Physician Moms and the Elusive Search for Childcare
Being a mother is hard. In general, moms take on unequal shares of household responsibilities, including childcare, with working mothers spending 50% more time each day on childcare than working fathers. Mothers also take on higher levels of stress, with one study reporting that working mothers with two children were 40% more stressed than the average adult. The pandemic has hit mothers particularly hard. Women have been doing an additional 30.3 hours of childcare per week, on average, since the pandemic hit. Even when both partners work outside of the home, women have taken on approximately 65.5% of the additional childcare.
Motherhood and Workplace Discrimination
Physician moms take on these same responsibilities but have unique challenges on top of them. While over 1/3 of working mothers have reported workplace discrimination related to pregnancy, breastfeeding, or maternity leave, this rate skyrockets among physician moms, with one survey reporting that 90% of physician moms faced discrimination for pregnancy or maternity leave. Physicians who experienced maternal discrimination were more likely to report symptoms of burnout.
However, not all physicians get the option of maternity leave. A 2019 study published on JAMA reports that only 50% of physicians got paid maternity leave. This causes some physicians to take significant pay and status cuts, return to work too early, or delay having children until they are out of residency. Physician moms who do take maternity leave have been shown to lose thousands of dollars in potential income, receive lower peer evaluation scores, and have increased on-call time before and after leave.
Physician Hours and Childcare
Physicians work long shifts, overnights, weekends, and may be on-call, which makes it difficult to find quality childcare. Over one-third of first-time physician mothers have reported difficulty obtaining childcare, with 25% saying they need additional support beyond standard childcare options. Finding quality childcare to fit physician’s demanding schedules can be difficult by itself, without even factoring in the cost of care. The average student debt among medical school graduates is $241,600, with the average resident salary coming in at around $60,000. Childcare is expensive, with infant and toddler care costing 18% and 13% of the national median income at minimum standard childcare centers. This percentage jumps to 32% and 25%, respectively, at higher-standard childcare centers. The national median income in 2018 was $84,079, significantly higher than a resident's salary.
Physician mothers often make sacrifices within their careers due to the lack of childcare options within the healthcare system. A 2019 survey found that 48% of physician mothers withdrew papers and 22% withdrew posters from national medical conferences due to a lack of childcare. The survey also found that 77% of moms do not attend as many conferences as they want specifically because they lack childcare.
Pandemic Childcare and Physicians
COVID-19 has impacted everyone and has left lasting effects on our daily lives and mental health. The stress of working on the frontlines during the pandemic has caused increased anxiety among physician moms. A survey found that 41% of physician moms surveyed scored above the cutoff point for moderate anxiety, with 18% scoring above the cutoff for severe anxiety. These physician moms worry about bringing the virus home, how to talk to their children about the virus, and keeping up with the additional childcare and household responsibilities as many schools went remote and childcare centers closed.
Gender Equity and Physician Mothers
The inequitable childcare responsibilities and lack of support from healthcare systems is causing women physicians to leave the medical field. One research study found that within six years of completing their residencies, 40% of women physicians went part-time or left medicine altogether. This is not acceptable, especially during the current physician shortage. However, there are steps that we can take to aide physician moms. Childcare resources can significantly mitigate stress and burnout for physician mothers. Healthcare organizations can provide on-site daycare that provides care off-hours and has options for sick children. Organizations can also provide subsidies for outside childcare to help offset the high costs required by the unique childcare demands.