Best time for female med students to have children?

[tbear]

I know there is no "correct" answer to this question. But as a female soon-to-be med student, I have some concerns regarding the plans I have for my personal life. I love children and plan to have a family of my own some day. When is the best time to have children when you're a med student?

[Nietzschean Superman]

Jesus Christ. Relax. It's just med school, so have your kid when you're ready. But if you want a number, here it is : before your 40s if you don't want your kid to have Down's.

[telomerase]

I don't want children and don't understand people who do...and i do realize that I am weird like that:) but anyhow, have you considered freezing your eggs? That way you can have healthy babies whenever you are ready....hopefully not too late though as that may negatively affect your children's quality of life:) freezing eggs is probably expensive though:)

[JTJ]

I've thought about this question a lot too, and have come across a few blogs of MDs / med students / MD-PhDs who are mothers (sorry, I didn't bookmark them, but they should be easy enough to find-one of them even wrote a book about it). The short synopsis is that it's debatable when the best time is, and that there will never be a time when it feels like a natural and 'perfect' time to have kids while you are still training.

 

There is a contingent that feels residency is way more demanding than medical school and that one should avoid becoming a mother during this time. They say you actually have more time during med school and that once you're in, the admin staff/profs/etc. all want to help you succeed and are pretty supportive. I remember some discussions of people wanting to avoid being pregnant during 1st year due to all the chemicals you're exposed to in anatomy labs and that maybe aiming for the summer after 2nd year as the best time (if you can time it that well ). Then there's another contingent that had kids during residency and made it work. I think the bottom line is, whenever you have them, it will be tough but it'll work out. Be wary in your searches though - as with all types of discussions involving personal choices and parenting, things can get quite judgmental and heated really quickly!

 

Personally, if I was a traditional med student starting med school at 21-22 though, I'd totally hang back and sit tight until I was done med school and even the first few years of residency (depending on how long yours is of course).

[Intrepid86]

But if you want a number, here it is : before your 40s if you don't want your kid to have Down's.

 

Ideally before age 30, and definitely before 35 if possible. Anything after that is considered advanced maternal age.

[future_doc]

During residency, paid leave, not before and not after.

[feversugar]

During residency, paid leave, not before and not after.

 

This is what I've been told by multiple doctors as well.

[NutritionRunner]

During residency, paid leave, not before and not after.

 

If it works out, then great. I know several physicians who had children afterwards, when they were practicing. They've told me they don't regret their choice.

 

Of course, it is going to be different for everyone, and paid maternity leave is a very nice thing to have, but not absolutely critical, especially if the time is not right for the woman and her partner (if she has one).

[mt229431]

During residency, paid leave, not before and not after.

 

I've also heard this repeatedly.

[feversugar]

Yeah, I'm assuming if you have an established practice with regular patients coming in just to see YOU, it's more difficult to take the time off. There would be less ties as a resident.

[future_doc]

Exactly, you aviod dislocating your practice at a heavy cost, and you are older Two children during residency is what the doctor has ordered. That is the ideal time.

[JTJ]

This would be tied to your province of residency. On the CaRMs application site, there is a chart stipulating what provinces offer in terms of mat/parental leave. From the looks of it, it appears to be a max number of weeks for the entire residency (?) which you may split up however you choose.

http://www.carms.ca/eng/r1_program_salaries_e.shtml

 

Just curious, what if you choose a family medicine residency? Is it frowned upon for instance, to take up to 1 yr mat leave within a 2 year residency? I know legally they can't discriminate against you or forbid you from taking it, but I'm curious about the work culture and attitudes... I feel like taking full parental leave would be more accepted for longer residencies?

[rmorelan]

This would be tied to your province of residency. On the CaRMs application site, there is a chart stipulating what provinces offer in terms of mat/parental leave. From the looks of it, it appears to be a max number of weeks for the entire residency (?) which you may split up however you choose.

http://www.carms.ca/eng/r1_program_salaries_e.shtml

 

Just curious, what if you choose a family medicine residency? Is it frowned upon for instance, to take up to 1 yr mat leave within a 2 year residency? I know legally they can't discriminate against you or forbid you from taking it, but I'm curious about the work culture and attitudes... I feel like taking full parental leave would be more accepted for longer residencies?

