Dr. Tiffany Glazer, Associate Professor in the Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, recently published an evidence-based analysis titled “Providing a Safe Pregnancy Experience for Surgeons: A Review” in JAMA Surgery. This publication examines the increased obstetric complications that pregnant surgeons face and provides guidelines to protect pregnant surgeons.
“Our goal was to collate all available data regarding the risks that pregnant surgeons face at work and create an evidence-based guideline for protecting them,” Dr. Glazer said. “We felt that backing our recommendations up with as much data as is available would help with universal acceptance and application. With such guidelines in place, pregnant surgeons do not have to struggle to find their balance between maintaining personal safety and continuing work responsibilities. A framework of protection for this population is essential for attracting talented students into surgery, retaining talented surgical trainees and faculty, and protecting surgeons and their unborn fetuses.”
Female surgeons experience unique challenges with childbearing, specifically when compared with both their male surgeon and their female non-surgeon colleagues. Dr. Glazer’s publication used evidence to create guidelines that can be systematically adopted and operationalized by institutions to reasonably accommodate pregnant surgeons and limit any burden on their colleagues, residency program, and hospital system.
“I am very proud to work for a department that prioritizes the health and safety of its surgeons,” Dr. Glazer said. “Most pregnant surgeons are unlikely to understand all the risks they face at work and to advocate for themselves. Trainees face even greater pressure given their vulnerability within the hierarchy of training programs.”
Overall, Dr. Glazer’s publication outlines clear, translatable, enforceable, and evidence-based guidelines surrounding perinatal care of surgeons.
“We certainly hope that the next step is a more universal understanding and adoption of these guidelines,” Dr. Glazer said. “Due to the culture of medicine, particularly surgery, most pregnant physicians do not advocate enough for themselves and a policy such as this is necessary to protect them. Although the policy was written with surgeons in mind, it can certainly be expanded to include any procedural or call-heavy specialty such as interventional radiology, cardiology, critical care, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, etc.”