A woman with dark hair and a necklace smiling at the camera against a gray background.

Karen Gibbins, MD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Adjunct - Obstetrics & Gynecology

Divisions: Maternal Fetal Medicine

Karen J. Gibbins, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in the division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. She enjoys taking care of a wide variety of women with high risk pregnancies. Dr. Gibbins conducts research regarding women whose pregnancies have been complicated by problems with the placenta, including stillbirth, preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and recurrent pregnancy loss.

Research Statement

Dr. Gibbins’s primary research focus is adverse pregnancy outcomes due to abnormal placental development, including fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, stillbirth, and pregnancy loss. She is particularly interested in developing a test that would allow us to better detect placental insufficiency in the third trimester and intervene before further damage occurs.

Education History

Undergraduate Carleton College
 BA
Professional Medical Case Western School of Medicine
 MD
Residency Women & Infants Brown Alpert School of Medicine
 Resident
Graduate Training University of Utah
 MSCI
Fellowship University of Utah
 Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Gibbins KJ, Albright CM, Rouse DJ (2013). Postpartum hemorrhage in the developed world: whither misoprostol? Am J Obstet Gynecol, 208(3), 181-3. (Read full article)
  2. Gibbins KJ, Weber T, Holmgren CM, Porter TF, Varner MW, Manuck TA (May 2015). Maternal and Fetal Morbidity Associated with Rupture of the Unscarred Uterus. Am J Obstet Gynecol.
  3. Monson MA, Gibbins KJ, Esplin MS, Varner MW, Manuck TA (November 2016). Pregnancy outcomes in women with a history of previable, preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 128(5), 975-982.
  4. Heuser CC, Gibbins KJ, Smid MC, Branch DW (June 10 2017). Reproductive rights advocacy: Not just for the family planning community. Am J Obstet Gynecol.
  5. Gibbins KJ, Gibson-Corley KN, Brown AS, Wieben M, Law RC, Fung C (2018). Effects of excess thromboxane A2 on placental development and nutrient transporters in a Mus musculus model of fetal growth restriction. Biology of reproduction,
  6. Gibbins KJ, Reddy UR, Saade G, Goldenberg R, Dudley D, Parker C, Thorsten V, Pinar H, Bukowski R, Hogue CJR, Silver R (2018). Smith-Lemli-Opitz mutations in unexplained stillbirths. American journal of perinatology,
  7. Gibbins KJ, Porter T (2016). The importance of an evidence-based workup for recurrent pregnancy loss. Clinical obstetrics and gynecology, 59(3), 456-463.
  8. Gibbins KJ, Browning KR, Lopes VV, Anderson BL, Rouse D (2013). Evaluation of the clinical use of magnesium sulfate for cerebral palsy prevention. Obstetrics and gynecology, 121(2 Pt 1), 235-40. (Read full article)
  9. Von Gruenigen VE, Gibbons HE, Gibbins K, Jenison EL, Hopkins M (2007). Surgical treatments for vaginal and vulvar dysplasia: a randomized controlled trial. Obstetrics and gynecology, 109(4), 942-7.
  10. Page JM, Christiansen-Lindquist L, Thorsten V, Parker CB, Reddy UM, Dudley DJ, Saade GR, Coustan D, Rowland Hogue CJ, Conway D, Bukowski R, Pinar H, Heuser CC, Gibbins KJ, Goldenberg RL, Silver R (2017). Diagnostic tests for evaluation of stillbirth: Results from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network. Obstetrics and gynecology, 129(4), 699-706.
  11. Gibbins KJ, Silver RM, Pinar H, Reddy UM, Parker CB, Thorsten VR, Willinger M, Dudley DJ, Bukowski RK, Saade GR, Koch MA, Conway D, Hogue CJ, Stoll BJ, Goldenberg R (2016). Stillbirth, Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy, and Placental Pathology. Placenta,
  12. Gibbins KJ, Tebo AE, Nielsen SK, Branch D (2018). Antiphospholipid antibodies in women with severe preeclampsia and placental insufficiency: a case-control study. Lupus,
  13. Gibbins KJ, Mumford SL, Sjaarda LA, Branch DW, Perkins NJ, Ye A, Schisterman EF, Silver R (2018). Preconception antiphospholipid antibodies and risk of subsequent early pregnancy loss. Lupus,
  14. Gibbins KJ, Einerson BD, Varner MW, Silver R (2017). Placenta previa and maternal hemorrhagic morbidity. The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine, 1-17.
  15. Heuser CC, Gibbins KJ, Herrera CA, Theilen LH, Holmgren C (2018). Moms in medicine: Job satisfaction among physician-mothers in obstetrics and gynecology. Work (Reading, Mass.),

Review

  1. Rouse DJ, Gibbins, K (2013). Magnesium sulfate for cerebral palsy prevention?. Seminars in perinatology, 37(6), 414-416.
  2. Gibbins KJ, Branch D (2014). Pre-eclampsia as a manifestation of antiphospholipid syndrome: Assessing the current status. Lupus, 23(12), 1229-31.
  3. Hunter LA, Gibbins K (2011). Magnesium sulfate: past, present, and future. Journal of midwifery & women's health, 56(6), 566-74. (Read full article)
  4. Gibbins KJ, Silver R (2014). Obstetrical Considerations and Management of Antiphospholipid Syndrome. The open urology & nephrology journal,