title: Cardiovascular Medicine and Society: The Pregnant Cardiologist.
abstract: Women are a consistent minority in the field of cardiology, with concerns regarding balancing career and parenting responsibilities often cited as a contributing factor to this under-representation. To investigate the impact that a career in cardiology may have on the family planning decisions of female cardiologists, the Women in Cardiology section of the American College of Cardiology conducted a voluntary anonymous survey. The following perspective highlights lessons learned from the survey, and potential solutions to the issues surrounding maternity leave, radiation exposure during pregnancy, and breastfeeding accommodations raised by these data. Given that most female cardiologists are pregnant at some point during their careers, particularly during the vulnerable periods of training and early career, improving the experience of pregnancy and early parenthood for all cardiologists may secure the best possible candidates to the field of cardiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: Asarma1@partners.org.
authors.forename: Amy A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sarma
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Pasadena, California.
authors.forename: Chileshe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nkonde-Price
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Arizona-Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulati
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System/University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Claire S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Duvernoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Northwest Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Malissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D000072096:Cardiologists / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002309:Cardiology; D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D010822:Physicians, Women; D011247:Pregnancy; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: pregnancy; training; women in cardiology