Matthew Zerden, MD, MPH

All women need a healthcare advocate, especially when it comes to female reproductive health. This is an area in which I am particularly interested, and it drives the work that I do. I joined WakeMed North Family Health & Women’s Hospital after completing a fellowship in Family Planning & Contraception at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine through the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. I earned my medical degree and master’s degree in public health from Harvard University, and then completed my residency at the UNC School of Medicine in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN). My residency included spending approximately 12 months within the WakeMed system on the Raleigh Campus.

Birth Experience
While serving as a chief resident at UNC, I was honored to receive the UNC Midwifery Award. This award is annually given to the chief resident physician “who, by collaborating with families and the healthcare team, provides exceptional low-intervention birth experiences while respecting family preferences, individual dignity and cultural differences, has most exemplified the midwifery model of care.”

I am extremely proud of this accomplishment because it perfectly sums up my birth philosophy and explains the type of care I aim to deliver. My patients truly appreciate my dedication to giving them a low intervention birth, while always respecting their preferences, dignity and cultural beliefs. Additionally, my colleagues have remarked that they value my ability to manage clinical situations while always providing patient-focused care.

Joining WakeMed North Family Health & Women’s Hospital
My passion in women’s reproductive health and advocacy led me back to the essence of the OB/GYN field, which is labor and delivery. With a great team and new state-of-the art facilities, I welcomed the opportunity to rejoin the WakeMed system. Additionally, I value the fact that WakeMed has met high benchmarks in quality and safety for labor and delivery, including a remarkably low cesarean delivery rate. A low cesarean rate means more women are giving birth vaginally, which is proven to be a safer method of delivery for both mother and baby.

The OB Hospitalist Model
The opportunity to join a new team made up of full-time OB hospitalists also drew me to WakeMed North. This means that we work in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In the past, I worked at a Boston health system that successfully operated using similar methods, and I was excited to be a part of this concept again here in the Triangle. Here’s why: our team is a specialized hospitalist group that is professionally dedicated to the inpatient experience, without other competing priorities and with a shared goal of maximizing safety and patient satisfaction.

As healthcare gets more complex, every aspect has become more specialized. Therefore, as a patient, you should want someone to care for you who is ‘living’ in that specialty day in and day out – in this case, focusing solely on patients who are giving birth. Our team functions as an extension of this community’s OB/GYN practices, meaning a patient never has to wait for her regular doctor if there is an urgent issue or fast labor. We pride ourselves in delivering high-quality obstetrical care to the women of our community, should their regular OB/GYN not be able to make it to the hospital in time. This greatly enhances patient comfort and, most importantly, patient safety.

Additionally, the predictability of scheduling created by this hospitalist model creates all-around better care for the patient. If a physician can plan his or her schedule, this leads to an enhanced quality of life, increased job satisfaction, decreased fatigue and better decision-making abilities, all of which result in enhanced patient care.

Passionate about Research & Advocacy
During my residency, I became passionate about caring for pregnant women who were in need of a healthcare advocate. Did you know that half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned or unintended? In healthcare, we must do more to meet the needs of women and their reproductive health. It’s critical to help women find an effective form of birth control so they can safely space their pregnancies, achieve their reproductive life goals and live the lives they truly desire.

Driven by my passion for ensuring that women have access to the entire breadth of reproductive healthcare, I also work at Planned Parenthood. Additionally, I am currently conducting research through UNC on the safest and most effective form of birth control a woman can use immediately after giving birth to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy. My dedication to this issue has also led me to write and speak at the state legislature, where I advocated against restrictive legislation on women’s health that lacks medical evidence.

Outside of Medicine
Outside of my career, I am fortunate to have a partner who shares my research interest in health and health advocacy. She is a professor here in the Triangle area, and we are the proud parents of three young children.

My wife and I enjoy traveling as well as the local food and music scene. To us, there is nothing like catching a great show at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on a spring evening, under the North Carolina pines. I also enjoy outdoor activities such as running (including marathons), skiing and hiking. But most of all, I love spending time with my family. With deep North Carolina roots, I have been a Tarheel fan since birth; however, I happily welcome all of the Wolfpack and Blue Devil babies that I have the pleasure of delivering.