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Improving well-being among women in neonatology

Journal of Perinatology volume 45, pages 580–588 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the factors that improve professional and personal well-being amongst women in neonatology (WiN).

Study design

A 30-question survey of multiple choice, rank order, and open-ended questions focused on professional and personal factors that affect the well-being of WiN members. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to determine leading factors and themes.

Results

Of 326 respondents, 64% felt “well” professionally over half of the time. Professional well-being was most affected by scheduling flexibility, helping patients, administrative and staffing support, feelings of being valued, and clinical workload/acuity. Time for family and self-care, having domestic help, and scheduling flexibility were factors that most positively impacted personal well-being.

Conclusion

In this national survey, WiN members identified the factors that can improve their well-being. Strategic planning and targeted interventions are urgently needed to enhance work-life integration and job satisfaction, leading to improved neonatal workforce retention and improved quality of patient care.

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Fig. 1: Top 5 Themes to the Question: “If you could change 3 things about your professional life/work environment, what would they be?
Fig. 2: Top 5 Themes to the Question: “If you could change 3 things about your professional life/work environment, what would they be?”

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Data availability

De-identified survey responses may be provided upon request to the corresponding author.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, USA

    Diana Yanni

  2. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Annette Scheid

  3. Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Cynthia B. Sinha & Shilpa Vyas-Read

  4. Johns A Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Kara Wong Ramsey

  5. Norton Children’s Medical Group, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Bridget Hempel

  6. University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Dena Hubbard

  7. University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA

    Mariann Pappagallo

  8. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA

    Laura Vargas

  9. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Sharada Gowda

  10. University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Renate Savich

  11. Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Christiane Dammann

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Contributions

DY and SVR contributed to the survey design, quantitative data analysis, manuscript preparation, and revision. Qualitative statistician (CS) analyzed and created themes for text responses. All authors were instrumental in analyzing survey data, drafting the manuscript, and contributing to revisions.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shilpa Vyas-Read.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board at Emory University. It was deemed exempt using the criteria for exemption under 45 CFR 46.104(d)(2)(i) Tests, surveys, interviews, or observation (non-identifiable).

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Yanni, D., Scheid, A., Sinha, C.B. et al. Improving well-being among women in neonatology. J Perinatol 45, 580–588 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02091-2

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