Has anyone gotten pregnant and continued w/NS?

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I was just curious. I'm just about to turn 27 and my husband is going to be 36 in January. I've seen so much about people who have difficulty getting pregnant - that it scares me to wait until I'm 29 to start to try in case we do have problems conceiving.

Have any of you been pregnant during NS? Or have any of you ever gone to NS w/someone who was pregnant? I'm passionate about getting through school and I'm not planning to make any split decisions. I guess I was just looking for the general consensus of if it's even possible.

I hope this is the right place to post!

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Sure it's possible, but you would have to take off a minimum of 6 weeks after the baby was born before the baby could go to daycare (unless you had a babysitter). That would be the only real wrench I could see, so long as you can afford a baby right now. It wouldn't necessarily be easy, because the first 3 months to a year of a baby's life is pretty much on their terms - when they're awake, they're awake, no matter the time of day, when they're hungry, they can't wait to be fed, etc.

If I wanted to get pregnant and I had the financial means to support a baby while in nursing school, I wouldn't wait. Especially if I didn't have to work. If it was just school and the baby, that would definitely be doable.

And as far as the actual pregnancy goes - it really only gets tough the last 2-3 months when you are really big. You would have to work it out with your instructors and classmates that they would do the lifting for you and stuff like that.

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I took my pre-reqs while pregnant, and we are most likely planning another before I'm done...

Honestly I think it's completely doable, but this will be my 4th time around. I have found that each recovery period has been easier and obviously taking care of a newborn gets easier the more experience you have.

Make sure you check with your school and find out what happens if you have to go on a leave. You just never know. I've had 3 completely healthy, text book pregnancies and I am still making sure I'm covered. Find out what it takes to drop out for a while and how hard it is to petition for re-entry into your program.

The hardest part for me will be the amount of reading. I have a harder time learning when my brain is being drowned in hormones. Everybody's different. I think physically (if your pregnancy is normal) it will be much easier to do it with your first. Your body won't have been trashed quite so much.

It just depends on you, your circumstance, your husband, your support system, your school....you're going to get a bunch of nay sayers on here I'm sure, but the bottom line is it's your life. :) You will be a nurse for 25 - 30 years but a mom forever. That's my perspective anyway.

Good luck deciding! :)

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Thank you guys so much for the encouragement! That really helps. I totally agree with you about being a mom for life, but a nurse for a set time in my career. A big reason I picked nursing was the flexible schedule so I could be home more w/ a future child/ren if we are blessed with that.

I am giving it a few weeks to see how things progress with school before making any big decisions. Right now I don't know up from down at the moment LOL!

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My hubby & I have decided to keep trying while in NS. At orientation, my instructor even mentioned that we'll go through births & deaths while in the program together. I've struggled with infertility for 7 years and most recently had an ectopic pregnancy. I would give up my spot in school to have a baby, but I feel I can also do both. We'll just have to see what happens and what is in store for us.

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KK83, thank you for posting this question

I have been struggling with this for awhile now. I am 25 years young and I want to have more babies but I am in my last semester b4 I can apply to the nursing program. I dont knw if having a baby during NS will hinder me in anyway. At the same time my husband and I want more children. The feedback that everyone has posted on this thread is really helpful.

Thanks!!!!!!

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As someone who has had several miscarriages, I would say never wait if you want a baby, if your relationship is ready for a child and if you can afford one because you just never know what it's going to be like for you. You'd rather find out sooner than later if you are going to have problems. Wait too long and it may never happen.

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Specializes in Psych.

One of the girls gave birth shortly after our 2nd semester.

Three girls found out they were pregnant during the 2nd semester

first had to withdraw because she due in october/november and would miss too many clinical days.

second had miscarried shortly after the semester ended, had major health problems and is taking this year off

third was placed on bed rest, due in december and had to also withdraw.

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Wow, I am so glad I posted this! I really expected a mixed response or a lot of negativity. It's a tough call because on one hand - I (we) all want to get through this nursing school process that we are putting so much energy into and come out the other side.

But - I know my ultimate dream above all else is to be a mom. I didn't want to put all my excuse the pun - but "eggs" in one basket and skip out on NS - because honestly WHO knows when a pregnancy could happen. So I guess I've been holding out on making a decision once I got into the program because it was such a surprise.

Right now I think I am going to see how my first month goes - then decide from there. Right now adjusting to the schedule and work load is SO exhausting - so I want to see if that levels out for me.

I so appreciate everyone's responses and it's so nice to know others have some same issues.

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Specializes in Psych.

Im not being a smart alek here :) How well do you think you could function at 7 am clinicals ( or earlier) if you have been up all night with the baby. I could barely function at work.

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We have two pregnant students but neither was planned exactly at that time. ;-) Honestly I don't know how anyone can do it, but I know it can be done. I was sooooo tired with my two in first trimester. In second tri I had to go on bedrest with my second baby for 3 months. I can understand it happening without being planned, but to get pg on purpose in nursing school-- no way! At least maybe not until the last semester. 27 is still very young. :-)

ETA: I have two older kids ages 6 and 9, and I hardly see them or my husband right now. They are in school full time, and they have to go to after school day care because of my school/clinical hours. I have two study groups per week, study all day Saturday, and I'm getting A's but our family is definitely having a hard time with me being in school. A baby needs so much more care. My kids understand why I have to study so much--but a baby would have a harder time of it. And don't forget your spouse. I have had to make a 15 min appt with him each evening after the kids are asleep so we can actually have a conversation.

Not trying to say it's all that bad-- it's doable but I wish I had decided to do nursing *before* I had kids.

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I'm not pregnant but I have a 14-month-old son and I just started nursing school last week. It's tough, and it definitely makes finding time to study difficult. I made it through two semesters of pre-reqs though, and was just fine. Luckily I have a great husband who gets up with him a lot in the mornings and lets me sleep (when I can). My mom lives close to me and stays home with her two little kids (my half-sisters from her second marriage) so she watches my son while I'm at school. I'm young, and although I haven't had a problem juggling motherhood and school so far, I don't know how different the situation would be if I didn't have the awesome husband/family that I have.

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