Being Pregnant in Nursing School

SPNbabe08 · Jun 11, 2008

i dont think being pregnant in nursing school is a a problem, but you dont want to give birth while shool is in session. my program you can only miss 5 days out of the entire 10mos. so were holdingoff getting preggers until after december.

and heres some food for thought, you learn the most that first year. holding off a kid for a year, is not the end of the world

*Scrubs* · Jun 11, 2008

I don't think being pregnant during school will be that difficult- timing wise- since you are halfway through. But things do not always go as smoothly as planned...what if you get hyper emesis? Or need to be on bedrest for some unknown reason? That could blow the whole thing for you. Also, it may be hard enough to get hired as a newbie- let alone a newbie who graduated and did not go straight to work?

:twocents: If it were me, I would wait. I would want to relish the pregnancy...not have it consume my energy while my thoughts were on school.

Suzanna4 · Jun 11, 2008

I used to work in a HR dept of a hospital, and we had an RN (she had been working for us as an LPN) get pregnant during her last year of school. She delivered right after finals, and did really great. Like above posters said, you can't count on everything going so easily, but she was very diligent about taking good care of herself. Alot of family support was also a big part of her success. I think she took off six months after grad, but I don't think too many employers would find a small break anything to be concerned about, as many nurses took awhile off to take their exam and start job hunting. Good Luck with your decision, I know this mom really wanted to have her kids close together, and thought getting pregnant when she just started a new job would be even worse.

rnmomtobe2010 · Jun 11, 2008

There is nothing wrong with that..the thing is there are all kinds of unexpected problems that comes along with being pregnant. Every pregnancy is different and just because you had a smooth pregnancy the first time around, you never know what to expect being pregnant. I am not trying to scare you and the final decision is yours and your hubby's. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 11, 2008

I didn't try it myself but in my LPN and then RN program 3 people did and none of them graduated with our classes. I'm sure it is an individual thing along with the correct timing but I'd really give it some thought if you are doing this on purpose. Neither school faculty was supportive and we were warned ahead of time not to do it so I'd check out the climate at your school. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Michelle123 · Jun 12, 2008

Wow, it sounds like your schools are like prisons over there! I am in my final year and fell pregnant, it hasn't been the easiest thing that I have done, and I will be taking 12 months leave of absense and will finish at the end of next year. I will only have 2 classes to take, and they are all prac. None of my teachers have had a problem, and I was actually encouraged to take the 12 months off to actually enjoy my baby. At the end of the day, I will have my nursing degree, albeit 12 months later, but I will also have another child. Fortunately, as bad as our universities may be in other areas, they do realise that we are adults and most if us have other responsibilities.

I guess maybe we are a little more flexible over here.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 13, 2008

Wow, it sounds like your schools are like prisons over there! I am in my final year and fell pregnant, it hasn't been the easiest thing that I have done, and I will be taking 12 months leave of absense and will finish at the end of next year. I will only have 2 classes to take, and they are all prac. None of my teachers have had a problem, and I was actually encouraged to take the 12 months off to actually enjoy my baby. At the end of the day, I will have my nursing degree, albeit 12 months later, but I will also have another child. Fortunately, as bad as our universities may be in other areas, they do realise that we are adults and most if us have other responsibilities.
I guess maybe we are a little more flexible over here.

I don't think that is the issue. At my school the students that got pregnant were able to re-apply like you did also and in fact one from a previous year successfully graduated with my class. It was more about students hoping to continue on and not have to put it off an entire year. Is the the competition for spaces as fierce there as it is here? That probably has something to do with it also. :)

Michelle123 · Jun 14, 2008

I don't think that is the issue. At my school the students that got pregnant were able to re-apply like you did also and in fact one from a previous year successfully graduated with my class. It was more about students hoping to continue on and not have to put it off an entire year. Is the the competition for spaces as fierce there as it is here? That probably has something to do with it also. :)

No it isn't as competitive over here. There is a shortage of nurses because no one wants to do it. This means that the entrance mark is reletively low (which is pretty much only based on the popularity of the course). It gives the impression that it isn't a difficult course, so we have a major drop out rate during first year when they realise how difficult the course is.

Probably the best time over here to have a baby if you wanted to continue to study would be in the first semester of first year. We don't have clinicals in first semester, and can select the last clinical group in the second semester. Coming to lectures with a baby isn't a big deal over here. And we have online classes for the tutorials.