Research
Members of our team have some important publications in this area and we would love to share our findings with you below.
Why does our research and outreach matter?
Having children during a medical career is challenging.
Medicine involve rigorous training through medical school, residency, fellowship and beyond. Reaching professional goals can sometimes seem impossible, let alone trying to balance those goals with raising a family.
Physicians who bear children may face reduced job and training opportunities, lack of career advancement, less referrals and resentment from other colleagues who feel they have a greater workload.
Unfortunately, the reality is that the optimal reproductive window falls within the timeline of medical training. Physicians have expressed regret that they did not consider family planning sooner and faced challenges such as infertility and age-related pregnancy complications.
Delayed Childbearing
Our research demonstrated the following :
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Physicians have a decreased rate of childbirth from age 15-28
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Physicians have a slightly increased rate of childbirth from age 29-36 and a markedly increased rate of childbirth after the age of 37
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Family physician trainees had a rate of childbirth similar to non-physicians but specialist trainees had a decreased rate of childbirth
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Physicians are more likely to have pregnancy complications, but this is likely due to delayed childbearing and maternal age at first birth
"The inconvenience of motherhood during a medical career"
Andrea N. Simpson, Maria C. Cusimano and Nancy N. Baxter
CMAJ September 20, 2021 193 (37) E1465-E1466; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.211255
Read the article here
Listen to the podcast here
Medical Students’ Perspectives on Family Planning and Impact on Specialty Choice
Dason ES, Maxim M, Gesink D, Yee M, Chan C, Baxter NN, et al. Medical Students’ Perspectives on Family Planning and Impact on Specialty Choice. JAMA Surgery [Internet]. 2023 Dec 13 [cited 2023 Dec 21]; Available from: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2023.6392
Media
No Good Time? Medical Students Fret Over Family Planning - MedPage Today
Time to stop treating family planning for doctors like a taboo topic, say U of T researchers - Temerty Faculty of Medicine News
Starting a Family in Med School Problematic, Say Students - Medscape Medical News
New advocacy campaign aims to help physicians and trainees with family planning - Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Publications :