Hidden Cost Of Pregnancy In Medical Training
As a women in medicine you have to see the whole picture not just the pregnancy. A lot of residency programs in the past wanted to know if you married to assess how many people will have to manage your workload if you got pregnant.
For those planning to not wait to let med school or residency determine the natural order of things. It would be advisable to plan out your childcare and pregnancy well ahead of time. Have you ever hear the saying "it takes a village to raise a child", this hold true specially in this career.
If you raise a child in med school, be prepared for your studies to suffer, if you are in the middle of your residency make sure you plan out childcare and time away for the pregnancy itself, remember other residents will be picking up the workload you will be absent for. Otherwise, be prepared with a good support system like having the grandparents around who would be helpful with the childcare.
Having a nanny in the US is expensive and you miss out on the most important years of your child's major milestone.
This is a very important choice for a lot of women entering the medicine track, every choice comes at a price. Sometimes it's hard to foresee the cost but in childrearing its a lot of planning and a balancing act you will have to undertake if you are going down this road. Experiences varies widely by specialty, and a lot would say that no time is good time, which means don't have kids. But it's not just about timing when to have a baby but it is about the planning surrounding raising your child between starting your practice and completing your medical education.
If you do manage to have a baby and hire a nanny it would be an expensive ordeal considering paying off your student debt. Keep in mind that residency hours are not your typical 9-5 job, which mean you will be working after hours and most daycare operate in a typical schedule leaving you no choice but to hire nanny or get help from family. Add to that when your kids grow up you need to drive them to their soccer practice and god forbid if they have a sick day of staying home.
Add the fellowship years also to complete the entire picture of raising kids.
For a lot of women this decision have them pulling their plug on their careers, because working a top income bracket paying close to 40% federal tax, 15% self employment tax. would just leave you wondering why you just work to give the feds all the hard earned income you bring in.
Compromising on the joys of motherhood or pursuing your dream are the two pulls plaguing women undertaking this career path. So whatever you choose, make sure you keep in mind the entire journey.