Pregnancy among obstetricians: a comparison of births before, during, and after residency.

Questionnaires were sent to 1025 female board-certified obstetricians, and information was retrieved about pregnancy outcome. A total of 454 pregnancies, one third of which occurred during residency, were evaluated, and the relationship between pregnancy outcome and residency was assessed. Children of primiparous women who were delivered during or after residency had significantly lower mean birth weights than those who were delivered before residency (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.005, respectively), whereas birth weights of infants born to multiparous women were not significantly different. The low birth weight rate (less than 2500 gm) was significantly increased during residency (p less than 0.002), and infants born during residency were 7.5 times more likely to be growth retarded than those born outside residency (p less than 0.002). The incidence of other pregnancy complications was not found to be increased during residency. Our data suggest a potentially negative impact of residency on the birth weights of infants born to female obstetricians in training.