Pregnancy, Fertility Implications, and Parental Leave Policies: Where Does Urology Stand?

Abstract

Objective: To review the existing literature on the status of parenting in urology in the academic urology setting. The field of urology has an ever-growing proportion of women, both in training and in practice. Female residents spend most of their peak fertile years in training and female surgeons at any age experience increased pregnancy complication rates. There is a need to shed light on the unique needs of female urologists who want to have both: a fulfilling surgical career and becoming a parent.

Methods: A literature search was conducted on PubMed using combinations of the terms "pregnancy," "urology," "fertility," "infertility," "pregnancy complications," and "parental leave" with one author who reviewed and read the papers.

Results: Topics explored included timing of pregnancy, pregnancy complications, parental leave policies, returning to work and lactation policies, and implications of parenting in urology.

Conclusion: Progress has been made in the field of urology when it comes to creating spaces that allow for women to pursue both their career and family goals. There is still work that needs to be done to fully support the growing number of female urologists as both parents and physicians.