Call for change as punishing workloads blamed for higher doctor miscarriage rate

Female doctors are more likely to experience complications in pregnancy, and the reason why is a vital revelation for all women.

Dr Jasmina Kevric worked while pregnant with her daughter Sophi, who is now a year old.

Women are calling for more maternity-friendly workplaces after research revealed female doctors were more likely to miscarry and a shocking one-in-two suffer pregnancy complications.

The findings have highlighted how a workplace culture seen to discourage maternity leave in junior roles and working long hours can have serious impacts on health.

The Australian-first study, presented at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons annual scientific congress, found more than a third of female doctors had miscarried.

The rate in the general population is between 20 and 25 per cent.

The increase was thought to be linked to excessive workloads — with 75 per cent of medical mothers working more than eight hours a day in their third trimester — and falling pregnant later in life.

One in three pregnant surgeons worked more than 60 hours per week, while 30 per cent of surgical trainees worked more than 12 hours per day in their third trimester.

More than 60 per cent of the 1009 Australian and New Zealand doctors surveyed said they had delayed family planning for work.

The median age for female doctor’s first child was 32 — the age when fertility begins to decline.

Northern Health surgical registrar and study co-author Dr Jasmina Kevric told the Herald Sun the current system can work against women.

She said a bottleneck means it can be 10 years before doctors get into the surgical training program, which then takes five to six years to complete.

“If you take time off in your six months of training that’s more than six weeks, (your rotation) doesn’t count,” she said.

“So by the time they finish they’re roughly aged 36 or 37 and this is the time that the data shows the infertility rate starts climbing.”

She said long working hours also “increases the risks of neonatal complications” and surgeons can “stand and operate for six, seven hours” without a break.

The Victorian junior doctor of the year said there was a fear of falling behind male colleagues and pregnancy becoming a barrier to progression.

“There is the perception that it’s your choice that you’re pregnant, and you shouldn’t get any favours … but it’s also not understanding that there is a physiological change in a woman who is pregnant.”

She pointed to the US, where doctors start surgical training earlier and female medical graduates are counselled on egg freezing, for examples on how to address the issue.

Dr Kevric said she was inspired to do the study after she fell pregnant with her daughter Sophi, now aged 15 months, while she was a surgical trainee.

Her experience was positive, she said, with her work allowing her to work every second week in the later stages of pregnancy and she is calling for a widespread adoption of flexible training.

“It really did help me get through the pregnancy, as well as training” she said.

Originally published as Call for change as punishing workloads blamed for higher doctor miscarriage rate