How medical schools can better support students through pregnancy and parenthood

The purpose of medical school is to train people to practise medicine so that they can provide excellent care to patients. Yet the care and support for pregnant people and new parents in medical school is severely lacking in the United States. Medical students do not have the same protected maternity, paternity, and adoption rights as employees, nor do they always have access to the same accommodations. Medical schools should formalise their policies and resources so that students who become parents during medical school are given adequate support. This would also help to usher in a cultural shift that normalises conversations about pregnancy planning and parenthood during medical training.The average age of US matriculating medical students is 24.1 Many people training to become physicians delay having children until later in their careers because of the demanding hours and lack of time outside of training.2 But medical schools shouldn’t assume this…
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