Pregnancy and Motherhood Challenges during Postgraduate Training in Pakistan.

Abstract

In Pakistan, women have outnumbered men in medicine and many women now choose to start a family earlier in their careers. A 24-question survey was electronically distributed over social media. Female postgraduate trainees and consultants who had experienced pregnancy and motherhood during their training were included. Questions were asked about their experiences of pregnancy, news breaking, attitudes of colleagues and supervisors, maternity leaves, and lactational issues. A total of 320 responses were received; Internal Medicine (19.1%), Gynaecology and Obstetrics (15.0%), Surgery 46 (14.4%), and Pediatrics (11.9%) were major specialities. One hundred and nineteen (37.2%) respondents feared they would be considered 'uncommitted" if the news of their pregnancy broke. Breastfeeding was important to 77.5% mothers, but only 40% of the mothers could breastfeed, and 86.2% reported that lactation facilities were inadequate. 50% mothers thought to strongly reconsider their speciality. Postgraduate training programs in Pakistan should be tailored to address the needs of trainee mothers. Key Words: Motherhood, Postgraduate training, Lactation, Pregnancy.