having a baby due during nursing school..

NeosynephRN · Jan 5, 2007

Hello there!! I had a baby during nursing school...I found out that I was preggo one week before I found out I got into school!! So second semester I had my baby. She was born on a Tues and I was back in my clinicals on Sat...I did not miss one day!! I did miss one lecture...but it was on labor and delivery so I did not feel that I missed all that much:wink2: It was definately do able for me!! We have had 4 other babies born and one preggo right now and everyone has done just fine. My school is very strict on absences and you are not really allowed to miss...but that was not an issue for me!! If you were to have a c-section or something that may complicate the situation and you may not be able to continue at that time!! GL!!

jov · Jan 6, 2007

second semester I had my baby. She was born on a Tues and I was back in my clinicals on Sat...I did not miss one day!!

congratulations, nd deb!

first of all, I'm not so sure you should rely on the advice above. At 37, while it is of course possible you could drop a baby on Tuesday and be back on your feet on Saturday, it's more likely you would not.

As far as missing days, etc. because of pregnancy, there's not really a whole lot you can do about it, now can you? If you're sick you're sick, if you have preterm labor and you're on bedrest, you're on bedrest. You can't control it so please don't waste your precious energy trying to. Sit down and have a good long talk with your counselor at school and see how much accomodation they can give you. Then just roll with it. One semester one way or the other won't make much difference in your life in the long run-- but having a healthy baby will.

I didn't have my two kids until I was in my 30's and I had extremely complicated pregnancies with both - including bed rest and preterm labor. I would just try to accept that things are a little more unpredictable now-- and then work toward enjoying your pregnancy!

MySimplePlan · Jan 6, 2007

We had a lovely young lady deliver C-section in our class, and she did beautifully. Our instructors allowed her to reschedule an exam and a skills check-off to accomodate her planned delivery. (Both were done before the rest of the class took them) She had a week off, sat whenever she could upon her return, and kept up with the class all the way through.

S.T.A.C.E.Y, LPN · Jan 6, 2007

Just wondering if anyone has done this and how they got around not missing any days and getting dropped out of the program.

Well, I suppose if you were to plan the pregnancy so that you were to deliver during your summer break you wouldn't have to worry about missing any days for your delivery.....

But the issue still remains: if you have one of those constantly sick, nauseous, and vomiting type of pregnancies, you'll likely miss time regardless of when you're due.

If you were dead-set on getting pregnant during school, have you asked how it would work if you needed to take a semester off? Perhaps the school may have a different attitude to allow you to take a semester off, than to drop a student out of the program because of failing grades.

KJ's mom · Jan 6, 2007

I found out I was pregnant 2 hours after my 1st quarter finals. I had my daughter in the middle of 3rd quarter. It was not an easy birth, I was inlabor for 21 hours and hemorrhaged pretty badly after. I missed a week (3 days of class and 2 clinical days). I would have gone back sooner, but the hospital dept me for 5 days. A classmate taped lecture for me and I only had to make up one clinical day (we had an extra clinical day). I still maintained my fairly descent GPA. I ended up with a B- out of the quarter. I am now in the 6th and final quarter and will be graduating in March. My daughter will have her 1st birthday this month.

Anyhoo, it is possible to have a baby and still pass the quarter/semester. If this is your situation, I wish you luck. Just remember, life is unpredictable and just roll with the punches! Hope you do well.:wink2:

nd deb · Jan 6, 2007

oops, no, I should have mentioned that I am not pregnant. I was just wondering how one has done it and not miss class and end up dropped out of the program. When I started my first semester there was a gal that was real close to being due and she ended up dropping out 2 wks into the program.

SarasotaRN2b · Jan 6, 2007

I recall when I had gone to the orientation, the Dean of health sciences, stated that there was one student who due to a couple of pregnancies (and she had multiples at that), had deferred her entrance into the nursing program a number of times, and was now in that very orientation.

I think that something to consider is, not necessarily the pregnancy, but after giving birth...those first few months will probably be tougher. For all of those who did it, all the best, but unless you have a real strong support system at home (i.e. husband/boyfriend, or other caregiver), it'll be tough.

RoxanRN · Jan 6, 2007

I found out I was pregnant 3 weeks into nursing school. I delivered about half way through 2nd semester. I only missed 2 lecture days (1 for a doctors appointment and the other for delivery) and 2 clinical days (thank goodness for Fall Break). I didn't have to make anything up. I was able to keep up with classes (thanks to friends and their notes) and stayed with my class.

kitty=^..^=cat · Jan 6, 2007

I've had two close friends become pregnant during nursing school...

One dropped out because she was having so many problems with nausea and sciatic nerve pain, and one made the decision to wait until later to start a family. The latter was in a very competitive MSN/MHA track, and at that level it's not like you can say, "Oops, I need to come back next year."