AMC obstetrics and gynaecology MCQ questions
Women's health, covering obstetrics and gynaecology, is 12.5% of the AMC CAT MCQ, about 19 of 150 questions. Marks are lost on thresholds that differ between countries or changed recently.
Updated 28 September 2026 · Checked against the sources listed below
AMC CAT MCQ at a glance
- patient groups in the blueprint
- 6
- questions in one sitting
- 150
- per question on average
- 84 s
- on the 0 to 500 scale to pass
- 250
Obstetrics and gynaecology · 8 questions
1 of 8
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Question 1 · Antenatal care and screening
A 28-year-old woman who is RhD-negative is 29 weeks into her first pregnancy. Her partner is RhD-positive. She has no red cell antibodies on her booking antibody screen. She presents after a car accident with minor abdominal trauma, but has no vaginal bleeding, normal fetal movements and a reassuring cardiotocograph.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate management regarding RhD immunoglobulin?
Question 2 · Fetal growth and wellbeing
A 31-year-old woman, gravida 2 para 1, attends the antenatal clinic of a rural hospital at 32 weeks' gestation. She smokes 10 cigarettes a day and her blood pressure is 118/72 mmHg. Fetal movements are normal. Her symphysis-fundal height is 26 cm. The nearest ultrasound service is 60 km away.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?
Question 3 · Labour and birth
A 28-year-old woman at 31 weeks' gestation is on the antenatal ward of a tertiary hospital, 3 days after admission with confirmed preterm prelabour rupture of membranes. She has had a full course of antenatal corticosteroids and is taking oral erythromycin. Her temperature is 38.3°C, pulse 116/min and blood pressure 118/70 mmHg. Her uterus is tender and she has regular contractions. The fetal heart rate is 176 beats/min.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate management?
Question 4 · Medical disorders of pregnancy
A 27-year-old woman at 26 weeks' gestation reports troublesome heartburn most evenings for the past 3 weeks. She has already stopped eating late meals, avoided spicy and fatty foods, and started sleeping with the head of her bed raised, without relief. She has no red flag symptoms such as dysphagia, vomiting or weight loss.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?
Question 5 · Labour and birth
A 31-year-old woman, gravida 2 para 1, is in established labour at 39 weeks’ gestation. Her first baby was born vaginally. Her labour has not progressed despite adequate contractions and 4 hours of augmentation, with the fetal head remaining high and not descending. The cardiotocograph shows a persistent fetal tachycardia with reduced variability that has not improved after correction of reversible causes.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate management?
Question 6 · Menstrual and endocrine gynaecology
A 22-year-old woman presents with irregular periods for 3 years and increasing facial hair. Menarche was at 12 years of age. Her blood pressure is 118/72 mmHg, and she has no purple striae or proximal muscle weakness. Her pregnancy test is negative. Results show a mildly elevated testosterone, normal TSH and normal prolactin. Pelvic ultrasound shows polycystic ovarian morphology bilaterally.
Which one of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
Question 7 · Menstrual and endocrine gynaecology
A 16-year-old girl sees her general practitioner with painful periods that began about a year after her first period at 12 years. Cramping lower abdominal pain starts with bleeding and lasts about 2 days, and she misses school once or twice each month. Her cycles are regular. She is not sexually active and has no pain between periods, dyspareunia, bowel or urinary symptoms. Paracetamol gives little relief. Abdominal examination is normal.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate management?
Question 8 · Contraception, sexual health and fertility
A 32-year-old woman and her 34-year-old male partner see their general practitioner because they have not conceived after 13 months of regular unprotected intercourse. She has regular 28-day cycles, no pelvic pain and no history of pelvic infection or surgery. Her examination, including body mass index and blood pressure, is normal. Her partner has no known health problems and has never had any tests.
Which one of the following is the most appropriate initial investigation?
AMC CAT MCQ at a glance
- patient groups in the blueprint
- 6
- questions in one sitting
- 150
- per question on average
- 84 s
- on the 0 to 500 scale to pass
- 250
What the AMC tests in women's health
The AMC's examination specifications say gynaecology covers a broad spectrum of women's healthcare and draws on all the principles of adult health. Obstetrics adds the basic sciences of reproduction and the effects of disease on pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period. The blueprint places both within one patient group.
The questions on this page cover antenatal care, early pregnancy, medical disorders in pregnancy, fetal wellbeing, labour and birth, obstetric haemorrhage and postnatal care, contraception and sexual health, menstrual and endocrine gynaecology, and gynaecological oncology and the pelvic floor.
Where it sits in the exam
Women's health is 12.5% of the blueprint, about 19 of the 150 questions. It shares ground with child health at birth, with population health in cervical screening and immunisation in pregnancy and with mental health in the perinatal period.
Where candidates go wrong
These traps recur in our question bank. Several are rules that differ between health systems or have changed in recent years.
- Old gestational diabetes thresholds. The ADIPS 2025 criteria replaced the 2014 thresholds, and a single raised value on the glucose tolerance test is diagnostic.
- Anti-D only after an event. RhD-negative women without antibodies are offered routine antenatal anti-D, and after abdominal trauma anti-D is needed even without bleeding.
- Folic acid too late or too low. Folic acid starts before conception, and pre-existing diabetes is an indication for the higher 5 mg dose.
- Calling an ectopic a threatened miscarriage. Shoulder-tip pain and signs of shock in early pregnancy point to rupture, and transvaginal ultrasound is the test that makes the diagnosis.
- Waiting to treat pelvic inflammatory disease. It is treated on clinical suspicion, because delay while swab results come back increases the risk of tubal damage.
- The wrong haemorrhage threshold. Postpartum haemorrhage is 500 mL or more, and 1000 mL marks severe haemorrhage.
- Outdated labour rules. The old alert line of 1 cm an hour labels normal progress as delay.
- Postmenopausal bleeding put down to atrophy. It needs prompt investigation before any treatment for atrophy.
- Self-collection as a fallback. In the National Cervical Screening Program, anyone eligible can choose a self-collected sample as a first choice.
How to revise women's health
Keep a list of numbers with their source: glucose thresholds, haemorrhage volumes, the gestations for routine tests and the timing windows for emergency contraception. Candidates trained elsewhere often know the condition well and lose the mark on a threshold from another country's guideline.
| Topic | Australian standard | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Screening for gestational diabetes | A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24 to 28 weeks for every woman without diabetes already found in the pregnancy | ADIPS 2025 |
| Testing early in pregnancy | HbA1c at the first visit for women with risk factors. Previous gestational diabetes or an HbA1c of 6.0% to 6.4% (42 to 47 mmol/mol) means an OGTT before 20 weeks, ideally at 10 to 14 weeks | ADIPS 2025 |
| Diagnosing gestational diabetes | Any one value on the OGTT: fasting 5.3 to 6.9, 1 hour 10.6 or higher, or 2 hours 9.0 to 11.0 mmol/L | ADIPS 2025 |
| Diabetes in pregnancy (overt) | Fasting 7.0 or higher or 2 hours 11.1 mmol/L or higher on the OGTT, or HbA1c 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or higher | ADIPS 2025 |
| Anti-D for RhD-negative women without preformed antibodies | Routine doses at 28 and 34 weeks, and a dose within 72 hours of a sensitising event such as abdominal trauma | Queensland Clinical Guidelines, 2025 |
| Postpartum haemorrhage | 500 mL or more; 1000 mL or more is severe | RANZCOG C-Obs 43 |
| Vaccines in pregnancy | Pertussis in every pregnancy at 20 to 32 weeks; influenza at any stage of pregnancy | NIP schedule, Victorian Department of Health |
| Cervical screening | An HPV test every 5 years from 25 to 74, with self-collection open to everyone eligible | Cancer Institute NSW |
RANZCOG's statements set the Australian standard for most obstetric and gynaecological questions. The Queensland Clinical Guidelines are free and practical for labour, birth and postnatal care, and the ADIPS 2025 recommendations cover gestational diabetes. The AMC's free book Australian Medicine in Context covers common women's health conditions in their Australian setting. Women's health links with paediatrics at birth and with population health for screening.
Questions candidates ask
The AMC blueprint gives Women's health 12.5% of the 150 questions, which is about 19. The blueprint names obstetrics and gynaecology within women's health but does not publish a separate share for each.
The Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society published new consensus recommendations in June 2025 with higher diagnostic thresholds on the 75 g glucose tolerance test at 24 to 28 weeks: fasting 5.3 mmol/L or more, 10.6 at 1 hour or 9.0 at 2 hours. One raised value is enough.
RANZCOG's statements and guidelines, the Queensland Clinical Guidelines for maternity and neonatal care, which are free online, and the ADIPS 2025 recommendations for gestational diabetes. Therapeutic Guidelines covers prescribing in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
It can appear in either. The AMC says population health concepts may arise in any patient group, so a screening question can sit in women's health as easily as in population health.
Sources
- AMC: Multiple Choice Question Examination Specifications, V8 (September 2025)Checked 28 September 2026
- RANZCOG: Statements and guidelinesChecked 28 September 2026
- Queensland Health: Queensland Clinical GuidelinesChecked 28 September 2026
- MJA: ADIPS 2025 consensus recommendations for the screening, diagnosis and classification of gestational diabetesChecked 28 September 2026
- AMC: Australian Medicine in ContextChecked 28 September 2026
- Queensland Clinical Guidelines: Rh D negative women and pregnancy, short guide (August 2025)Checked 28 September 2026
- RANZCOG: Management of postpartum haemorrhage (C-Obs 43)Checked 28 September 2026
- Victorian Department of Health: Immunisation schedule Victoria, National Immunisation Program (July 2026)Checked 28 September 2026
- Cancer Institute NSW: Cervical screeningChecked 28 September 2026
AMC Preparation is independent of the Australian Medical Council. Rules, dates and fees can change: the AMC is the authority, and this page is checked against it.
Check women's health against the rest of the blueprint
The free diagnostic asks 12 questions across all six patient groups in about 14 minutes and gives a first read on every subject, including obstetrics and gynaecology.
12 questions · about 14 minutes · free, no card details