Physician Mothers: An Unlikely High Risk Group—Call for Action

Sattari, Maryam; Levine, David M.; Serwint, Janet R.

doi:10.1089/bfm.2008.0132

Cited by 37 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Despite excellent breastfeeding initiation rates, physician mothers as a group are at risk of premature breastfeeding cessation. [12][13][14][15][16] Physician mothers who attempt to maintain breastfeeding after maternity leave identify two main obstacles at work: lack of sufficient time and adequate place for milk expression. [12][13][14] Similarly, physician mothers' main reasons for breastfeeding cessation, especially between 1 and 12 months postpartum, are work-related.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Breastfeeding Behavior of Physician Mothers Is Associated with Their Clinical Breastfeeding Advocacy

Sattari

Levine

Neal

et al. 2013

Breastfeeding Medicine

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Background: Despite excellent breastfeeding initiation rates, physician mothers as a group are at risk of premature breastfeeding cessation. The main obstacles and reasons for breastfeeding cessation among physician mothers are work-related. We conducted this study to further explore physician mothers' personal infant feeding decisions and behavior as well as their clinical breastfeeding advocacy. Subjects and Methods: We interviewed 80 physician mothers, mainly affiliated with the University of Florida College of Medicine (Gainesville, FL), using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were calculated with SPSS software version 16 (SPSS, Chicago, IL). Results: The 80 mothers had a total of 152 children and were able to successfully initiate breastfeeding for 97% of the infants. Although maternal goal for duration of breastfeeding had been 12 months or more for 57% of the infants, only 34% of the children were actually still breastfeeding at 12 months. In 43% of cases, physician mothers stated that breastfeeding cessation was due to demands of work. Furthermore, physician mothers who reported actively promoting breastfeeding among their female patients and housestaff had significantly longer personal breastfeeding duration compared with physician mothers who denied actively promoting breastfeeding. Conclusions: Our findings not only emphasize the discrepancy between physician mothers' breastfeeding duration goal and their actual breastfeeding duration, but also highlight the association between their personal breastfeeding success and their own active breastfeeding advocacy. Whether this association is causal cannot be determined by the current study and can be examined further by prospective studies. Our results support developing and implementing workplace strategies and programs to promote breastfeeding duration among physician mothers returning to work.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Breastfeeding Behavior of Physician Mothers Is Associated with Their Clinical Breastfeeding Advocacy

Sattari

Levine

Neal

et al. 2013

Breastfeeding Medicine

Self Cite

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“…Key obstacles include the return, after maternity leave, to the rigorous work schedule of residency or primary care practice, as well as inadequate support for milk expression in the workplace. [4][5][6][7] Describing physicians' experiences is important from two perspectives. First, physicians' own experiences in breastfeeding their children may adversely affect their future interactions with breastfeeding mothers who are patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breastfeeding Experiences Among Physicians

Riggins

Rosenman

Szucs

2012

Breastfeeding Medicine

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“…Parent-infant attachment is of paramount importance in the first weeks of life, and protected time at home fosters the development of healthy relationships and practices, such as breastfeeding. 5 A position statement on parental leave for residents by the American College of Physicians in 1989 noted the increasing number of residents having children and raised concerns about both the health outcomes of the children and the emotional outcomes of the parents. 6 The American Medical Association subsequently adopted a policy that supports maternity, paternity, and adoption leave for residents and recommends that programs develop a detailed written policy regarding leave for residents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Leave for Residents and Pediatric Training Programs

Students¹,

Trainees²

2013

Pediatrics

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is committed to the development of rational, equitable, and effective parental leave policies that are sensitive to the needs of pediatric residents, families, and developing infants and that enable parents to spend adequate and good-quality time with their young children. It is important for each residency program to have a policy for parental leave that is written, that is accessible to residents, and that clearly delineates program practices regarding parental leave. At a minimum, a parental leave policy for residents and fellows should conform legally with the Family Medical Leave Act as well as with respective state laws and should meet institutional requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for accredited programs. Policies should be well formulated and communicated in a culturally sensitive manner. The AAP advocates for extension of benefits consistent with the Family Medical Leave Act to all residents and interns beginning at the time that pediatric residency training begins. The AAP recommends that regardless of gender, residents who become parents should be guaranteed 6 to 8 weeks, at a minimum, of parental leave with pay after the infant’s birth. In addition, in conformance with federal law, the resident should be allowed to extend the leave time when necessary by using paid vacation time or leave without pay. Coparenting, adopting, or fostering of a child should entitle the resident, regardless of gender, to the same amount of paid leave (6–8 weeks) as a person who takes maternity/paternity leave. Flexibility, creativity, and advanced planning are necessary to arrange schedules that optimize resident education and experience, cultivate equity in sharing workloads, and protect pregnant residents from overly strenuous work experiences at critical times of their pregnancies.

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Physician Mothers: An Unlikely High Risk Group—Call for Action

Cited by 37 publications

References 21 publications

Personal Breastfeeding Behavior of Physician Mothers Is Associated with Their Clinical Breastfeeding Advocacy

Personal Breastfeeding Behavior of Physician Mothers Is Associated with Their Clinical Breastfeeding Advocacy

Breastfeeding Experiences Among Physicians

Parental Leave for Residents and Pediatric Training Programs

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