And this is a bigger deal than struggling to find an appointment time that works for you. A lack of gynecologists and obstetricians means that women are forced to travel far (in many cases, hours) to find a qualified provider, meaning they may miss out on routine exams and prenatal care or be at an increased risk when it comes time for a delivery, says Neel Shah, MD, MPP , an Ob/Gyn and founder of Costs of Care."50% of U.S. counties do not have any qualified obstetric provider — this includes obstetricians, midwives, and family medicine doctors who deliver babies," he says. "We appear to be combining the problems of the third world and the first world in a perfect storm."Some of the best cities for female care include the metro areas of San Jose, CA; Hartford, CT; Baltimore, New Orleans, and Boston, which have the highest number of Ob/Gyns per female population. The worst? The metro areas of San Bernardino, CA; Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. Want to know how your hometown ranks? Amino created an interactive map so you can check it out (and maybe consider moving).And while that "29 per 100,000" number is scary enough on its own, there's something else that makes it even scarier: many Ob/Gyns are specializing in only surgery, deliveries, office care, or research and administrative work, says Candace Howe, MD, a board-certified Ob/Gyn at HM Medical . Translation: That "29" might not even be a full 29 practicing doctors. Plus, many work part-time. (Good news: Some doctors are saying you don't need a yearly exam .)Related: The Surprising Way Working Long Hours At The Office Impacts Your Health So why are Ob/Gyns so rare? After all, Mindy Kaling makes it seem like a total breeze on The Mindy Project. Well, for one, their education is one of the hardest to go through; four years of medical school are followed by four or six years of residency (which is longer than in many other areas of medicine), says Howe. Because Ob/Gyns are also surgeons, the curriculum is especially rigorous. And once their education is over, it doesn't mean the grueling work stops. Because generalist Ob/Gyns balance office visits, surgeries, deliveries, emergencies, and consultations for patients of other doctors, they get very little protected time off. Because the career isn't easy, fewer people are choosing to take on the challenge of becoming an Ob/Gyn — and if they are, they might "track" into a specialty like surgery, deliveries, etc., says Howe.