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Editorial
Navigating the challenges: working as a sports medicine physician during pregnancy and postpartum
  1. Yuka Tsukahara1,
  2. Carly Day2,3,
  3. Melissa Novak4
  1. 1 Department of Sports Medicine, Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan
  2. 2 Department of Health and Kinesiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
  3. 3 Franciscan Physician Network, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
  4. 4 Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University Department of Family Medicine, Portland, Oregon, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Yuka Tsukahara, Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan; yuka.voila{at}gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-107465

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    Although the number of female physicians is rising in many countries, biases still persist in sports medicine regarding pregnant and postpartum female physicians providing event medical coverage on the sidelines.1 2 A recent international cross-sectional study conducted among sports medicine physicians revealed that male physicians exhibit less comfort than their female counterparts with pregnant physicians working event coverage.2 In addition, Asian physicians compared with their North American counterparts viewed postpartum female physicians as not being able to continue to work as productively as male sports medicine physicians after giving birth.2 This editorial examines the perspectives of women sports medicine physicians in the USA and Japan, exploring the challenges faced and the paths ahead for gender equality and equity in these two countries.

    What are the challenges in the USA for pregnant or postpartum physicians?

    The USA currently lacks a national paid parental leave policy, though there are some protections in place for families. The Family and Medical Leave Act ensures women who have worked over 1 year at their job are entitled to a guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors YT, MN and CD contributed to design, writing and approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.