Medical Careers and Motherhood: A Cross-Sectional Study of Hispanic Female Physicians.

Background: One factor many women consider when choosing a medical specialty is the plan to have children and the compatibility of their chosen specialty with motherhood.

Objective: We surveyed Hispanic female physicians who are mothers to collect demographic information, specialty choice, childbearing, and professional and personal life characteristics, along with respondents' suggestions for female physicians who want to start a family, and how hospitals and medical institutions could enhance their support of female medical staff members with children.

Methods: The questionnaire was fielded on an online forum for Hispanic female physicians who are mothers. We summarized data by frequency and percentages, and means and standard deviations.

Results: Common medical specialties of respondents included pediatrics, family medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology, and 19% did not report a medical specialty. Most respondents were married (72%), had 1 or 2 children (89%), and worked at a public hospital 5 days a week (51%). Forty-four percent reported they slept 6 or more hours a night. Differences among specialties included dermatologists, radiologists, and gynecologists reporting working more than other specialties (6 to 7 days a week), psychiatrists reporting greater use of psychiatric medications, and anesthesiologists reporting lower rates of marriage. Female surgeons and emergency medicine physicians reported the highest consumption of alcohol.

Conclusions: The results offer initial insights into how medical specialty choice may affect female physicians' work-life balance and can be used to provide guidance to female learners who plan to have a family.