1. Incidence of Infertility and Pregnancy Complications in US Female Surgeons
- Author
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Tanujit Dey, Manuel Castillo-Angeles, Eugene S. Kim, Sarah Rae Easter, Erika L. Rangel, Rachel B. Atkinson, Yue Yung Hu, Zara Cooper, and Ankush Gosain
- Subjects
Infertility ,Pregnancy ,medicine.medical_specialty ,education.field_of_study ,Assisted reproductive technology ,business.industry ,Incidence (epidemiology) ,medicine.medical_treatment ,media_common.quotation_subject ,General surgery ,Population ,MEDLINE ,Psychological intervention ,Fertility ,medicine.disease ,medicine ,Surgery ,business ,education ,media_common ,Original Investigation - Abstract
IMPORTANCE: While surgeons often delay pregnancy and childbearing because of training and establishing early careers, little is known about risks of infertility and pregnancy complications among female surgeons. OBJECTIVE: To describe the incidence of infertility and pregnancy complications among female surgeons in the US and to identify workplace factors associated with increased risk compared with a sociodemographically similar nonsurgeon population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This self-administered survey questionnaire was electronically distributed and collected from November 2020 to January 2021 through multiple surgical societies in the US and social media among male and female attending and resident surgeons with children. Nonchildbearing surgeons were asked to answer questions regarding the pregnancies of their nonsurgeon partners as applicable. EXPOSURES: Surgical profession; work, operative, and overnight call schedules. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Descriptive data on pregnancy loss were collected for female surgeons. Use of assisted reproductive technology was compared between male and female surgeons. Pregnancy and neonatal complications were compared between female surgeons and female nonsurgeon partners of surgeons. RESULTS: A total of 850 surgeons (692 women and 158 men) were included in this survey study. Female surgeons with female partners were excluded because of lack of clarity about who carried the pregnancy. Because the included nonchildbearing population was therefore made up of male individuals with female partners, this group is referred to throughout the study as male surgeons. The median (IQR) age was 40 (36-45) years. Of 692 female surgeons surveyed, 290 (42.0%) had a pregnancy loss, more than twice the rate of the general population. Compared with male surgeons, female surgeons had fewer children (mean [SD], 1.8 [0.8] vs 2.3 [1.1]; P
- Published
- 2021