 

They don't seem to have any particular issue with it as I can tell. The issue with things like parental leave is the call schedule - now you are one resident down etc, and you cannot hire a replacement like you could do on a regular job That is a bit less of a problem with family medicine though.

 

The provincial residency organization fought to get all of these programs etc, I don't think you should feel bad for using them - residents work hard enough in other areas as it is.

 

Ha - even if they did have a bit of an issue (which I don't think they do) what would it really matter? I mean the residency is short, you are then usually going directly into practise at a location of choice......

[rmorelan]

During residency, paid leave, not before and not after.

 

that is what our school said as well - still other times work as well. I mean the gap between preclerkship and clerkship is possible. One other advantage of doing it during residency is you actually have the residency of choice likely then. Jumping through the hoops required to match in something more competitive sounds harder if you have additional parental responsibilities.

 

Of course for the most part it all seems to work out regardless on when We have several people in our class have children during medical school.

[ellorie]

I can't imagine wanting to take longer to finish residency and then be "out of step" with the people I started training with.

 

I intend to wait until my career is established - but plans change, I guess. I can see myself waiting until I am 34 or 35. I probably wouldn't have time to have more than two children at that point, but I want a family, not a zoo

[rmorelan]

Yeah, I'm assuming if you have an established practice with regular patients coming in just to see YOU, it's more difficult to take the time off. There would be less ties as a resident.

 

Side note - there are a lot of locums out there that can handle that case. I mean parental leave has a system in effect for docs as well.

[Renin]

During residency, paid leave, not before and not after.

 

Yup. This.

[future_doc]

that is what our school said as well - still other times work as well. I mean the gap between preclerkship and clerkship is possible. One other advantage of doing it during residency is you actually have the residency of choice likely then. Jumping through the hoops required to match in something more competitive sounds harder if you have additional parental responsibilities.

 

Of course for the most part it all seems to work out regardless on when We have several people in our class have children during medical school.

 

During gap between preclerkship & clerkship, there is no paid leave. And as you say, there are decided advantages of doing it during residency. Waiting until in practice carries financial and practical disadvantages, although it can work. And younger is better!

[mddreamer]

What if you are employed by a hospital rather than having your own practice?

 

I would have thought that salaried hospital physicians would still have paid mat leave available.

[NutritionRunner]

When my family doctor in Ottawa took a year off for maternity leave, she had no problem finding a young doctor, who had just finished her family medicine residency, to take over for that year. Now maybe it would be different in smaller or larger cities, but in Ottawa it worked out just fine for her (and for the young doctor who filled in for the year).

[future_doc]

^ Luck of the draw but I wouldn't count on that happening.

 

Indeed, an employee doctor would have options, but I would expect to be in my own independent, private practice.

[lokiki]

I've also heard to do it during residency.

 

Also, OP, there is a forum at mommd where you will find lots of like-minded people!

 

Regarding freezing your eggs, it's about $5000 at the moment and there is a surgery involved. Also, you have to be monitored daily for about a week at whichever clinic you go with, and the drugs make you very sleepy. It would be difficult, but possible, to be in school for those 2 weeks. It's just not somehthing to be taken lightly, that's all.

[tbear]

Thanks for the thoughts so far, everyone! Seems like most women do it during residency but it's definitely good to know I have options.

[rmorelan]

^ Luck of the draw but I wouldn't count on that happening.

 

Indeed, an employee doctor would have options, but I would expect to be in my own independent, private practice.

 

Sure but it isn't uncommon for people to spend a year in another practise, learning the full and in and outs of managing one, earning the cash to set up one simply, and then going from there. There are locums all over the place it seems

[rmorelan]

Thanks for the thoughts so far, everyone! Seems like most women do it during residency but it's definitely good to know I have options.

 

Most do - although I am not sure that is by plan or simply there are more people settled down by that point