"Pregnant and Operating": Evaluation of a Germany-wide Survey Among Female Gynaecologists and Surgeons

The current law on the protection of expectant and nursing mothers largely rules out surgical activities during pregnancy for female doctors who perform surgical roles in hospitals. The proportion of female junior staff in gynaecology amounts to 80 %, and, for many of these women, surgical further training is not possible following official notification of an existing pregnancy. In a Germany-wide survey of female gynaecologists and surgeons using a questionnaire, it was determined to what extent female doctors worked in surgery during pregnancy, whether it led to complications in the pregnancy, when the employer was notified about the pregnancy, and what desire for change there is with regard to the law on the protection of expectant and nursing mothers. The data from 164 female doctors, of which 136 are gynaecologists and 28 surgeons, was evaluated. On average, the pregnancy was announced during the 14th week of pregnancy (WOP), and the doctor was not allowed to perform surgical activities in the 21st WOP. Female doctors in higher professional roles tended to announce the pregnancy later and ended their surgical activities later. There was no link between the time of ceasing surgical activities and an increased occurrence of complaints or complications during the pregnancy. In total, only 53 % of respondents had an appraisal during pregnancy and 75 % wanted a change in the law on the protection of expectant and nursing mothers.

Iron Oxide-labeled Collagen Scaffolds for Non-invasive MR Imaging in Tissue Engineering

Non-invasive imaging holds significant potential for implementation in tissue engineering. It can e.g. be used to monitor the localization and function of tissue-engineered implants, as well as their resorption and remodelling. Thus far, however, the vast majority of efforts in this area of research have focused on the use of ultrasmall super-paramagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticle-labeled cells, colonizing the scaffolds, to indirectly image the implant material. Reasoning that directly labeling scaffold materials might be more beneficial (enabling imaging also in case of non-cellularized implants), more informative (enabling the non-invasive visualization and quantification of scaffold degradation) and more easy to translate into the clinic (since cell-free materials are less complex from a regulatory point-of-view), we here prepared three different types of USPIO nanoparticles, and incorporated them both passively and actively (via chemical conjugation; during collagen crosslinking) into collagen-based scaffold materials. We furthermore optimized the amount of USPIO incorporated into the scaffolds, correlated the amount of entrapped USPIO with MR signal intensity, showed that the labeled scaffolds are highly biocompatible, demonstrated that scaffold degradation can be visualized using MRI and provided initial proof-of-principle for the in vivo visualization of the scaffolds. Consequently, USPIO-labeled scaffold materials seem to be highly suitable for image-guided tissue engineering applications.

[Blood-borne infections and the pregnant health care worker. Risks and preventive measures]

Due to the increasing proportion of women in health care, as well as changes in working conditions (implementation of safety devices, minimally invasive/endoscopic procedures) the question arises whether the applicable laws and regulations for the protection of working mothers are outdated and should be updated.Individual risk analysis, as well as the inclusion of the pregnant health care worker in the decision-making process with regard to continuation or modification of the work practice serves as a protection of the expectant mother and unborn child and allows a continuation of the occupational activities.

Career and Family - Are They Compatible?: Results of a Survey of Male and Female Gynaecologists in Germany

Purpose: Nowadays, most gynaecologists are female and the compatibility of job-related career and family life is an upcoming issue. The working group "Gender and Career" of the German Society for Gynaecology and Obstetrics (DGGG) designed a survey to reflect the present situation with a focus on the compatibility of career and family. Material and Methods: A web-based 74-item survey was filled out by members of the DGGG. In total, there were 1037 replies, 75 % female (n = 775) and 25 % male (n = 261) gynaecologists. Results: 62 % of the female and 80 % of the male respondents had already finished their doctoral theses and 2 % female and 13 % male had finished their PhD. Mean number of children was 1.06 (SD 1.08) in female and 1.68 (SD 1.34) in male gynaecologists. The majority of females desired day care for their children, but only 5 to 13 % of employers offer any day care. 88 % of the female and 72 % of the male physicians think that job-related career and family are not compatible. Conclusion: The majority of female gynaecologists wished to have professional child care, but most employers or other institutions do not offer this. This might be one of the reasons why career and family appear incompatible.