The state of research in academic obstetrics and its relationship to research in other academic disciplines was addressed in a 1979 conference. Participants included representatives of academic obstetrics, academic pediatrics, and public health. After an introductory discussion by Howard C. Taylor, Jr. on changes in obstetrics in the last 25 years, the 16 conference papers are presented in the following sections: (1) "Departments of Obstetrics," as viewed by a non-expert and by a pediatrician; (2) "Support of Academic Obstetrics," coming from both the public and the private sector; (3) "Education in Academic Obstetrics," which included discussions on a school of family and community medicine and on the value of "a major clinical service" in the academic field; (4) "Current Residency Requirements" at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and (5) "The Impact of Reproductive Biology on Academic Obstetrics," as viewed by an endocrinologist and an obstetrician-biochemist. Included in this section are discussions of the impact of perinatology on academic obstetrics, the relationship of departments of obstetrics to other medical school administrative units, and the relationship of obstetrics and pediatrics in a changing world. Finally, the needs of academic obstetrics are assessed along with suggestions on how to meet them. (PJM)