Table 4.

Parental leave characteristics

Study	Parental leave offered	Parental leave taken
Clement et al. [6]	- 55% of residency programs reported parental leave benefits - Maternity leave ranged from 1 to 8 weeks - 11% of residency programs stated they provide paid leave
Hamilton et al. [11]		- 74% of respondents took < 8 weeks (mean = 7.8 weeks); 5% took > 12 weeks - 46% of respondents dissatisfied with duration of leave - Less maternity leave during training than during clinical practice (mean = 4 weeks during training versus 7 weeks during practice)
Goss et al. [9]	- Orthopaedic residents ranked “attitudes toward maternity leave” among the least important factors influencing their program selection
Mulcahey et al. [18]	- 23% of respondents stated their program had a formal maternity leave policy; 45.8% did not know whether a policy existed - 1% indicated that their program had a formal leave policy for adoptive parents or parents of children born via surrogacy - 6.3% indicated that their programs provided extended leave for complications related to pregnancy and childbirth	- Of 22 maternity leaves reported by 19 women who had children during training: 59.1% took 5 to 8 weeks of maternity leave, 40.9% took 0 to 4 weeks, and all took < 8 weeks
Nguyen et al. [20]	- Mean paid leave offered was 4.6 ± 4.2 weeks for the first child and 4.5 ± 4.6 weeks for the second child - No difference in leave time offered between trainees and practicing physicians	- Mean leave taken was 8.2 ± 7.4 weeks for the first child and 8.4 ± 6.3 weeks for the second child - Practicing surgeons took more leave than did residents (9.6 ± 8.5 weeks vs 6.3 ± 5.0 weeks; p < 0.001) - Mean cost of maternity leave was greater for staff surgeons than residents (USD 45,350.08 versus USD 153.85; p < 0.001)
Reid et al. [26]	- 49.9% of residents unsure whether their program had a formal parental leave policy; 19.1% noted that there was no formal parental leave policy - 31.1% reported a known formal leave policy; 43.4% of these residents described the policy as inadequate - 78.4% of PDs reported that their program had a policy - PDs reported a mean maximum allotted time of 3.9 weeks (95% CI 2.2-5.5 weeks) for paternity leave and 7.1 weeks (95% CI 5.6-8.5 weeks) for maternity leave	- Residents who were men who had children during residency reported taking less parental leave than residents who were women (0.8 vs 4.6 weeks; p < .001)
Siljander et al. [27]	- 84% of programs had transparent, accessible parental leave information on their websites: 3% on their program website, 81% on the institution website - 21% of programs offered paid parental leave
Weiss and Teuscher [32]	- 80% of programs had a formal maternity leave policy; 49% of programs had a formal paternity leave policy - 18% of programs had an adoption leave policy; 18% of programs had no formal policy - For programs that had parental leave policies: 60% allowed 4 to 6 weeks off; 19% allowed 6 weeks off, and 9% allowed 4 weeks off - In 38% of policies, parental leave was allocated as vacation - 46% of programs required makeup time; 16% of programs listed makeup time as an option	- 61% of programs reported no utilization of leave by trainees - 85% of programs reported utilization by 3 or fewer residents - Reasons for leave included maternity (61%), paternity (31%), and adoption (8%)

PD = program director.