MDs, maternity leave and adopted children

Kristen Hallett underscores quite clearly the importance of parental leave, not only for biological mothers but for fathers and adoptive parents as well. All physicians welcoming new children into their families should be supported to take time away from their work, so that they can attend to the changing dynamics of their families and the physical and psychological well- being of their children. In writing our commentary we purposefully used the words “parental leave for female and male physicians” to reflect our view that the issue involves more than just maternity leave.¹

While we laud the Ontario Medical Association's new maternity leave benefits, we too were disappointed that these benefits were not extended to fathers or to adoptive parents. Our professional organizations and health care institutions should support physicians' efforts to attend to their own and their families' emotional and physical well-being, so that we can perform as physicians more effectively and so that we can contribute to the health of future generations.

Signature

Barbara Lent
Department of Family Medicine University of Western Ontario London, Ont. on behalf of the Gender Issues Committee of the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine