Pregnant during Residency??

[Pestanas]

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OK..... so I'm starting Anesthesia residency in a few months.....and my clock is ticking.... Time to start working on the big family I've always dreamed of. I know being pregnant in any residency is hard, however, I've heard that Anesthesia is particularly tricky because of gas exposure. Has anyone been through this or had to deal with other fellow residents who went through this?? How much of a strain would it put on the rest of my program?? And at what point should I tell them? I have about 7-8 other residents in my CA-1 year mostly guys.....

Any insight would be helpful...Thanks

 

[Beck928]

OK..... so I'm starting Anesthesia residency in a few months.....and my clock is ticking.... Time to start working on the big family I've always dreamed of. I know being pregnant in any residency is hard, however, I've heard that Anesthesia is particularly tricky because of gas exposure. Has anyone been through this or had to deal with other fellow residents who went through this?? How much of a strain would it put on the rest of my program?? And at what point should I tell them? I have about 7-8 other residents in my CA-1 year mostly guys.....

Any insight would be helpful...Thanks

I have not had a child in residency but have had fellow residents that have. I would say that the main reason that being pregnant as an anesthesia provider is tough is not gas exposure (i think it's really minimal and not well studied) but is the physical aspect of the job. Seeing as you have not yet started anesthesia, I will tell you that lugging patients around, transferring them to the table, dealing with them swinging at you as they emerge, intubating during codes, crawling on the ground to reach the foley....these are all things that tire ME out and have been an extra challenge for pregnant residents. Also, your fellow residents won't really like that they will have to cover while you're gone, so prepare yourself for that, seeing as it's a smaller program. I would suggest getting through the majority of CA-1 year before having a kid because it's a tough transition and you really need to get the ropes down first, IMHO. That all being said, you just have to do what you need to do, and best of luck to you!

 

[OB1🤙]

Seems like a quarter of our frigging program is pregnant at any given time, but then again, we have 22 residents per class, not 8.

There is never going to be a "good" time, so do what you gotta do and things will work themselves out.

 

[huktonfonix]

OK..... so I'm starting Anesthesia residency in a few months.....and my clock is ticking.... Time to start working on the big family I've always dreamed of. I know being pregnant in any residency is hard, however, I've heard that Anesthesia is particularly tricky because of gas exposure. Has anyone been through this or had to deal with other fellow residents who went through this?? How much of a strain would it put on the rest of my program?? And at what point should I tell them? I have about 7-8 other residents in my CA-1 year mostly guys.....

Any insight would be helpful...Thanks

Take your call schedule divide it be 7 or 8 and thats the extra work everyone is going to be doing to cover. Now ask yourself if you believe this to be a strain. There were a lot of people pregnant in my program, but we had a large class to help cover it. Like previously mentioned, you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[Noyac]

Wait till after residency.

 

[Pestanas]

Wait till after residency.

Could you maybe elaborate on your reasons as to why?? just curious?

 

[jd1572]

Would it be more feasible for a person to be pregnant and take time off during residency, or later as an attending? Does that depend on the benefits you might get as a resident or an attending while taking time off? Is there a different maternity leave policy for your residency than say, if you were working a private practice job?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but perhaps someone else out there could share their experience.

 

[polkadotcap]

Would it be more feasible for a person to be pregnant and take time off during residency, or later as an attending? Does that depend on the benefits you might get as a resident or an attending while taking time off? Is there a different maternity leave policy for your residency than say, if you were working a private practice job?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but perhaps someone else out there could share their experience.

Kind of a similar question, but to the current attendings, how feasible do you think it would be to take 6 months or so off to have said baby right at the end of residency? Would that be looked down upon/make it that much harder when searching for a job later on?

 

[Pilot Doc]

Would it be more feasible for a person to be pregnant and take time off during residency, or later as an attending? Does that depend on the benefits you might get as a resident or an attending while taking time off? Is there a different maternity leave policy for your residency than say, if you were working a private practice job?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but perhaps someone else out there could share their experience.

