Pregnancy and leadership: case study from an inpatient unit

A psychiatrist's pregnancy creates different problems and opportunities, depending upon the professional role(s) that she occupies. In previous reports, authors have described the impact of a psychiatrist's pregnancy in private or subordinate roles such as therapist (Lax 1969; Nadelson et al. 1974), resident (Butts and Cavenar 1979), or supervisee (Baum and Herring 1975). Here I discuss additional complexities that may occur when the pregnant woman occupies a position of leadership.