Pregnancy: best during nursing school or as a new hire? - Page 3

I do not speak from experience. What seems to be the most common at my school is for women to plan it so that they give birth a couple weeks after completion of their senior year. That way they can take time off after graduation to spend with the baby. When they feel up to it, they can dive back into the books to study for NCLEX.

How old are you? I ask because we all have a biological clock that we need to consider when having children.

Although you will hear stories of people who did it all with triplets and breastfeeding WHILE taking the NCLEX exam, if it's something that can biologically wait until you've settled into nursing for a year or two, wait!

Many people can handle the most enormous stress under the most unfavorable of conditions, but why would you want to if you have a choice?

One more thing:

The fact that I didn't have to start anything when my kids were born meant I was able to take 6 months off (my boss was really kind to me) for each of them.

I enjoyed their babyhood to the FULLEST.

Minimal stressors...

I got pregnant right when I was graduating from nursing school. This of course was when nursing jobs were everywhere, I had a job already lined up. I passed my boards, and worked until 2 weeks before she was born. I did end up not going back to that job when my unpaid maternity leave was up, the schedule I had been promised vanished so I took a year off and then started working casually in another specialty. Several children later, I still work part time, but have build a niche for myself in my area so it has worked out well.

We had multiple pregnancies in my nursing program, 2 gave birth during the school year, they dropped out during the summer. Another 3 timed it so when we graduated, they were weeks away from giving birth. We had 2 who timed it to give birth during the summer break with plans to return, they did not. The ones who did give birth during the school year were given no special treatment, they were back in class within days, and back to 12 hour clinicals, they were not given extra time to pump during the school day or at clinicals. It was exhausting for them, I would not recommend it.

I am pregnant and a nurse. I had my kids after I was done with school. Physically I can no longer do my job. I ended up quiting my parttime job and only do prn 4 or 8 hour shifts at my other job. The hospital I was working at was very unsupportive of pregnant nurses. Frequently they will schedule 2 pregnant in third trimester nurses and an aid on lift restriction for the only staff on my unit with several heavy transfer patients. I do not qualify for FMLA, so my maternity leave would be 6 weeks unpaid after a csection. I was informed by HR if I am not cleared to work at that time then I will be fired. My other job is very supportive. They donot require me to transfer heavy patients and I can take as long off as I want.
Nursing school is time consuming and mentally challanging, but physically easier. Also with more dependents you would likely quallify for more financial aid.