Definitely more feasible during residency. (Actually, I think med school is the best time, but that's another issue.) The more training you have the more difficult and expensive it is to replace your labor. As a CA1, any resident can replace you. As a CA3, you have skills that CA1's won't.

You will also be covered by FMLA during residency. You are guaranteed 12 weeks off. FMLA kicks in at some number of employees (?25) so many private practice groups would be within their rights to fire you if they wished, and it would be VERY unusual to have a paid leave in pvt practice.

You get 60 days off during CA1-CA3 years. That gives you 3 weeks vacation /year + 3 weeks buffer time. If you chose to take 6 weeks of maternity leave and used your 3 weeks of vacation for that, you might not even have to extend your residency. If you take more time, you can finish residency up to 12 weeks late and still take the boards on a normal schedule.

The one caveat about having kids during residency is that there has to be some flex in the system. This can come in one of several ways
1) stay at home spouse
2) spouse employed with daycare friendly hours and ability to call in sick
3) family in area
4) ability to pay for nanny

 

[Planktonmd]

This thread is making me miss MilitaryMD 😱
I wonder what he would have said

 

[ChrisA]

I have attached the text of a great article on this very thing. Hope it helps.

Exposure in healthcare re: pregnancy outcome

OSHA on anesthetic gases including pregnancy exposure

.Occupational Exposure to Trace Concentrations of Waste Anesthetic Gases.

 

[Trisomy13]

I'm in a small residency, 5-6 per class, and in the middle of my CA-2 year. Since starting, two of my fellow residents have been pregnant, and it is no big deal. They both worked up until their due dates, with one literally working a Saturday day shift and delivering later that night. She was placing an epidural eight hours before she got hers. If you are willing to work, and maybe get some "lighter duty" cases, the physical aspect is still challenging, but clearly not impossible.

The burden on the rest of us was the extra call we took during their time off, and honestly, it only worked out to 1-2 extra calls per month, which is really not a big deal if you are a reasonable person. Perhaps we think differently because we are a small program, but taking that extra call because one of our own had a baby was not something we complained about.

One difference between the two residents was that one of them minimized her time off and was back to work in about a month, and the other took almost two months (this was her first child). I don't fault the latter at all for taking the extra time, but was impressed with the former for her willingness to come back so quickly, and I am sure faculty noticed this as well.

The fact is, as someone mentioned, there is no perfect time. If you wait til after residency it will be the same situation, but with your new partners. If you get along with your classmates, and don't take advantage of the situation (i.e. schedule your OB appts on your postcall day instead of frequently having to leave work early), your pregnancy should not be an unreasonable burden to others.

 

[Noyac]

Kind of a similar question, but to the current attendings, how feasible do you think it would be to take 6 months or so off to have said baby right at the end of residency? Would that be looked down upon/make it that much harder when searching for a job later on?

Absolutely!

 

[Noyac]

The burden on the rest of us was the extra call we took during their time off, and honestly, it only worked out to 1-2 extra calls per month, which is really not a big deal if you are a reasonable person. Perhaps we think differently because we are a small program, but taking that extra call because one of our own had a baby was not something we complained about.

If you don't think 1-2 extra calls a month are a burden then I need you in my group.

And if taking extra call was not something you complained about then I'd hate to see what you "did" actually complain about.


If it were me, I ain't taking extra call, no way no how. Unless you are wiling to cover OB for me for a reasonable period of time.

 

[lisichka]

omg. didn't know pregnancy is so problematic
during residency.
do women anaes. have to actually lift patients? or heavy gurneys?

 

[Gern Blansten]

Absolutely!

Just to clarify, you have previously said to wait until after residency. Now you are also saying that if she takes the time off immediately after residency, you don't agree with that either. What would you see as acceptable?

