Family planning among female medical students: are their plans comparable to other professionals?

Abstract

<jats:p>SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Late pregnancy is a problem among physicians, especially surgeons. This paper studies family planning among Medical Students (MS) and Law students (LS). METHODS A questionnaire was sent to all female MS and LS attending the two last years of University in the first semester of 2019. Data on age, family income, marital status, and family planning (age, planning for future pregnancies, timing, professional relationship or other issues, the ideal moment for a pregnancy, attitude towards eventual pregnancies, or maternity leave) were researched. RESULTS MS were significantly older than LS. A minority of women did not plan future pregnancies (10.6% of MS and 16.4% of LS), for markedly different reasons: 40% of the MS mentioned career plans, while for 70% of LS motherhood was not a personal project. The ages chosen for pregnancy also differed: MS tended to choose older ages. The most important priorities were financial planning and professional career for both groups, but specialization/post-graduation were only cited among MS. Both groups considered that the ideal moment for pregnancy was after professional consolidation in the job market. There were differences between MS that chose a surgical specialty and other MS. DISCUSSION MS tend to go through pregnancy late, especially students planning a surgical career. Professional issues are more influential over MS than LS. Medical educators and health managers must recognize there is a need to reconcile the medical career and motherhood as females represent &gt; 50% of MS in Brasil.</jats:p>

Elements of Pregnancy and Parenthood Policies of Importance to Medical Students and Included in a Sample of Medical Schools' Websites and Student Handbooks

“…4 Among 96 of 183 women first-year (2019) medical students at Federal Fluminense University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, responding to a survey, two had children, 2%. 5 Among U.S. medical students graduating in 2020, the percentage with dependents was 7%. 1 The fact that these percentages represent thousands of students and indicates the value of systematic study of what items to include in pregnancy and parental leave policies.…”

“…Rather, they are scientifically useful. The basis for our hypothesis was limited citation of the earlier survey study 4 , 5 despite calls for precisely this information. 3 If the hypotheses were supported, adding these items to schools' public websites would be an easily actionable intervention to help current and future students who are parents or are considering parenthood.…”

Family planning and parity among pediatric surgeons — it is time to confront a serious problem (a survey among Brazilian female pediatric surgeons)

“…Previous research in Brazil comparing female medical and law students (equal prestige careers and similar social backgrounds) detected that only 10-15% showed no interest in getting pregnant in both careers but for different reasons; while medical students prioritized their careers and thought that maternity would impair their professional future, law students gave up maternity to privilege personal life projects. This paper also showed that medical students were older, an important difference when added to the need for postgraduation training, especially for those intending to become surgeons [10].…”

Maternidade, paternidade e vida acadêmica: impactos e percepções de mães e pais estudantes de medicina

“…Nossos resultados demonstram que, apesar de estudos indicarem uma tendência ao adiamento da maternidade/ paternidade em função de um projeto de vida orientado para o acadêmico e o profissional (por exemplo: busca por estabilidade financeira e consolidação da carreira no mercado de trabalho) [16][17][18][19] , há uma percepção hegemônica entre os participantes em relação ao orgulho e à clareza de suas escolhas. Nesse contexto, apesar de os nossos resultados não apresentarem diferenças significativas nas percepções entre homens e mulheres, um estudo realizado em três cursos médicos suíços demonstrou que as mulheres médicas apresentam, em geral, menores índices de empregabilidade e possuem qualificações menos avançadas, ao mesmo tempo que apresentam um estilo de vida mais direcionado aos aspectos relacionados à maternidade 20 .…”