Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; Heart Institute, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's, Boston, Massachusetts.
Ann Thorac Surg. 2024 Sep;118(3):720-727. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2024.05.036. Epub 2024 Jun 13.
Although work-family balance impacts specialty selection for medical students of both sexes, pregnancy and childbearing experiences are unique to women. Cardiothoracic surgery, with low female representation, must prioritize these issues to support women entering the field. This study compared family planning experiences between male and female cardiothoracic surgeons.
An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to cardiothoracic trainees and surgeons from January to June 2023. Descriptive data were collected on family planning perceptions, assisted reproductive technology use, number of children, and pregnancy characteristics (maternal age, complications, miscarriage). Male surgeons reported pregnancy outcomes of their childbearing partners.
Of 378 participants, 45.77% were women, and mean age was 44.40 ± 11.59 years. Compared with male surgeons, female surgeons were more often deterred from pursuing cardiothoracic surgery due to a desire to have children (41.62% vs 22.93%, P = .004), more often used assisted reproductive technology (32.37% vs 15.12%, P < .001), had fewer children (1.92 vs 2.48, P < .001), and had fewer children than desired (40.81% vs 25.14%, P < .001). Compared with partners of male surgeons, female surgeons were older at first live birth (34 vs 32 years, P < .001). Among female surgeons, 73 (42.40%) experienced 155 miscarriages, and 54 (74%) reported taking 0 days off from work after miscarriage.
The path to parenthood varies significantly by sex for cardiothoracic surgeons, with women more likely to be deterred from the profession by perceived challenges. Policies that promote work-family integration, support maternal-fetal health, and provide support following fetal loss are needed.
尽管工作与家庭平衡会影响男女医学生的专业选择，但怀孕和生育经历是女性特有的。女性在心胸外科领域的代表性较低，因此该领域必须优先考虑这些问题，以支持女性进入该领域。本研究比较了男女心胸外科医生的计划生育经历。
2023 年 1 月至 6 月，向心胸外科住院医师和外科医生发放了一份匿名、自我管理的问卷。收集了关于计划生育观念、辅助生殖技术使用、子女数量和妊娠特征（产妇年龄、并发症、流产）的描述性数据。男性外科医生报告了其生育伴侣的妊娠结局。
在 378 名参与者中，45.77%为女性，平均年龄为 44.40 ± 11.59 岁。与男性外科医生相比，女性外科医生因想要孩子而更倾向于放弃心胸外科手术（41.62%比 22.93%，P =.004），更常使用辅助生殖技术（32.37%比 15.12%，P <.001），子女较少（1.92 比 2.48，P <.001），并且子女数量少于预期（40.81%比 25.14%，P <.001）。与男性外科医生的伴侣相比，女性外科医生的首次活产年龄更大（34 比 32 岁，P <.001）。在女性外科医生中，73 人（42.40%）经历了 155 次流产，54 人（74%）报告流产后休假 0 天。
心胸外科医生成为父母的途径因性别而异，女性因认为该职业存在挑战而更有可能被阻止从事该职业。需要制定促进工作与家庭融合、支持母婴健康以及在胎儿丢失后提供支持的政策。
