Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Reflections of a new mother in medicine

Ishani Ganguli, MD
Physician
January 14, 2014
38 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Months before my life was upended, a doctor friend tried to explain my forthcoming role in terms I’d understand. “Imagine being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “You’re in charge of a single patient, but she is needy as hell.”

Medical training prepared me for motherhood in some ways (the assortment of facts blurrily retained from my pediatrics rotation in medical school; the skill, or delusion, of combating the inertia of sleep), but not at all in most others. And now, after two months devoted to tummy time and 5am staring contests with my sweet, saucer-eyed baby girl, I join the ranks of countless men and women attempting the uneasy balancing act of work and parenthood. I’m doing so at a time when the terms of re-entry for new mothers into medicine seem particularly disputed.

Internal medicine is a fast-evolving field (since my daughter’s birth in late October, experts have decided to lower the bar to treat high cholesterol and raise it for high blood pressure, so I have some catching up to do. But I’ve quickly realized how essential maternity leave has been in allowing me to heal and to connect with my daughter. It is incredible, and a disservice to women as much as to men, that we do not offer fathers this right to the same extent.

Maternity leave has also confirmed for me what I already guessed: as much as I enjoy being a mother, I am my best self when I am also taking care of patients. I suspect that the vulnerabilities inherent in being a parent may make me a more empathic doctor, and I hope that one day my passion for my work might inspire my daughter to pursue something she loves.

For me, returning to work is both a personal and a practical decision (crippling debt and all). Some have even argued that, as a doctor, it is the only socially responsible one. In 2011, anesthesiologist and mother Karen Sibert contested in the New York Times that the women who choose to leave medicine for parenthood are to blame for our shortage of doctors (my reaction here). Recently, J. Meirion Thomas, a “leading” male surgeon and “feminist” in the United Kingdom (parenting status: unknown) decided that female doctors are stealing from taxpayers and crippling the National Health Service because they are more likely to work part-time after starting families.

The particular absurdities of his argument aside, such claims completely miss the point that our workforce shortages are an institutional failure, not because women finally represent a proportionate share of doctors but because we haven’t made the best use of our doctors to begin with. If fewer women than men are staying in medicine, which is indisputably a bad thing, then we ought to figure out how to accommodate mothers in the profession — through equal pay and accessible childcare — and to do away with the pervasive and anachronistic expectation that women shoulder the bulk of responsibility for raising children.

In the meantime, my pager just went off: a certain someone needs a diaper change and my husband won this game of rock-paper-scissors.

Ishani Ganguli is a journalist and an internal medicine-primary care resident who blogs at The Boston Globe’s Short White Coat, where this article originally appeared. 

Prev

Not knowing why takes away our power to prevent

January 13, 2014 Kevin 2
…
Next

Why Obamacare isn't at risk for a death spiral anytime soon

January 14, 2014 Kevin 15
…

Tagged as: Pediatrics, Residency

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Not knowing why takes away our power to prevent
Next Post >
Why Obamacare isn't at risk for a death spiral anytime soon

More by Ishani Ganguli, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The request to leave AMA is a signal for an honest conversation

    Ishani Ganguli, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Shared decision making has value beyond its literal practice

    Ishani Ganguli, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The promise and peril of sharing costs with patients

    Ishani Ganguli, MD

More in Physician

  • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Discover the power of patience

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Physician return-to-work policies

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • How my patients’ Zoom backgrounds made me a better doctor

    Joseph Barrera, MD
  • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

    Anonymous
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Novavax's Updated COVID Shot Authorized by FDA
  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • FDA Advisors to Consider DFMO Maintenance for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Kids
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D

Meeting Coverage

  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D
  • Low Relapse Rates With Twice-Yearly Schizophrenia Treatment
  • Menopause Can Negatively Affect Women's Careers
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Reflections of a new mother in medicine
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...