Outcomes for Female Physicians Compared With Nonphysicians After Assisted Reproductive Technology

To evaluate outcomes of female physicians after assisted reproductive technology (ART).

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from 248 physician patients and 3,470 nonphysician patients who underwent a total of 10,095 fresh or frozen ART cycles at a single academic center in an insurance-mandated state between January 2015 and March 2022. The primary outcome was live-birth rate. The secondary outcomes were implantation rate, early pregnancy loss rate, and time to pregnancy. Models were adjusted for confounders where appropriate.

Both groups were similar in age (mean physician age 36.29 years; mean nonphysician age 35.96 years, P =.35). Physicians had lower body mass index (BMI) (mean physician BMI 23.51, mean nonphysician BMI 26.37, P <.01), and a higher proportion were diagnosed with unexplained infertility (physician 33.9%, nonphysician 25.9%, P <.01) and used preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (physician 21.5%, nonphysician 12.7%). Physicians and nonphysicians had similar live-birth rates (physician 39.3%, nonphysician 38.2%; adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.01 95% CI, 0.91-1.13), implantation rates (physician 34.7%, nonphysician 33.7%; relative risk 1.03 95% CI, 0.94-1.14), and early pregnancy loss rates (physician 21.9%, nonphysician 19.8%; aRR 1.18 95% CI, 0.99-1.41) per transfer. Physicians had a shorter time from initial ART cycle to pregnancy (physician 21.82 weeks, nonphysician 25.16 weeks; aRR 0.86, 95% CI, 0.83-0.89).

There was no difference between female physicians and nonphysicians in assisted reproduction cycle outcomes. Physicians become pregnant slightly faster than nonphysicians.