Dr. Mahmoud A. Ismail, MD

Expert Publications

• West Nile virus encephalitis during pregnancy.
• Blood protein profiles of infants born before 28 weeks differ by pregnancy complication.

Media Releases

Get to know Obstetrician-Gynecologist Dr. Mahmoud A. Ismail, who serves patients in Chicago, Illinois.

A trusted obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Ismail sees patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He is an expert in high-risk obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine and infectious diseases in obstetrics, with a special interest in infections in pregnancy, twin-to-twin transfusion, and mono-mono twins.

The University of Chicago Medical Center is a nationally ranked academic medical center located in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. It is the flagship campus for the University of Chicago Medicine system and was established in 1898.

Alongside his clinical practice, Dr. Ismail is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the section of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. 

In the past, he has held positions such as Section Chief for Maternal Fetal Medicine at UCH, Program Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program at UCH, and Co-Director of the University of Chicago Perinatal Network.

An Egypt native, Dr. Ismail earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University. After relocating to the United States, he completed his internship at the Advocate Christ Medical Center and his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Wayne State University Medical Center. In 1982, he completed his fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine with University of Chicago Medicine.

As a testament of his continued education, he is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology & maternal-fetal medicine by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). The mission of the ABOG is to define standards, certify obstetricians and gynecologists, and facilitate continuous learning to advance knowledge, practice, and professionalism in women’s health.

On a professional level, Dr. Ismail is a member of the American Medical Society, the American Arab Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Chicago Gynecological Society, the Illinois Medical Society, the Infectious Disease Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the International Infectious Disease Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society of Perinatal Obstetricians.

Actively involved in several areas of basic and clinical research, he is studying the clinical outcomes of vaginal birth after cesarean section and breech vaginal birth versus cesarean section. He is also interested in bacterial infections in obstetrics, the immunology of pregnancy, and pregnancy after bariatric surgery.

Obstetrics and Gynecology is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics and gynecology. An obstetrician-gynecologist, or OB-GYN, is a healthcare professional who specializes in female reproductive health.

Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Ismail has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including America’s Top Doctors Award, Chicago Magazine’s Top Doctor Award for 6 years, and the University of Chicago Excellence in Teaching Award, Golden Apple Teaching Award, Distinguished Clinician Award, and Senior Faculty Scholar of the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence.

A popular guest speaker, he has lectured at scientific meetings and universities around the world. He has contributed to many book chapters and is a reviewer for several medical publications including Obstetrics and Gynecology, International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Journal of Reproductive Medicine. 

On a more personal note, he devotes much of his leisure time to community service and is the founder and trustee of Aqsa School, an Islamic girls’ school in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Recommended Articles

• 6 Post-Pregnancy Body Changes You Should Know About

  Low sex driveSleepless nights and a drop in the levels of estrogen all combine together to give a low drive for sex after pregnancy. “Some of them may take up to a year to get back their normal mood and sex drive," says Hope Ricciotti, MD, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at...

• Which Specialist Performs a Hysterectomy?

  In the U.S., hysterectomies are second only to cesarean deliveries among the most widely-adopted surgical practices, and the number of women opting to go under the knife exceeds half a million annually. Your choice of specialist for the surgery depends entirely on the nature and seriousness of the...

• What Are Submucosal Leiomyomas?

  Submucosal leiomyomas are non-cancerous tumors occurring at the wall of the uterus. It’s common in women of childbearing age. Most women with fibroids might not experience any visible symptoms. For some women, the symptoms of submucosal fibroids could become so severe that they interfere with...

• Pregnancy Does Not Affect Breast Cancer Recurrence, Study Finds

  There is a fear among some survivors of breast cancer that having a baby can cause the cancer to come back. For a while, there was no hard evidence one way or the other, so this question could cloud the mind of some women. Only ten percent of young women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer go...

• Possible Causes of Infertility

  It almost doesn't make evolutionary sense that a woman's body should have such a difficult time getting and staying pregnant. From the purely evolutionary standpoint, you would actually think the opposite: that a woman's body would make it very simple to get pregnant and to help the baby to safely...

• Nausea During Pregnancy: What Causes Nausea and How to Treat it

  Nausea is that weird and unpleasant sensation in your stomach which makes you want to throw up or vomit. It is generally a feeling associated with the upper abdominal region. Nausea is also known as qual and is a feeling that can be triggered due to a number of reasons including the side effects of...