Allergy/immunology referrals infrequent among obstetric providers
November 13, 2025
2 min read
Key takeaways:
- Researchers found that nearly a quarter of obstetric providers never referred pregnant patients to allergy/immunology.
- Limited knowledge on referral indications was reported as a barrier by 55.6% of providers.
ORLANDO — Among obstetric providers, 42.3% reported only making one allergy/immunology referral in pregnancy per year, according to survey data presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.
“These results highlight the need for clearer referral guidelines and accessible educational resources to help clinicians confidently manage allergic conditions during pregnancy,” Miriam Al-Saedy, MD, resident physician at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, told Healio.
Using data from a 20-question cross-sectional survey, Al-Saedy and Kelly Colas, DO, PhD, evaluated responses from 20 obstetric attending physicians and seven obstetric fellows/residents (total n = 27; 92.6% with practice in inpatient and outpatient settings) to determine current barriers to allergy/immunology referral in pregnancy.
In addition to asking about barriers to referral, questions inquired about degree of comfort with various allergy topics and educational needs.
Researchers found that nearly a quarter (23.1%) of obstetric providers never referred pregnant patients to allergy/immunology. Similarly, making only one allergy/immunology referral per year was reported by 42.3% of providers.
“We were surprised by how few obstetric physicians routinely refer pregnant patients to allergy and immunology, despite recognizing the importance of allergic conditions in pregnancy,” Al-Saedy told Healio.
The most common reason for allergy/immunology referral was drug allergy (83.3%), according to the poster. Obstetric providers also noted urticaria (38.9%) and asthma (33.3%) as referral reasons.
When asked about managing drug allergies in pregnant patients, Al-Saedy and Colas highlighted that only a little more than half (51.8%) said they were “completely” or “mostly comfortable.”
The allergy topic with the highest proportion of providers responding that they are “mostly” or “somewhat comfortable” managing was allergic rhinitis (86.2%), followed by asthma (75.9%), drug allergy (75.8%), food allergy (69%) and urticaria (62%).
Limited knowledge about referral indications was reported by 55.6% of surveyed providers, making it the most reported barrier. The amount of time/effort it takes to make a referral was another common barrier reported by 44.4% of providers, according to the poster.
Notably, 25.9% said they had no barriers to referral.
More than 60% of the surveyed obstetric providers requested institutional guidelines for allergic diseases in pregnancy (76%), resources/reference lists (72%) and workshops/talks (64%) when asked about educational needs. Researchers noted that other needs requested by a smaller proportion of providers included patient materials and allergy electives for providers/trainees.
“Improving awareness and communication between specialties can directly enhance maternal and fetal outcomes by ensuring timely allergy evaluation and safer care during pregnancy,” Al-Saedy told Healio.
“Future work will focus on developing and assessing targeted educational interventions and streamlined referral pathways to improve collaboration between obstetric and allergy specialists,” Al-Saedy added.
For more information:
Miriam Al-Saedy, MD, can be reached at [email protected].
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Al-Saedy M, et al. Barriers to allergy and immunology referral in pregnancy: A survey of obstetric providers. Presented at: ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting; Nov. 6-10, 2025; Orlando.
Reference:
Disclosures:
Al-Saedy reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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