 

[Gern Blansten]

An additional consideration that has not been brought up is fellowship start dates. If you take more than the RRC/ABA allotted time off, your residency will be extended which could put you at a disadvantage for fellowship positions unless the fellowship is willing to alter their normal start date to accommodate your date of availability.
Many programs have residents who are off cycle for one reason or another, but if you are finishing late, this could be a potential issue to consider.

 

[Trisomy13]

If you don't think 1-2 extra calls a month are a burden then I need you in my group.

And if taking extra call was not something you complained about then I'd hate to see what you "did" actually complain about.


If it were me, I ain't taking extra call, no way no how. Unless you are wiling to cover OB for me for a reasonable period of time.

I have very minimal complaints, or I'm not a complainer, however you want to look at it. I think we're taken care of quite well here.

Seriously though, when your weekday calls are 3pm-7am, as they are here, you tend to look forward to them instead of avoiding them. Sleep in the day of call, go to the gym, run errands, then show up and maybe you work all night, maybe you get some sleep. Either way you're out at 7 and have the day free. No pre-ops, calling the attendings, racing against the clock for the day's first case... Tell me how that is in any way worse than working those two full days instead. I didn't have any calls last week and was actually annoyed by that fact 😉 (probably because I'm on OB this month). I would imagine call as an attending is not as desirable, but that's just another reason to do the baby-making during residency.

And we'll talk about your offer in 2010, or 2011, depending on the fellowship decision. 😉

 

[Trisomy13]

Kind of a similar question, but to the current attendings, how feasible do you think it would be to take 6 months or so off to have said baby right at the end of residency? Would that be looked down upon/make it that much harder when searching for a job later on?

Taking 6 months off for a baby is egregious. As I mentioned earlier, one of our residents was only out for 3-4 weeks postpartum, and worked up to the day of her delivery. I don't think everyone has the willpower to do that, but she did not want to become off-cycle, and did not want to stir ill-will with the rest of us by being out for that long.

 

[Gern Blansten]

omg. didn't know pregnancy is so problematic
during residency.
do women anaes. have to actually lift patients? or heavy gurneys?

Ours all bench at least 350 lbs.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Taking 6 months off for a baby is egregious.

Unless I misunderstood the poster, I think she was referring to having the baby immediately after residency, basically between residency and a job. Then getting a job when she was ready to go back to work. I don't see that this would impact any negatively unless the worry was that she would soon do this again and leave the group in a pinch to cover her absence.

 

[lisichka]

Ours all bench at least 350 lbs.

what does it mean?

 

[Gern Blansten]

what does it mean?

It means, "them strong like bull."

 

[lisichka]

It means, "them strong like bull."

wha??????? was that a joke? really?
i expect serious responses.

 

[maceo]

If you don't think 1-2 extra calls a month are a burden then I need you in my group.

And if taking extra call was not something you complained about then I'd hate to see what you "did" actually complain about.


If it were me, I ain't taking extra call, no way no how. Unless you are wiling to cover OB for me for a reasonable period of time.

you're pretty harsh. Whats an extra call or two if you are getting paid for it. What if someone needs to take YOUR call? are you sure you arent militarymd?

 

[coprolalia]

you're pretty harsh. Whats an extra call or two if you are getting paid for it. What if someone needs to take YOUR call? are you sure you arent militarymd?

 

[coprolalia]

Okay, pestanas. Listen here. I'm going to tell you how it is.

First off, don't worry about the gas or the lifting of people. We give anesthesia to pregnant women all the time with no ill-effects to the fetus (never been proven to hurt). More importantly, there's not enough "ambient" gas around to hurt anyone, despite what some stupid article in Men's Health a couple of years ago would have you believe. And, lifting... come on! You're at the head of the bed. There are rollers. You're not lifting anything heavier than some 98lb-soaking-wet wuss couldn't handle (and there are a lot of them in medicine).

Worry about the xray exposure. What a lot of people don't realize going into anesthesiology is that you are around a lot - a lot - of fluoro. This is what is, to me, most worrisome. It's hard being in the ortho room when you're pregnant. You can wear as much lead as a post-WWII fallout shelter, you're still gonna have that little itch in the back of your mind... "Am I covered?"

Next point:

I'm in a midsize program. I will tell you right now (and I'm not trying to channel MilitaryMD) that women who get pregnant in residency fall into three categories: (1) those who understand that they are burdening their colleagues, (2) those who don't understand they are burdening their colleagues, and (3) those who don't care - it's all about them.

The first set is apologetic, still takes call late into their pregnancy, lets everyone know they will make-up missed call when they get back, doesn't expect special treatment, and generally knows that her job/career is not just about her.

The second group... well, let's just say that they are basically clueless. They haven't even considered the impact that their pregnancy may have on other people.

The last group - which is the one I think myself and MilitaryMD agree upon - are the "I'm gonna have it all, f*ck anyone who tells me I can't" types. They take excessive time off. Anytime their other kid has the sniffles, they're running home to "take care of him" despite the fact that they have both a European nanny AND a the kid is in hospital-funded daycare. They don't have just one kid during residency, they get pregnant twice. They take the full 12 weeks off (and will threaten a federal lawsuit citing the FMLA act and their right to have that time). And, when they finally do come back, they don't feel it is their burden or obligation to take any additional call or help out their colleagues after making them "step up" to cover things when they were gone. And, if you suggest this, you are an insensitive, uncaring woman-hating man who can't possibly understand how important and meaningful it is to have a baby and to be around during those critical bonding and developmental milestones.

For the very fact that you asked, Pestanas, it sounds like you are likely the first type. I hope so. The second type can be rehabilitated. The third type is a self-indulgent, self-centered Nazi who probably should've decided to stay at home and be a mommy instead of going to med school in the first place.

I've had the pleasure of encountering all three types in residency (including one, believe it or not, male who tried to pull the "Type 3" **** with his wife's second pregnancy).

Be the first type, if you want to get pregnant, and things will go fine. If you are Type 2 or Type 3, people in your program will hate you. And, professionally, this is a very small world... and people have very long memories.

-copro

 

[polkadotcap]

Taking 6 months off for a baby is egregious. As I mentioned earlier, one of our residents was only out for 3-4 weeks postpartum, and worked up to the day of her delivery. I don't think everyone has the willpower to do that, but she did not want to become off-cycle, and did not want to stir ill-will with the rest of us by being out for that long.

Yes, the original question was re: taking that amount of time off AFTER residency, not during. I think I understand that not only is taking 6 months off during residency probably not even possible, it would be leaving a very noticable absence that would be, to say it euphemistically, less than professional 🙂

It sounds as though the opinion of some on this forum is that female physicians should pretty much suck it up and forget parenting- or leave it entirely to the "European nanny". The questions asked on this forum are asked by people who clearly care enough to ask with the hope of finding out, from anonymous "colleagues", how best to AVOID burdening others with our personal plans for family.

So, if residency is a bad time, and while you are an attending is a bad time, I suppose the answer is to just not have children. Or maybe I should have just not gone to medical school to begin with. Come on, guys, I am by no means the "gotta have it all and screw everyone who gets in my way" type, but can we please get some logical insight that doesn't involve telling us we're crazy for wanting to have a baby before we need IVF to do it?????

 

[coprolalia]

Yes, the original question was re: taking that amount of time off AFTER residency, not during. I think I understand that not only is taking 6 months off during residency probably not even possible, it would be leaving a very noticable absence that would be, to say it euphemistically, less than professional 🙂

It sounds as though the opinion of some on this forum is that female physicians should pretty much suck it up and forget parenting- or leave it entirely to the "European nanny". The questions asked on this forum are asked by people who clearly care enough to ask with the hope of finding out, from anonymous "colleagues", how best to AVOID burdening others with our personal plans for family.

So, if residency is a bad time, and while you are an attending is a bad time, I suppose the answer is to just not have children. Or maybe I should have just not gone to medical school to begin with. Come on, guys, I am by no means the "gotta have it all and screw everyone who gets in my way" type, but can we please get some logical insight that doesn't involve telling us we're crazy for wanting to have a baby before we need IVF to do it?????

