Nearly Half of Women in Medicine With Children Pass Up Career Advancement
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, July 28, 2023 -- Three-fourths of women in medicine report delaying pregnancy due to competing priorities of parenthood and career, according to a study published online July 27 in JAMA Network Open.
Jennifer B. Bakkensen, M.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues evaluated delayed childbearing and infertility among women in medicine and the extent to which women physicians may alter career trajectories to accommodate family building and parenthood. The analysis included survey responses from 1,056 cisgender women (mean age, 38.3 years) from across level of training (attending physicians: 67.6 percent; residents or fellows: 26.8 percent), specialty (surgical: 38.6 percent; nonsurgical: 60.4 percent), and practice setting (academic: 45.2 percent; private: 24.9 percent; community: 21.0 percent).
The researchers found that 86.2 percent of respondents were married or partnered and 65.3 percent of respondents had children. Three-quarters of individuals (75.6 percent) reported delaying family building and one-third (36.8 percent) reported experiencing infertility. More than one-quarter of women with children (28.8 percent) said they had taken extended leave, 24.8 percent said they had chosen a different specialty, 47.1 percent said they had reduced their work hours, 24.8 percent said they had changed their practice setting, and 47.2 percent said they had passed up opportunities for career advancement.
"These findings suggest that fertility and family building concerns among women in medicine may contribute to ongoing gender disparities and attrition and represent a potentially critical area for policy reform and future change," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2023
Read this next
Mortality in Rheumatic Heart Disease Is High
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Mortality related to rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is high and is correlated with the severity of valve disease, according to a study published online June...
Higher County-Level Prostate Cancer Screening Tied to Better Outcomes
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Higher county-level prevalence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is associated with lower odds of advanced disease, all-cause mortality, and...
Metabolic Impact on Offspring Similar for Frozen, Fresh Embryo Transfer
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- For glucose and lipid profiles during early childhood, the impact of frozen embryo transfer (FET) is comparable to that of fresh embryo transfer, according...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.