Baby en route: What to expect when your practice partner is expecting

Childbirth leave is becoming a necessity in even the smallest physician offices. Experts say the best way to handle it is to figure out the rules of leave before anyone needs it.

By Dave Hansen, AMNews staff. Sept. 24, 2007.

When you're going to call yourself Family to Family Medical Center, it follows that you're going to let doctors and staff take time off when they're starting -- or expanding -- a family.

Ventura, Calif., pediatrician Rola Magid, MD, is expecting her second child in November and is secure knowing that she has eight weeks of leave coming, as well as reduced hours in the last few weeks of her pregnancy. The practice's three pediatricians as well as the staff are eligible for maternity leave.

The center falls under the minimum employee cutoff in most federal and state laws that give employees the right to a family or medical leave. But like more and more practices, Family to Family views maternity leave as not only a nice gesture, but also an enticement to attract patients, staff and physicians -- especially as the number of female doctors continues to grow.

Dr. Magid left a larger practice to join Family to Family in part because of its flexible, family-friendly schedule that included maternity leave. "It sealed the deal," Dr. Magid said.

Patients of Family to Family know that the practice's employees care deeply for their families and appreciate it, said Kristen Pena, MD, one of Dr. Magid's partners. "Good staff are hard to find," she explained. "If it means sacrificing and not having them here [during leave], it is worth it."

The number of female physicians in the United States grew from 25,401 (7.6% of the physician work force) in 1970 to 235,627 (26.6% of the physician work force) in 2004, according to the American Medical Association. There were 8,446 women who were enrolled in U.S. medical schools during 2006 compared with 8,924 men, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges.