Giving Birth in NP School vs Right After Graduation

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I would like to hear from anyone that has gone through the unique experience of having a baby in the last semester(s) of NP school. I start my final year this August, and am considering trying to have a baby in May 2020 during the break between spring/summer semesters (4 weeks off). This means I would have a newborn while completing 180 hours in summer, and 240 hours in fall before graduating. Worth noting- I would have plenty of help from spouse/family.

The other option is to have a baby in December right after I graduate, but I would really rather the baby be older when I start working (basically 9 months old vs. 2 months old if I am able to get licensing and a job by February).

I know having a newborn in school is not the ideal choice, but the timing of life + school is just working out this way- I cannot put off school any longer without having to retake classes (I've already taken several semesters off). Any advice, personal experience or input here is truly appreciated!

Hey I actually had my baby right in the middle of a semester. Found out I was pregnant just a month before starting my NP program. I spent half of my program pregnant and the other half with a new baby! I went to class the day i went into labor to drop off my recorder, gave birth two day later and was back in time for the next scheduled class sitting on an inflatable donut lol. it was difficult but with lots of support it certainly can be done. My mom came every week to stay with my son while I went to class and my mother in law stayed with us for a while to watch him while I completed my hours. once he turned a year I put him in daycare so I could study/ complete hours.

My advice to you is to find a preceptor who will be flexible with your hours. My preceptor was wonderful, let me use his office to pump when I needed to, I even had a few times when I had no childcare and he let me bring my son and we discussed our cases that day instead of seeing patients with my baby on my hip lol

It will be hard coming off of a break in the summer because you may not want to leave your baby, but remember we put ourselves through all of this rigorous education so we can give our babies a good life ?

Good luck to you! whichever decision you make, you will be successful. We women are strong creatures! ?

46 minutes ago, FinallyNP said:

Hey I actually had my baby right in the middle of a semester. Found out I was pregnant just a month before starting my NP program. I spent half of my program pregnant and the other half with a new baby! I went to class the day i went into labor to drop off my recorder, gave birth two day later and was back in time for the next scheduled class sitting on an inflatable donut lol. it was difficult but with lots of support it certainly can be done. My mom came every week to stay with my son while I went to class and my mother in law stayed with us for a while to watch him while I completed my hours. once he turned a year I put him in daycare so I could study/ complete hours.

My advice to you is to find a preceptor who will be flexible with your hours. My preceptor was wonderful, let me use his office to pump when I needed to, I even had a few times when I had no childcare and he let me bring my son and we discussed our cases that day instead of seeing patients with my baby on my hip lol

It will be hard coming off of a break in the summer because you may not want to leave your baby, but remember we put ourselves through all of this rigorous education so we can give our babies a good life ?

Good luck to you! whichever decision you make, you will be successful. We women are strong creatures! ?

Thanks so much for sharing- this was very encouraging to read! I know it won't be easy but it helps to know I'm not the only one going through it.

No problem! its so hard women have to decide between work/school and babies. We can have both! ? some of my professors joked that my baby was an honorary graduate lol they were so happy to see him at the pinning and graduation ceremonies after watching me waddle around and show up to class looking a hot mess after no sleep and caring for him all day haha! it honestly made my NP school experience much more special and anytime I thought of giving up I thought of him. honestly, having a baby during school made me more motivated to finish lol

I planned to have my first baby in my last semester of NP school (this spring 2019 semester that just ended)-- was hoping to deliver in May, but got pregnant early and delivered in end of February. What I did to make this manageable was arrange to start completing my spring clinical hours early, over Christmas break (got this approved by my program director). This meant that I finished my clinical hours by February. It really wasn't that tough, physically, to do clinical, work, and school while pregnant.

The tough part was that I had to work heavily on my thesis while I had a newborn. I also had my two online classes, but they were easy. Luckily my husband had six weeks off work so I got it all done, but it wasn't enjoyable-- that is why I had *planned* to deliver in May. If my daughter had been born in May, it would have been a total breeze honestly.

If you can time it, my recommendation would be to deliver at the end of your final semester. Because that way there is a built-in break where you will be not in school and not working while having a newborn. You are then on your own terms and your own timing as far as taking boards and getting your NP job. I could have delayed graduation by a semester, but I could not imagine having to do school AND clinical while having such a young baby. Even a 4-week break between semesters is not enough- trust me. You will be tormented leaving a 4-week old baby (even with family) to do clinical. There is a reason daycares don't even take babies this young. Plus, the likelihood that you will be able to time it perfectly to deliver right at the beginning of break is super low...

The other nice thing is that because there is a lot of waiting around for things to happen after graduation (wait to get approved for boards, then wait to get certification and licensure, then wait to get a job, etc), it's a perfect time to be home with a baby. Then when everything goes through and you start your new job, you've gotten in a groove with the baby. I'd 100% recommend you plan it so that you deliver in the last semester of school. Good luck! :)

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