An increasing number of residents are having children during training. While some of you might balk at the idea of combining nappies and sleepless nights with stages 1, 2 and 3 of training, others are very happy to go on this journey of paternal and professional bliss.

Many of us know that although parenting and training in anaesthesia are compatible, there are many challenges. Some of these could be addressed to the benefit of anaesthetists, anaesthetic departments and providers alike.

This galvanised us to run a national survey, looking at the impact of parenting on training in anaesthesia from both the parent and non-parent perspectives. 411 residents responded to the survey, with a higher proportion of respondents being white and heterosexual, and training less than full time. A similar proportion of men and women responded, highlighting how these issues affect everyone. We recognise that this is the opinion of one group, albeit a key stakeholder, in a complex situation.

This article highlights a few of the key findings.