Fertility and childbearing experiences of female physicians at a single academic medical center.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate childbearing and fertility experiences among female physicians at a Massachusetts academic hospital to gather information to help guide solutions for ways to mitigate disparities for women in medicine.

DESIGN

An online survey.

SUBJECTS: One hundred ninety-four attending-level physicians a large academic hospital in Massachusetts who self-identified as female responded.

EXPOSURE: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Baseline demographic information, descriptive data on delayed childbearing, fertility, and barriers to childbearing.

RESULTS

Among respondents, the median age was 42 years (interquartile range, 37-52 years), and most participants self-identified as White/Caucasian (73.2%) and straight/heterosexual (93.3%), were married (83.8%), and had completed residency in the northeast (77.8%). Overall, 119 respondents (64%) reported delaying family building, and 39 respondents (28%) reported seeking out fertility assistance. Eighteen respondents (10%) stated that they would have made a different specialty choice if they were to reconsider their career in terms of family planning. Through free-text responses, respondents highlighted a need for earlier education about general fertility, as well as specialty-specific initiatives regarding the conduciveness of individual specialties to family building.

CONCLUSION

In this survey study, female physicians reported a persistent incongruence between the practice of medicine and aspirations for a family, which varied by specialty type. These findings suggest that additional interventions that include education of individuals as well as those with authority to make change, changes in workplace culture, and support for fertility preservation are needed to support the growing number of female physicians across specialties.