
to help cancer patients, their families, health care professionals and the general public obtain
accurate cancer-related information free of charge. The home page of the International Gynecologic
Cancer Society (www.igcs.org) links to its International Journal of Gynecological Cancer
(www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1048-891X), with the five most accessed articles
available free of charge.
The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology website (www.asccp.org) offers patient
information and educational material on cervical pathology for professionals, online continuing
medical education and consensus guidelines.
Obstetrics
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Perinatology/maternal-fetal medicine As a starting point in perinatology the best choice is
www.perinatology.com. Perinatology.com is an educational resource for perinatologists, referring
physicians and genetic counsellors. Information on the site has been written by perinatologists and
genetic counselors of the San Gabriel Valley Perinatal Medical Group.
“As a starting point in perinatology the best choice is www.perinatology.com.”
The OBGYN.net pregnancy and birth section (www.obgyn.net/pb/pb.asp) is not very systematic but
links to interesting papers and other sites such as OBLINK (oblink.com) with a focus on preterm
labour. The WHO (www.who.int/health_topics/obstetrics/en) is highly respected, not just in
developing countries, for its information on maternal and fetal health, given in English, Spanish and
French. There are a number of regional perinatology organisations that have their own websites. The
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, formerly the Society of Perinatal Obstetricians, has a site at
www.smfm.org, which provides a number of resources for research, employment/careers in the USA,
meetings and especially the annual meeting of the society itself. It also provides access to the
society’s newsletter.
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome
There are several websites available on particular topics of interest in perinatology, for example
twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The website www.fetalmd.com/ttts.htm provides the details of
various treatment options such as serial amniocentesis and laser photocoagulation.
The UK Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome Association has a site at www.twin2twin.org, which
contains a description of research on birth and babies (including fetal medicine, obstetrics and
neonatology).
Fetal monitoring
Again we start at a links page of OBGYN.net in the Fetal Monitoring section at
www.obgyn.net/FM/prof.htm. This page provides a number of links to other sites relevant to
perinatology, such as guidelines and protocols, research, journals and societies. The sites are given
a one- to five-star rating (although the criteria used for rating are quite subjective). For midwives and
junior doctors who find interpretation of cardiotocography (CTG) difficult, the site at
www.wmpi.net/ctg/index.ctg.htm provides a CTG tutor to help the user acquire a good basic
knowledge and understanding of the subject. More general information about fetal monitoring (CTG,
fetal pulse oximetry and STAN electrocardiogram) can be found at www.obgyn.net/fm/fm.asp.
Midwifery resources
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (www.acnm.org) is an organisation of professional
midwives in the USA. This site contains a wealth of professional information and educational
material. Additional midwife practitioner resources can be found at
www.obgyn.net/pb/links/mp_midwife.htm. The debate between doctors and midwives about the best
way to deliver care continues in cyberspace. The ideal site should give a balanced view of the risks
versus the benefits of home and hospital delivery. Midwives tend to use the principles of evidence
based medicine, as is evident from reading the journal Midwifery.
Perinatal audit
There are a number of UK-based sites on perinatology, two of which are highlighted below. The West
Midlands Perinatal Institute (www.wmpi.net) provides information about the Institute’s activities and
information for those involved in the provision of perinatal care. Information on its activities
regarding the West Midlands Congenital Anomaly Register, ultrasound and fetal growth is also given.
This website also provides links to other useful sites such as that of the Confidential Enquiry into
Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) (www.cemach.org.uk). CEMACH provides information about its
history, organisation and role. The most recent annual reports are available for downloading, which
many health care professionals will find useful.
Reproductive endocrinology
Ever tried to search for ‘fertility’ using the search engine Google? In October 2003 a search produced
2,770,000 hits. Many commercial sites also offer their services to couples who are having difficulty
conceiving.
For some years Ferti.Net was the top infertility site (www.ferti.net), first launched in 1996. The
content is arranged in a magazine format and changes every month. There is a very active Journal
Club in Reproductive Medicine. The character of the site is mainly European and it has a clear link to
the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) (www.eshre.com). The
ESHRE site has grown and improved, holding annual conferences, which today are the best available
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in the field.
Another useful pharmaceutical industry-based infertility website is fercenter.com, featuring
interviews and conference reports.
OBGYN.net has a fertility section at www.obgyn.net/infertility/infertility.asp. Using the links it is clear
that many sites are advertising in vitro fertilisation (IVF), such as Marc Perloe’s IVF.com
(www.ivf.com). The information these sites provide is adequate for consumers. Less commercial is
www.asrm.com, the more neutral site of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. It has a
section (requiring a password) for members as well as an open section including many FAQs
(frequently asked questions) for lay people. Its well-respected journal Fertility and Sterility can be
accessed at www.fertstert.org/current. Its European counterparts are www.eshre.com with the
journal Human Reproduction (humrep.oupjournals.org) and the site of the British Fertility Society
(www.britishfertilitysociety.org.uk). For the general public there is also the Resolve website
belonging to the National Infertility Association (www.resolve.org), or more specific sites on
individual topics such as endometriosis (www.endometriosiszone.org/), including Endometriosis
Zone, described elsewhere in this issue.
Conclusion
Citing website addresses in a published article carries certain risks. Firstly, the site can have
disappeared or changed dramatically the moment the paper is published. The second problem is
presented by the often very lengthy addresses which can be difficult to type correctly into an
Internet browser. Consequently the
author would very much appreciate any comment on the quality of the quoted sites, broken links or
changed addresses to vdslikke@knmg.nl.
The text of this complete issue of Gynaecology Forum is available at
www.obgyn.net/medforum2003.asp.
Source URL:
http://www.cancernetwork.com/infertility/gynaecology-obstetrics-and-reproductive-endocrinology-we
bsite-guide
Links:
[1] http://www.cancernetwork.com/authors/obgynnet-staff
[2] http://www.obgyn.net
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