Objectives: Our goal was to evaluate the level of integration of general practitioners within the perinatal network in the Auvergne.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was realized. The questionnaire was sent by post to the 1346 general practitioners who were members of the "Union régionale des médecins libéraux" (Regional association of private doctors in the Auvergne). Follow-up phone calls were also made.
Results: The overall response to the questionnaire was 29.8%. Of those who replied, 76.3% were involved in the care of pregnant women or newly born babies. Among them, 51.2% had a consultation with a pregnant woman less than once a week and 53,5% had a consultation with a newly born more than once a week. A third were aware of the network and 25.7% had knowledge of the medical record provided by the network. Among them, 91.3% thought that a common medical record was necessary to improve the coordination of care. The answers differed according to age, area of responsibility, the administrative geographic position in the Auvergne, type of practise (hospital, private), and the sex of those who replied.
Conclusion: Despite a high a priori agreement, we must improve the level of information and training given to general practitioners within our perinatal network.