New data reveal high rates of regret among radiologists and other physicians who delayed having children, researchers wrote Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine [1].

Across 3,310 doctors surveyed, including 59 radiologists, more than 60% said they had postponed childbearing due to their medical training. Most of them regretted doing so (at nearly 56%), with higher rates of remorse among those ages 32 to 36 (64%) and 37 or older (57%).

“Residency requires too many hours at work, which makes parenting difficult” was the No. 1 reasons for putting off having kids, cited by 42%. More than 21% said they were diagnosed as infertile and 19% reported using assisted reproductive technology, numbers that increased with age.

“The high rates of regret of delaying family building, subsequent infertility and use of ART, and relationship strain, including therapy needs, make family building arduous for many physicians and medical students, especially ART users,” corresponding author Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD, with the Stanford University Department of Medicine, and colleagues concluded. “Our data highlight the need to change how we support family building for the entire physician workforce.”

The team administered their questionnaire to physicians and medical students in April and May of 2021, recruiting participants via social media and email listservs. Most survey respondents were female (90%), expressed a desire to have biological children (93%), and had completed their medical training (52.5%). Family building appeared to put a strain on physicians and their relationships: 38% of those who used ART and 9% who didn’t said they sought therapy for stress. “Fertility issues” negatively impacted 14% of respondents’ relationships, while 43.5% of those using ART reported relationship stress vs. those who did not (7%).

“The often inadequate insurance coverage for ART paired with the high cost may be factors in these difficulties,” the authors noted.