10/05/2025
Nearly 9,000 babies spanning generations have been brought into this world by Dr. Myron Strickland, an obstetrician and gynecologist practicing at Fayetteville Women’s Care since 1988. His portfolio includes three sets of quadruplets, five sets of triplets and many sets of twins.
Throughout his career, he has supported mothers through all kinds of pregnancies, assisted with in vitro fertilization, managed care for diabetic mothers and introduced innovative technology that has transformed pregnancy and childbirth.
On April 2, he announced on Facebook that after 37 years, he is retiring May 23. The post has hundreds of comments from mothers and their families thanking him for helping them throughout their pregnancies and lives.
Although he said he never viewed practicing medicine as a job, rather a hobby, it gets to a point where it is time to roll the credits.
“You sort of wake up one day and you go, you know, what else do I have to accomplish?” Strickland said at his office May 6. “I've done everything I can do. There's no new technology to learn ... I just wanted to be able to enjoy my life, and working is not the same anymore.”
Early ambitions and career beginnings
Strickland, 68, grew up in the small Columbus County farming community of Chadbourn, where pursuing higher education and medicine seemed out of reach. His interest in medicine was sparked in eighth grade by a conversation with his science teacher, Willie B. Austin.
“He pulled me aside and said, ‘You can do better than most of the people,’ and encouraged me,” Strickland recalled. “My whole life was driven to accomplish that against the odds that I was faced with, being from a small town with no education in my family. When I got into school, it was just unheard of, pretty much.”
He pursued his goal, attending East Carolina University for both undergraduate studies and medical school, becoming part of the fourth-ever graduating class from ECU’s medical program.
Strickland completed his residency at Charlotte Memorial Hospital in 1988. The transition from residency to practice was quick, he noted that he “finished residency on a Friday and started (at Fayetteville Women’s Care) on a Monday.
Throughout his career, Strickland said he valued the relationships and continuity of care he built with patients, many over decades.
“I have delivered children of children. I've had instances where I've delivered a child whose mother and father I had also delivered,” he explained. “In the last two weeks, I've had women coming here bawling. I've seen them forever. I've been their psychiatrist, I've been their primary care doctor, I've been their friend.”
Strickland remembers delivering his first baby, an experience that remains etched in his memory due to its intensity and novelty.
“It was a 16-year-old girl — I was in medical school in Goldsboro — who came in pregnant and in labor,” he recalled. “The attending I had in medical school let me deliver the baby, and I was scared I was gonna drop it.”
Deliveries to remember
Strickland said there have been a few deliveries that stuck with him, one being a mother who named her child Myron after him.
"She was an infertility patient, tried forever to get pregnant," he said. "We got her pregnant, so when the baby came, she said, 'I want to name him after you.'"
Along with the heartfelt moments came ones Strickland said he still laughs about.
"I delivered the baby, and the guy looks at his wife, looks at me, looks at the baby, looks at his wife, reaches and kisses me in the mouth," he said.
Pioneering technologies and memorable moments
Strickland said he's proud to have brought major advancements in medical technology to Fayetteville, significantly improving local healthcare. Among these innovations was the introduction of vaginal probe ultrasound technology which accurately determine the stage of a pregnancy.
“People got to be 44 weeks pregnant when they really never were,” Strickland explained. “The vaginal probe changed that. It allowed safer deliveries and better prenatal care by eliminating guesswork. You could pick within two or three days how far along someone was.”
Strickland said he also introduced in vitro fertilization to Fayetteville and serves as a local partner for 15 IVF clinics across the country. He said over the years it has become more affordable and accepted.
"Now in IVF, a lot of people are doing it who are genetic carriers, for example, have Huntington's disease," he said, referencing a genetic disorder that causes progressive brain degeneration. "They can do IVF, do pre-genetic testing on the embryos before the embryo is ever implanted, and not put an embryo in that may be a carrier for lethal disease."
He also helped advance diabetes management in pregnancy within the community, introducing insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring systems to enhance outcomes for diabetic pregnancies.
"We totally changed how we did diabetics," Strickland said. "Now, people go on insulin pumps early. They get continuous glucose monitoring instead of constantly sticking their fingers. That has completely changed outcomes."
A melting pot of patients
Practicing in Fayetteville, a military community and melting pot, has uniquely shaped Strickland’s approach to patient care, he said. With patients from all over the world, cultural expectations and practices brought continual learning opportunities.
"Patients' expectations and patient input have significantly changed how we practice," Strickland said. "In Europe, for example, most births are managed by midwives, and the monitoring and care practices are quite different. We learn from these patients and either incorporate their practices or adapt ours."
He emphasized the necessity for open discussions to meet diverse expectations.
“You have to have open communication with these patients because their expectations can differ greatly,” he said. “They bring different ideas from Texas, Africa, the Far East, and Europe based on their experiences. Every place in the country, every country in the world, is different."
Reflecting on his career, Strickland underscored the value of education and patient empowerment.
“Always ask questions,” Strickland said. “You always deserve an answer to your question. We're all busy, but the time you're here is your time. If you leave and your question isn't answered, then we didn't do it right."
As he transitions into retirement, Strickland is eager to dedicate more time to his family, fishing and especially enjoying moments with his grandchildren.
“I didn't want to wake up one day and find out I had some weird disease or something and hadn't enjoyed my life,” he said. “My grandkids are 5 and 6 years old, and they all live two hours away."
Looking back, Strickland said that he feels fulfilled and appreciative of his time practicing medicine in Fayetteville.
"Fayetteville has been a great place to practice," he said. "It's one of the best-kept secrets in the state. The patients are great, and the hospital has been supportive in providing any technology needed.
"I have no regrets at all.”
Government Watchdog Reporter Claire C. Carter can be reached at ccarter@gannett.com.
