ARNP or Pregnancy

I can only tell you what I did which was to wait until I was 38 with a 6 and 4 year old before I stared my NNP. It would've been so much easier to do it without kids and shuttling them to and fro, also my clinicals are difficult to arrange because I have to get the kids to school first.

Thank you. I would be 32 if I went straight to NP school and then started trying. Which is think is pushing it with age.

APRN school is of course MUCH easier to do without young children. I was in CPM school when my oldest was born, and my kids are now 8 and 10 as I work my way through CNM school. It is HAAARD. I feel guilty because I am not home nearly as much as i want to be, and I am tired ALL THE TIME. My kids spend way too much time with a baby sitter and way too much time in front of the TV.

However, since you are almost 30, you are in a tough spot. If you wait to have kids until you finish school (and then don't forget you will likely want to find a job before you get pregnant), you very well might have difficulty conceiving. That's just the hard truth. You might have no trouble at all, or you might end up needing to use ART.

No one can make this decision for you, but if I was in your shoes I would have my kids first, and do APRN school when it felt right for you and your family. Actually, knowing me, I would just go on to APRN school and try to conceive at the same time, and just do whatever I needed to do to make it work. But that is hard, and would prevent you from taking any significant time off to be home after they are born.

I think waiting to have kids until you finish APRN school is a big gamble. If having kids is important to you, I wouldn't put it off.

Cayenne06,

Thank you so much for your input and advice. I think you are absolutely on spot with that I was thinking of doing. I don't want to take the chance of not being able to conceive because I choose my career first. My husband is very supportive and when the times is right I will go back to school.

Edina

Cayenne06,

Thank you so much for your input and advice. I think you are absolutely on spot with that I was thinking of doing. I don't want to take the chance of not being able to conceive because I choose my career first. My husband is very supportive and when the times is right I will go back to school.

Edina

Sounds like you have given this a lot of thought, and I agree wholeheartedly! And even though APRN school is hard when you have kids, it is far from impossible.

I will say from personal experience to keep in mind that school is STRESSFUL and that may not be the best mindset for pregnancy. You also cannot predict your health or how you will feel in general during a pregnancy. I would say school first and then babies as close together as you can sanely manage.

This is a hard question. Since your husband still has two years to finish school I can understand your yearn to pursue further education while he is also in school; that makes sense.

I do not have any children and am in my 2nd semester of FNP school (I'm in my late 20's), I would suggest you to first pursue school! During school have your children because otherwise if you wait until you are done, you may not be able to conceive! A doctor told me always try for your first baby early, because if you wait to long you may not even be able to have any. I know that is worst case scenario but it could be true. By the time your husband is done, you will be almost done and can become pregnant around that timE!

Hope this helps. Have a great day!

My kids were teenagers before I choose to switch to this career.... I have cohorts with as many as 7 little kids (multiple multiples in one case) of various ranges all of whom seem to be balancing their work/school/family lives. It can be done, it takes a supportive family structure. Of the original 30ish students who started school with me, there are now 7 new children. None of the new mothers has quit, but it takes extra effort and planning to stay ahead of the game with a newborn. I also have cohorts in my class who have worked two jobs throughout school. I personally could not do that, but hey, to each their own.

I don't believe any one path is right for everyone, 30 is young, you have many years to go. I think the oldest new mother in my class was in her mid 40s. She was pregnant while we were studying all the possible birth defects her baby could have, I swear she had more anxiety because of that, yet she has the sweetest most perfect little boy in the world!

Life is a journey, whatever you decided on, make sure you enjoy the moments along the way!

Good luck!

Thank you all so much for the input. I definitely have a supportive husband. I could work part time, go to school, and have a kid. It's only temporary for school.

Hi there,

I am currently enrolled in an NP program starting in March, i have two children ages 4 and 2. Its difficult to study and do school work with them but not impossible. For the last year I have been studying minimum 6 hours a day to pass NCLEX. I know an MSN program will be challenging on its own but you will find a way with the support of your close family and friends good luck!

Thank you

Hello!!

I am a full time student in an FNP program and I work full time night shifts. I am 26 weeks pregnant and will finish school next year in August. My baby will be 1 by then. The first half of the program is extremely paper intensive with no exams (in my program), so being pregnant while taking classes and working is doable, but yes, it is stressful. The reason I went ahead and planned to start a family was for personal medical reasons (I only have a short window to have healthy pregnancies due to medical history). It helps that I have an extremely supportive fiance as well, who will transition to work from home. I attend an online program with 2 brick and mortar locations within 20 miles of where I live, so I have access to those facilities as well. I do plan to work part time after I come back off of maternity leave, as I will be in clinicals by then. I am also going to continue through the program without stopping, because I will still have 1 online class to take before clinicals. Another reason why I took both plunges at the same time, is that I didn't want to wait to provide a better life for my family. If all else fails, you could start trying sometime around your last semester, that way you can start a family soon after graduation. Keep in mind that this is a highly personal topic and some self reflection is required, but with the right support system, you can do it!