Definite Type 3 here. Where's MilitaryMD when you need him?

-copro

 

[polkadotcap]

Definite Type 3 here. Where's MilitaryMD when you need him?

-copro

It really is impossible to put someone into your categories without even knowing them. I hardly even post here. If you look back, my plan is not even to have a baby while I am practicing! I don't want to even have to take the 3 weeks of FMLA during residency! So I'm sorry, but you're very wrong about me. I am serioulsy looking for helpful feedback here, but I'm realizing I won't get it without being pigeonholed.

 

[coprolalia]

It really is impossible to put someone into your categories without even knowing them. I hardly even post here. If you look back, my plan is not even to have a baby while I am practicing! I don't want to even have to take the 3 weeks of FMLA during residency! So I'm sorry, but you're very wrong about me. I am serioulsy looking for helpful feedback here, but I'm realizing I won't get it without being pigeonholed.

Welcome to the field of medicine. This is what we do for a living.

(You want advice? Strive to be a Type 1. It's just that simple.)

-copro

 

[coprolalia]

Okay... How to be a "Type 1":

(1) Plan your pregnancy. For example, try to time having your baby during a research block where you're not already in the call pool (etc.).

(2) Discuss it with your program. Hey, this isn't just about "you" in residency. People have a right to know. When you are past the "magic 12 weeks" inform everyone when your expected confinement date is, and start working on plans to get you "in and out" as quickly as possible.

(3) Work hard. Continue to meet your obligations to your clinical program and your colleagues. Don't skip meetings, grand rounds, lectures, etc. because you are pregnant. Show up early, despite morning sickness, and continue to work. (We had a resident with hyperemesis gravidarum who came to work with a SQ Zofran pump.)

(4) Work to the end. That's right, stay on the call schedule until you're just about ready to blow. Chances are, you're gonna have the baby in the hospital you're working in. So, it's not like you're at risk. One other resident, literally, worked up to the point that she had her baby. She wasn't "feeling well", stayed to the end of her shift, went home, came back and was admitted - she had her baby at 2:00 AM that morning.

(5) Take minimal time off. Part of your planning should be to figure out a way to take as little time off as possible after the baby is born. The FMLA gives you 12 weeks. You should, at most, take 6. Six is plenty. Remember, the more time you take the farther behind you're going to get in your program.

(6) Plan, plan, plan. You should think about all contingencies that could happen... preemie, early sickness, etc. and have a plan in place to deal with them. This may include dropping out of the program altogether, and you should inform your PD at the earliest possible time if you have a problem pregnancy. Likewise, you should plan for after the baby is born... you have in-laws close by? Do you need a nanny to help out? Is your husband or S.O. able to take time off or work at home?

(7) Make up when you get back. When you come back from your maternity leave, you should tell your colleagues that you are prepared to take extra call to cover the time you missed (if you did) when you were out. This may only be an extra day or two during a month... maybe even farther in the academic year... but this gesture alone will save you a lot of grief. Likewise, get back into the swing of things like you hadn't missed a beat. If you follow (6) to the letter, this won't be a problem (and where I've seen some new moms fall down).

Just remember, your actions of having a baby during residency, more than in PP where you can select a job that will cater to a wanna-be mom, will impact a lot of people. Most of the women I have worked with who've had babies during residency have been Type 1's. A couple of have been Type 2's. One female has been a Type 3, and ironically (or maybe not-so-much) she stayed on as faculty at our institution. And, we had (as I mentioned already) one dude who tried to be a Type 3, and - let me tell you - he got punished hard for it. You see, there are a lot of men in our program who's wives are having babies... and they still show up for work, take call, etc. At best, I think they've taken a week off after the baby was born to help out at home. Then, it's right back to the grind.

