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    In Response to “Physicians and Infertility”

    I would like to thank Ruth D. Williams, MD, for her ed­itorial “Physicians and Infer­tility: Breaking the Silence” (Opinion, February). It was meaningful to me in light of my own recent experiences.

    I waited until after my medical training to have a child. When my husband and I started discussing starting a family, I kept telling him no because I did not want to experience setbacks in my ca­reer. Then I learned that several of the women whose careers I admired had had issues with infertility. They encouraged me to start a family as soon as I could.

    Even though I did not require infertility treatments like so many of my colleagues, my son and I needed frequent unexpected doctor appointments, and I wrestled with the demands of childbearing on my physical and mental health. As I struggle with making the decision to have only one child, I am also starting my first ophthalmology job.

    I am not yet ready to publicly share all the details of my journey through pregnancy and the postpartum period. That said, I am grateful for those who have taken elements of my story and created better things for those who will come after me. I am grateful to see changes being made within my beloved field of ophthalmology. Thank you to some of my heroes—including Dr. Williams and Shivani S. Kamat, MD—for tell­ing your stories because it can help younger colleagues, like me, make more informed decisions about our futures. We need to normalize having these conversations in our field, and I am grateful that my colleagues have initiated this one.

    Rikki Enzor, MD, PhD
    Berrien Springs, Mich.

    ___________________________

    CORRECTION. In “Academy Notebook” (March), EyeNet incorrectly stated that Sarwat Salim, MD, FACS, was elect­ed to the Board of Trustees in 2020. However, when Dr. Salim was elected Council Chair in 2020, she had already been on the Board of Trustees as Council Vice Chair since 2018. EyeNet regrets the error.

    WRITE TO US. Send your letters of 150 words or fewer to us at EyeNet Magazine, American Academy of Oph­thalmology, 655 Beach Street, San Francisco, CA 94109; e-mail eyenet@aao.org; or fax 415-561-8575. (EyeNet Magazine reserves the right to edit letters.)