Objective: To describe the demography of obstetricians who practice an obstetrical activity and to forecast the needs of practitioners at five and 10years in Rhône-Alpes area.
Material and method: Descriptive survey on 58maternities of Rhône-Alpes area in 2007.
Results: A total of 56maternities provided sufficient data. It was found that 321obstetricians actually had an obstetrical activity (deliveries, maternity ward). The average age of obstetricians was 40,9years for those practicing in teaching hospitals, 50,4years in other public hospitals and 52,6years in private settings. The needs in obstetricians for Rhône-Alpes area are expected to be 80 in five years and 150 in 10years. Considering the number of young obstetricians who choose obstetrical practice, the lack of obstetricians is expected to be 55 in five years and 100 in 10years.
Conclusion: It's urgent to take measures to increase the number of student in gynaecology and obstetrics stream and to encourage junior obstetrician to choose obstetrical activity.