This Network was established in 2009 with support from the Ministry of Health to promote excellent MFM services around New Zealand and support maternity healthcare providers in District Health Boards. It is also hoped to encourage recruitment and retention within the sub-speciality field of Maternal Fetal Medicine.

MFM includes the care of women with a high risk pregnancy. This may include women with a medical condition themselves or previous history of poor obstetric outcome. From the fetal perspective pregnancies complicated by fetal anomaly and complex multiple gestation are also cared for by MFM specialists and subspecialists.

The subspecialties were developed by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to :

• improve knowledge, practice, teaching and research
• promote the concentration of specialised expertise, special facilities and clinical material that will be of considerable benefit to some patients
• improve the recruitment of talented graduates into areas of recognised subspecialisation
• establish a close understanding and working relationship with other disciplines
• encourage co-ordinated management of relevant clinical services throughout a region
• accept a major regional responsibility for higher training, research and audit in areas of recognised subspecialisation
• establish, as far as possible, consistency in recruitment, training and assessment across areas of recognised subspecialisation.