SA2 - Pregnancy and Motherhood During Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency

Abstract: Pregnancy and Motherhood during oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) Residency

Background
While 19% of surgeons in the United States are women, they constitute only 8% of the over 9000 active members of American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), including residents1. One significant deterrent for women considering a career in OMS is the prevailing belief that the demanding training process is incompatible with the desire to start or raise a family.

Objective
The study aims to investigate the challenges and obstacles that childbearing OMS residents encounter during residency training and to understand the available support systems.

Methods and materials
A self-administered questionnaire was electronically distributed between January and February 2024 to OMS surgeons and residents through program directors nationwide or targeted social media. Program directors were contacted by email, where email addresses were obtained from the AAOMS website2.

Methods of data analysis
Participants were included if they had pregnancy or motherhood experiences during an OMS residency program credited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and if they completed more than 80% of the survey questions. As not all aspects of the questions were applied to every participant, the sample size of each question may be slightly different. Out of ninety-four responses received, sixty were included. The collected data was assessed qualitatively and descriptively. Questions focused on pregnancy, maternity leave, lactation, childcare, and job satisfaction.

Results
The mean maternal age at first birth is 32.6 (N=57), with 54.4% delaying having children due to training. 82.6% of forty-six women reported no institutional support for IVF treatment, with 68% (30/44) without health insurance covering IVF treatment. 83% of sixty women had male program directors. 84.8% of the thirty-three women worked an unmodified work schedule until birth, with 67.3% (33/49) concerned their work hours compromised their health during pregnancy. Despite most women working an unmodified work schedule, 81.3% (39/48) felt a negative stigma about being pregnant as a resident. 62.5% of forty-eight women received six weeks or less maternity leave, with a mean of 10.3 weeks of leave considered sufficient. Breastfeeding was important to 90% (45/50), but 48.5% stopped earlier than they wished because it was too difficult to balance the time commitment of pumping with work duties. 88% of fifty women reported no institutional support for childcare, and 84% (37/44) believe they would have been able to focus on job duties better if childcare support were provided. While 45.2% of forty-two women desired greater mentorship regarding motherhood and pregnancy as a surgeon, only 28.3% (13/46) would caution female dental students against choosing OMS because of the difficulties of balancing pregnancy and motherhood during training. Lastly, 63.6% of forty-four women did not regret the family sacrifices for their surgical residency training.

Outcome data
By sharing these results with participants, OMS surgeons can better counsel women considering an OMS career.

Conclusion
Pregnancy and motherhood during OMS training impact the mother, child, and workplace. Understanding challenging factors will improve the quality of life and ensure a support system for talented female surgeons during training. With this goal in mind, this study has asked questions and analyzed the responses to determine the most important factors. Further researching these factors, implementing the findings, and making the studies available will help change the belief that OMS training is incompatible with family life for women and help recruit more talented women by showing the career satisfaction levels achieved by women who simultaneously pursued both OMS training and pregnancy and motherhood.

Reference
1. Drew, S. “Women as Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: Past, Present and Future.” ACOMS, July 2018
https://www.acoms.org/news/407850/Presidents-Editorial.htm.
2. OMS Residency Training Programs 2024. AAOMS, 2024
https://www.aaoms.org/docs/education_research/edu_training/aaomresidency_omsprogram.pdf