Purpose: A growing number of residents bear children during residency training. This study was conducted to examine the pregnancy and maternity leave experiences of women who delivered infants during their residency training.
Methods: From March 2007 through June 2007, we surveyed 94 women who had given birth during their residency training during the past 5 years from the survey date. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling.
Results: Most of the respondents (70.2%) delivered in the 3rd and 4th year of residency. The average length of leave was 68.9 days, and more than half (54.3%) of the women expressed that a maternity leave policy was not formally established in the department. In general, participants believed that having a child during residency was difficult (mean=4.18 in 5-point Likert scale), and this perception was inversely related with systematic departmental support.
Conclusion: Pregnancy is a special challenge for residents, with regard to not only physical overexertion but also psychosocial impacts on pregnant residents and their colleagues. However, most current residency programs do not have written policies on pregnancy. A formal policy and more flexible curriculum can help both the training program and the pregnant resident.
Keywords: Internship and Residency; Parental leave; Pregnancy.