So, bottom line, if you want equal respect and equal stature, don't expect there to be a double-standard. Or, if you want to have your cake and eat it to, don't be expected to be treated the same. Life is full of difficult choices. We all have to make them. You're just not going to get everything you want. Life is not a fairy tale, despite what you've been brainwashed into believing watching Cinderella and Snow White and every other Disney movie since you were a little girl.

-copro

 

[Planktonmd]

Ladies and gentlemen, this was one more of copro's excellent posts.
These excellent posts are few and sporadic but when they occur they almost make you forget his previous nonsense and relentlessly annoying confabulation.
Good job Copro 👍

 

[Noyac]

Unless I misunderstood the poster, I think she was referring to having the baby immediately after residency, basically between residency and a job. Then getting a job when she was ready to go back to work. I don't see that this would impact any negatively unless the worry was that she would soon do this again and leave the group in a pinch to cover her absence.

This would be ideal.

My first impression was that she wanted to take 6 months off immediately after joining a group. This would "absolutely" be looked down upon, IMHO.

 

[polkadotcap]

Wow, yeah, sign the contract and take immediate maternity leave- seems pretty obviously to be a bad career move 🙂

Do you think 6 months immediately post residency would be detrimental to maintaining clinical skills or preparing for boards? Still early on in training here so not too sharp on the fine details of life immediately after residency. Thanks for any insight. Again, trying to plan to minimize impact on myself, my future colleagues, and my future family.

 

[coprolalia]

Ladies and gentlemen, this was one more of copro's excellent posts.
These excellent posts are few and sporadic but when they occur they almost make you forget his previous nonsense and relentlessly annoying confabulation.
Good job Copro 👍

Back-handed compliment aside, do you care to point out one instance where I ever "confabulated"(in reference to, I assume, the third definition)? In the meantime, if you're going to try to poison the well, at least make an attempt to back it up with irrefutable references to clear examples of the purported behavior.

Or, maybe a better example of how to denigrate someone could be just to say something like, "Planktonmd, you're a know-it-all, arrogant, self-righteous jerk and should be wholly and completely ignored." In that way, you don't actually have to back up something that is self-evident.

-copro

 

[Planktonmd]

Back-handed compliment aside, do you care to point out one instance where I ever "confabulated"(in reference to, I assume, the third definition)? In the meantime, if you're going to try to poison the well, at least make an attempt to back it up with irrefutable references to clear examples of the purported behavior.

Or, maybe a better example of how to denigrate someone could be just to say something like, "Planktonmd, you're a know-it-all, arrogant, self-righteous jerk and should be wholly and completely ignored." In that way, you don't actually have to back up something that is self-evident.

-copro

No, the confabulation part was in reference to your usual endless whining, not specific to this thread.
This thread is one of the exceptional ones that you sometimes surprise us with.
Hey, don't be so sensitive 😀

 

[ketafol]

Had this one resident who got pregnant early during CA1 year. Took 3 months off. When she came back, did not offer to make up any extra call. What really irked me was the fact that she demanded special treatment, and that she be allowed to take extra breaks during the day to pump breast milk. Administration said no, and that she would have to use her regularly allotted breaks during the day to pump her milk. She pissed and moaned, but finally conceded. After a few days, she started calling residents that she knew were available and out of a room to give her a break so she could go pump. Of course she had the nerve to pump in our only available call room, so that was apparently off limits to us during the day. I remember walking in one day, and all her pumping **** was all over the room. All I wanted to do was lay down! She even would put her milk in our resident refrigerator. Annoying as all hell too.

 

[dragonfly99]

I'm not an anesthesiologist, I'm an internist. However, I think that taking 6 months off immediately after residency should not harm your job prospects at all, and I don't see how you'd lose any significant skills. People commonly do entire research years with little or no call, so 6 months is nothing.

I have heard that CA-2 is the toughest year of anesthesia residency, so you might want to keep that in mind. Also, having been through internship, I think that internship in general is a bad time to try to have a baby...it also might keep you from starting anesthesia on time (if you have to make up missed intern months).

