This is a great piece from the Atlantic magazine that I’d like to take a moment and encourage everyone to read. I’m deliberately choosing to write this on my medical school blog rather than my parenting blog for two reasons:

1) As the article suggests, many women actively deny motherhood as a measure of getting ahead in the workplace. Motherhood is frequently seen as a setback in terms of career, and it should not be so. People expect men in power to have a family, but rarely question why women in successful careers often do not have a family.  Motherhood has added a new dimension to my life which frankly leaves me more fulfilled at the end of the day, even though my responsibilities have increased while my sleep has decreased. The balance that spending time with my child lends to my life is incredible. We constantly hear that “It’s the little things that matter” as we disregard them, but having a child is viewing the world with eyes meant for seeing even the smallest things as potentially interesting, a first experience, and bringers of joy. I am a more complete medical student now than I was march 13th.

2) I would not be able to continue my career if I and my husband were not both at institutions that value family highly. While I wasn’t able to take any time off from school and started taking finals only 6 days after my son was born, my school has accommodated me with two comfortable and private nursing rooms, high quality sound and the ability to listen to lectures in a separate room where I can also devote attention to my child. My school has a separate track which adds a year of training on to the education process mainly to allow parents to have more time at home. My school is investing in a daycare coop on our campus where we’ll be able to visit our little ones on class breaks. I can count on one hand the number of days that I haven’t seen a child in the halls, and I can think of one class where a 10 year old sat in on every single lecture. More importantly, I know how rare this is. Most schools will not allow for life balance.
My husband had a month of paid leave after our son was born, which allowed me to take finals and still have a roof over our heads. How incredibly lucky- but should it be luck? Why on earth does our country punish  people who have jobs who also want to have children?

Sobering thoughts. We need to be the change in United States policy. Live a balanced life- and demand that a balanced life be livable!