Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO®)

Program Overview

Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO^®) helps physicians and other health care providers develop and maintain the knowledge and skills they need to effectively manage potential emergencies during the perinatal period. The program additionally serves as an aid for training residents in obstetrics as well as family medicine.

ALSO emphasizes labor and delivery room emergencies, but also covers:

• Prenatal risk assessment
• First-trimester bleeding
• Consultant relationships
• Helping parents cope with a birth crisis
• Information on reducing medical malpractice risk

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Program History

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) wishes to acknowledge the initial development of the ALSO Program by the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine, and the original national ALSO Development Group of family physicians, obstetricians, and nurses which formed in 1991. The ALSO Program, originally conceptualized by James R. Damos, M.D., was developed under the leadership of Dr. Damos and John W. Beasley M.D. The AAFP acquired ownership of the ALSO Program and its copyright from the University of Wisconsin in 1993.

Advisory Board

A seven member multidisciplinary Advisory Board oversees the ALSO Program and reports to the AAFP's Commission on Continuing Professional Development (COCPD).

The ALSO Program Advisory Board members are: 

• Carl Olden, MD, Chair (AAFP)
• David Gregory, MD, Vice Chair (AAFP)
• Jennifer Frank, MD (AAFP)
• Helen Welch, CNM (ACNM)
• Patricia Fontaine, MD (AAFP)
• Peter Schwartz, MD (ACOG)
• Marty Olsen, MD (ACOG)