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If you were to ask most pregnancy center directors to name some of their biggest challenges in running their center, you may often hear the same answer: finding, equipping, and protecting a medical director. Medical leadership sits at the center of everything a medical clinic does, from the policies that allow a center to operate to the quality of care women receive in some of their most vulnerable moments. Yet recruiting the right physician can feel like an uphill battle. The good news is that finding the right director may not be as out of reach as it seems.
For decades, most centers have relied on a volunteer physician, often an OBGYN with a demanding full-time practice, who provides oversight and reads ultrasounds on the side. That model has served the movement faithfully and still works well for many centers, but it is not the only option.
Medical directors can be structured into a center's care in different ways. A providing center delivers medical care directly on-site, with the physician closely involved in services like ultrasounds and progesterone therapy. A consulting center works differently: the physician may be located hours away, reviewing and signing off on an ultrasound that the center's own staff performs, while taking on more of the liability from a distance. For a center that cannot yet support a full-time or on-site medical director, the consulting model can be a practical way to expand services without waiting for the ideal arrangement to fall into place.
Physicians are also being brought into these roles in new ways. Some serve multiple centers through a shared model, offering real-time, hands-on guidance across a wide region rather than occasional off-site review. Others are being brought on in paid roles, which recognizes the extraordinary skill and service a doctor provides and can make a center's medical care more consistent and sustainable. The right arrangement depends on your community, your resources, and your goals, but knowing the range of possibilities is the first step toward making a good choice.
Recruiting can feel discouraging, but there are two groups of physicians who are often more open and ready to say yes. The first is seasoned OBGYNs who are transitioning out of the demands of labor and delivery and are looking for meaningful, mission-driven work in the next season of their careers. The second group is younger physicians, many of whom are women with growing families, who are seeking greater work-life balance than a traditional full-time practice allows.
Both groups are often searching for exactly the kind of purpose-driven work a pregnancy center offers. Often, the only thing missing is a clear, heartfelt invitation.
Dr. Susan Bane, known to many in the movement as "Dr. Pink Glasses," is a board-certified OBGYN who now serves multiple pregnancy centers. Her experience shows what strong medical leadership can look like in practice.
At one of her centers, Dr. Bane and her team made a deliberate choice to build the community's trust in the quality of their ultrasounds and reporting for women facing an unplanned pregnancy. Over time, that consistency paid off. Local OB practices in town began referring their own patients to the center for ultrasounds when their schedules were booked out. The center became known as a trustworthy place for quality medical care, which only strengthened its ability to reach and serve women and families.
Finding the right medical director is rarely simple, but it is possible, and you don’t have to navigate the decision alone.
If you have questions about how medical leadership, accreditation, or expanding your services applies to your specific context, the ADF Church and Ministry Alliance helps pregnancy centers like yours work through those decisions with clarity, consistency, and confidence. Membership connects you to experienced ADF attorneys, a community walking the same road, and a full library of practical resources. Learn more about membership here.
How pregnancy centers find, equip, and protect the right medical director, including flexible staffing models and inviting physicians who will say yes.