Honestly, if you are are in a bigger program, it is definitely less of a burden having someone out/gone than in a smaller program. It just affects the call schedule a lot less if there are more people.

I think some of the biggest issues come up after the baby is born, so that you need a plan of who is going to be able to take the baby to doctor appointments, etc. So it would be good if your husband has a flexible job, and/or you have inlaws in the same town, or you have a really good babysitter or nanny.

 

[Planktonmd]

I'm not an anesthesiologist, I'm an internist. However, I think that taking 6 months off immediately after residency should not harm your job prospects at all, and I don't see how you'd lose any significant skills. People commonly do entire research years with little or no call, so 6 months is nothing.

Anesthesiology is a specialty that depends tremendously on some manual skills that could degrade very quickly without practice.

 

[proman]

I don't see what the big deal is. With half our residents being women, we have a lot of pregnancies. The only issue is fluoro (and having to disclose to a few attendings early). Our attendings and residents have been great about getting people out for the 10 minutes it takes to pump. We have more than 1 call room so that's not an issue (the women could go to a locker room). The skill atrophy is a good reason to have babies during residency, so that if she wants to take 6 months off, there's the opportunity to delay graduation and regain proficiency. As for storing the milk in the fridge who really cares? There's a lot nastier stuff in our fridges that people eat. Just ask her to put in a bag if it really bothers you to see it.

Bottom line: we shouldn't force female residents to choose between optimal parenting and residency. Our specialty in particular is capable of accomplishing both.

 

[Noyac]

Anesthesiology is a specialty that depends tremendously on some manual skills that could degrade very quickly without practice.

True, we do have a lot of "monkey skills" (Someone has got to pick up where Mil left off). Personally, I like to call them "money" skills.

But if your (no one in particular) skills are going to diminish or deteriorate that rapidly then you may have other issues. I agree that the comfort level may drop some but it should return very rapidly. 6 months should not impact your ability to perform a good anesthetic that much.

 

[nutmegs]

Ladies and gentlemen, this was one more of copro's excellent posts.
These excellent posts are few and sporadic but when they occur they almost make you forget his previous nonsense and relentlessly annoying confabulation.
Good job Copro 👍

As a woman who doesn't have or want children ("Type 0") but actually respects women who do, I found it (especially the end) pretty much as obnoxious as every other post of his. Cinderella? Cut us a ****ing break.

 

[Noyac]

As a woman who doesn't have or want children ("Type 0") but actually respects women who do, I found it (especially the end) pretty much as obnoxious as every other post of his. Cinderella? Cut us a ****ing break.

What exactly did you find obnoxious?

 

[nutmegs]

What exactly did you find obnoxious?

How condescending it was. "Be a reasonable person and a hard worker" suffices for 99% of situations. I did really enjoy when he had the cojones to call OTHER people self-centered, though. 🙂

 

[Buckeye Anes]

How condescending it was. "Be a reasonable person and a hard worker" suffices for 99% of situations. I did really enjoy when he had the cojones to call OTHER people self-centered, though. 🙂

Sorry have to agree with corpro on this one. I too have experienced all three types in my program and the sad part is you do sometimes have to spell it out for people.

 

[Noyac]

We don't necessarily have to be talking about the females here that are having babies. It can be anyone that tries to get out of some work for one reason or another. As someone said, it can even be a new dad trying to take an extended leave.

