title: Pregnancy among residents enrolled in general surgery: a nationwide survey of attitudes and experiences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medical student interest in general surgery has declined, and the lack of adequate accommodation for pregnancy and parenting during residency training may be a deterrent. We explored resident and program director experiences with these issues in general surgery programs across Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a web-based tool, residents and program directors from 16 Canadian general surgery programs were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward and experiences with pregnancy during residency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred seventy-six of 600 residents and 8 of 16 program directors completed the survey (30% and 50% response rate, respectively). Multiple issues pertaining to pregnancy during surgical residency were reported including the lack of adequate policies for maternity/parenting, the major obstacles to breast-feeding, and the increased workload for fellow resident colleagues. All program directors reported the lack of a program-specific maternity/parenting policy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  General surgery programs lack program-specific maternity/parenting policies. Several issues have been highlighted in this study emphasizing the importance of creating and implementing such a policy.
authors.affiliation: University of British Columbia, Division of General Surgery, Room 3100, 910 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4E3, Canada.
authors.forename: Shaila J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Merchant
authors.forename: S Morad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hameed
authors.forename: Adrienne L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Melck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002170:Canada; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D016134:Organizational Policy; D016524:Parental Leave; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload