Upcoming Events

Prenatal Genetics Course

Genetics is an important component of high-risk pregnancy care, with ever-increasing availability of available tests. Led by genetics expert Dr. Mary Norton, this interactive, case-based course emphasizes audience participation. Topics include expanded cell free DNA screening, chromosomal microarray, first trimester anatomic ultrasound, expanded carrier screening, and next generation sequencing, with an emphasis on interesting and complex cases. “Syndrome jeopardy” will expand your knowledge of syndromic associations of anomalies in specific organ systems.  Our expert panel will review their most interesting and illustrative cases and luncheon roundtables provide an opportunity to interact with the faculty.

Topics Include

• Cell-free DNA Screening: Expanded panels, choosing a confirmatory diagnostic test, and incidental detection of malignancy
• Expanded Carrier Screening: The bigger the better? 
• Complex genetics of common disorders: Fragile X, Spinal muscular atrophy, and mosaicism
• Next generation sequencing: Single gene testing, gene panels, and exomes

Click here to review the agenda.

Course Director: Mary E. Norton, MD

Course Faculty: Lorraine Dugoff, MD, Britton D. Rink, MD, and Andrew F. Wagner, MD

Where: The course will be held at the Royal Sonesta Chicago Downtown. Click here to make hotel reservations. Reservations are available at the special SMFM rate of $239.00/night until Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Rooms may sell out prior to the deadline so please make reservations as soon as possible to ensure availability.

Public Health Measures in Chicago: SMFM and the Royal Sonesta Chicago Downtown are committed to ensuring the safety of all attendees. Please click here for more information about initiatives at the Royal Sonesta. Attendees are also required to affirm their understanding of the SMFM duty of care and code of conduct prior to registering for the course.

• All course registrants, faculty, and SMFM staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

• During the course, attendees and staff will be physically distanced and required to wear a mask unless actively eating or drinking.

• No other meetings will take place on the same meeting room floors as the SMFM courses, and hotel employees and audiovisual staff will be masked.

• There will be enhanced sanitizing in the public areas of the hotel.

Should the SMFM Executive Committee decide that the courses cannot be held safely in-person, all registrants will be notified no later than September 15. If the in-person courses are cancelled, all registrants will still get virtual access to the course (details below).

Cost: For those attending in person, registration fees include meals during the meeting, access to course materials online, access to the recordings of the lectures once they are available on our website at no additional cost, and CME. For those who select the "I will attend virtually" option in registration, registration fees include access to course materials online, access to the recordings of the lectures once they are available on our website at no additional cost, and CME. There will be no livestreams of this event.

Mobile App: This year, SMFM will use a new mobile app for their events called "SMFM Events." Click here to find instructions on how to download and utilize the app for slides, on-site information, and other helpful tools.

Pre-registration will close one week prior to the event. An administration fee of $100 will be applied to those who register onsite.

            Physician (SMFM Member): $580

            Genetic Counselor/Nurse/MFM Fellow (SMFM Member): $420

            Non-Member: $830

Discounts Available! This course will run back-to-back with SMFM's 2021 Maternal Medicine Course on September 23-24, also in Chicago. Register for both the Prenatal Genetics Course and the Maternal Medicine Course and receive a 20% discount on this course. The discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

SMFM welcomes new members. Join now to save on this course, as well as all of our educational offerings. From MFMs and fellows to practice administrators, billing and coding experts, genetic counselors and nurses, there is a membership option available for all stages of your career.

Virtual Offerings Available: Both the Prenatal Genetics and Maternal Medicine Courses will be recorded and available online in October 2021. If you register for the in-person course, you will have access to the recorded, online course content for one year at no additional cost. In fact, you do not need to attend the in-person course to get the online access. This is the most economical way to access the recorded content and will give you the complete course offering online. For those who do not register for the in-person courses, the recorded course content will be available for purchase a la carte. Even if you can’t travel to Chicago, you are encouraged to register. By checking the 'I will attend virtually' box during registration, you will ONLY gain access to the recorded content from this course when it's available in October 2021 on our website at no extra cost. This lets the staff know that you will not be attending in person.  Livestreams or simulcast will not be available during this course.

Cancellation policy
Cancellations must be in writing and received at events@smfm.org a minimum of one week prior to the course.  No refunds will be given after that time.  A $75 administrative fee will be charged for cancellations. Substitutions or transfers to virtual registration will be accepted anytime. Partial refunds will not be provided.

Exhibitor and Sponsorship Information
You may complete the fillable application form in our 2021 Genetics and Maternal Medicine Exhibits and Sponsorships Prospectus. Please check back soon for instructions on complimentary exhibit registration. For questions related to exhibiting and sponsorship please contact Kasey McNeil at kmcneil@smfm.org or Courtney Thompson at cthompson@smfm.org.