What we all are probably going to agree on or not, is that one person choosing to do something that will negatively impact others is not going to be well received unless there are some amends made. The law doesn't call for this, the Family Leave Act, but it is the right thing to do. We all know people that will take every opportunity to push the envelope or take advantage of the system. Those people are not team players much less good partners. I can definitely say that in my group we have all team players and the group dynamics is one of the best I have been involved in. We had one person that wanted all the holidays off to be with his family and would put in for vacation at this time every year. It made it very difficult to schedule and people started to feel cheated. We all have families, why is one more important than the other? That person had to move on. I have been in group were a person wanted to get off at 3pm everyday to pick the kids up at school, wanted time to take them to the dentist (do this on your postcall day like the rest of us), etc. This is not usually conducive to a good group plan unless these things are spelled out in detail in the contract. Larger groups are probably better able to handle this. Who wants to work late everyday so your partner can go pick up the kids at school and take them for ice cream? I also had partners with special needs kids who worked just as hard as every other partner. Those are team players. We all have our crutches to bear. Some worse than others and for those, arrangements can be made usually. But don't expect everyone else to pick up the slack because you want something personal for yourself.

I think this OP is going about this the right way. 6 months b/4 starting a new job shows that she is considering her new partners/associates and not wanting to burden them. The tricky part is obviously planning the pregnancy and delivery to occur at that time. Probably why she said 6 months and not 1 month. I would think 1 month off after having a child is more than enough but I'm not an expert there. I'm sure many will disagree, just don't call me for a job.

 

[geauxg8rs]

I am glad that we listed the different types of prego residents.

I remember being the CA-3 team leader on nights (who functions like a junior attending). So I had multiple weeks with this resident who was like 8+ months pregnant. I made sure she was not in the x ray cases and tried to give her frequent breaks. I would offer breaks and she would keep saying she was fine. Then I go to the other (males) residents rooms and they were always ready for a break (or proactively page me for a break.

I gained a lot of respect for her. She never complained and always did a good job. She had her time off arranged far in advance and in my eyes was a heckuva lot less lazy than other residents.

Bottom line is that there is not going to be a good time to have a baby. Residency will impact your fellow residents and in the "real world" you will be impacting your colleagues and potential partners.

I know a resident who got pregnant and said that she called her spouse, then mom and dad, then her PD.

 

[FuzzyBK]

If you haven't already found it, the OP should check out www.mommd.com

 

[jennyboo]

OK..... so I'm starting Anesthesia residency in a few months.....and my clock is ticking.... Time to start working on the big family I've always dreamed of. I know being pregnant in any residency is hard, however, I've heard that Anesthesia is particularly tricky because of gas exposure. Has anyone been through this or had to deal with other fellow residents who went through this?? How much of a strain would it put on the rest of my program?? And at what point should I tell them? I have about 7-8 other residents in my CA-1 year mostly guys.....

Any insight would be helpful...Thanks

This is a somewhat unpleasant discussion which is, I think, quite insightful. It's neither encouraging nor positive toward female residents or anesthesiologists interested in having families. Most of the "input" is -- sad to say -- from the guys and assumes that females have the same family responsibilities as males. Which is not true -- we all have the same responsibilities on the job but when it comes to family, we don't. We often have *more* obligations when we have families than men with otherwise similar family structures. And as you can see from the discussion above, many people at work won't be sympathetic.

I'm in a large residency (roughly 80 residents in all three years, plus some 150 attendings and a bunch of CRNAs as well). I think it's very telling that although our M/F ratio is roughly 50/50, in my year a good number of male residents have children; none of the female residents do. Last year we had a female resident put on probation for "underperforming" right after she had her first baby, and no, she didn't have an easy time figuring out when to pump either. I don't know whether she truly underperformed or not, but as far as I knew she was probably a perfectly decent clinician.We certainly do have female residents who have babies. They do take some time off (I don't know how long) and our department is large enough that we do not notice any difference in workload.

You've gotten a lot of advice on everything from how not to offend co-workers to how much time off you need. Some of it is even from men (!) who are in fact single and/or don't have children. Seriously, if I have no idea how much time is needed, having never had a baby myself, how the hell would a single guy in his late 20s know? And yet the advice pours forth.

It's clear there is no good time, although some times are apparently slightly better than others. I would suggest simply asking people how they managed it. For all that it's hard for female residents to have children, at my program we still have a large wealth of other residents and attendings who've been there and who, unlike what you see here, aren't that unsympathetic and can in fact offer some wisdom.