Childbearing and Family Leave Policies for Resident Physicians at Top Training Institutions

Integrating career and family is challenging for physicians at all stages of professional development but especially during residency, which occurs during prime childbearing years and involves long, inflexible work hours. Parental leave policies can influence physician well-being and gender equity. A recent report found that the mean paid childbearing leave for faculty physicians at 12 top US medical schools was 8.6 weeks in 2016-2017, but corresponding institution-level policies for residents have not been reported.