Occupational burnout is a growing threat to care quality, workforce retention and physician well-being. Pregnant and postpartum physicians-in-training are especially at risk, facing stigma, limited support, and physical demands, alongside major role transitions and increased responsibilities at home. Investigators at Mass General Brigham conducted a randomized controlled trial showing that a parental support package consisting of a wearable breast pump, digital perinatal care access, a smart bassinet and faculty mentorship significantly reduces burnout in physician trainees. The results are published in JAMA .
"This is the first evidence that pragmatic support for physician trainees after the birth of a child can help reduce burnout and have a strong return on investment," said lead author Erika Rangel, MD , an acute care surgeon and medical director for Well-Being, Surgical and Perioperative Services at Mass General Brigham. "With physician burnout estimated to cost $7,600 per employed physician, a $2,300 intervention represents a significant financial benefit."
This clinical trial enrolled 143 childbearing physicians-in-training across seven U.S. training institutions, including MGB-affiliated entities, and followed them through pregnancy to 24 weeks postpartum. Half the participants received the parental support package while the other half received usual support. Researchers found that mean burnout scores were largely stable in the parental support package group, changing only from 2.96 to 3.03, while scores increased from 3.13 to 3.79 in the usual support group. This pattern suggests greater stability in burnout among trainees who received the parental support package.
"Rather than expecting a single component to work for everyone, we chose to tackle burnout holistically by selecting components that address five of the seven domains of burnout," said Rangel. "This intervention doesn't take a lot of work to implement and is scalable for any training program."
Rangel has received positive feedback from participants, many of whom have since graduated and continued in their careers.
"I have received so many emails and photos from women physicians who feel energized to pursue more research in this space and want to help mentor future trainees," Rangel said. "That response reflects a growing community through this work — one that is reshaping how we support one another and how we integrate our commitments to both family and medicine."
Authorship: In addition to Rangel, Mass General Brigham authors include Atziri Rubio-Chavez, Ekaterina L. Koelliker, Emma A. Askew, Keith D. Lillemoe, Divyansh Agarwal, and Joseph J. Locascio. Additional authors include Tait D. Shanafelt, Christopher P. Landrigan, Ariel S. Winn, Huma Farid, and Thinzar M. Lwin.
Disclosures: No company provided direct funding for this study. The companies that provided products (Happiest Baby, Inc., Willow Innovations, Inc., and Maven Clinic) had no role in the design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
Funding: This trial was supported by the New England Surgical Society Scholars Foundation Grant, the Massachusetts General Hospital Polsky Award, and the Mass General Brigham Graduate Medical Education Award. Smart bassinets (Happiest Baby, Inc.) were provided at a discounted lease rate. Fifty wearable breast pumps were donated by Willow Innovations, Inc., and additional pumps were purchased at a discounted rate. Access to the Maven Clinic perinatal care platform was provided at no cost.
Paper cited: Rubio-Chavez et al. "Pragmatic Parental Support to Mitigate Burnout Among Pregnant and Postpartum Trainees: A Randomized Clinical Trial" JAMA DOI: 10.1001/jama.2026.5663
