I'm due to deliver a week before clinicals start. Should I take a semester off?

Junebugfairy · Dec 21, 2008

i use an iud and love it. i have no kids, and never want them at all.

i worked for a clinic like planned parenthood for 4+ years as a cna/ health assistant.

nfp/fam can work.. my question would be this..why not go for a more effective method like an iud?

so far, we have had 7 girls end up pregnant in my nursing class. 3 had an abortion and kept coming to class, the other's ended up dropping out because having a baby and doing clinicals was not working well for them.

i am planning on getting my np some day, and i also wish to become a woman's health np :) that is awhile away yet :)

caliotter3 · Dec 21, 2008

Birth control? I thought the subject was staying in nursing school after a baby is born???

Skeletor · Dec 21, 2008

Do you know what people who use the "rhythm method" are called? Parents.

:chuckle:chuckle

kangamangus · Dec 22, 2008

I am here to offer you some first hand experience....I started this fall in the nursing program and was 26 weeks pregnant at the time, with two other children and a full time job. I was scheduled to have a c section on November 24th and was back at clnical on December 1st...was it nuts??? YES! Is it doable? Absolutely!! I had an awesome instructor and a HUGE support system at home, those two things are what made it possible for me to continue on...in fact our grades were posted this week and I got an A- for the semester...am I exhausted??? Yes, but I tell myself that I only have three more semesters to go before I am an RN, it's only 18 more months, and I will have the summer off. My plan is to work on the weekends in the summer so I can be home with all three kids during the week, to go to the beach ect....Nursing school, while it may seem like the days drag, really flies by! I wouldn't take a year off because that's another whole year that you have to wait to be an RN...also you get out of "nursing school mode"....studying, projects, careplans, clinical prep work ect.....I would do it! You can email me if you want I would love to chat...

Hamik24 · Dec 22, 2008

Thank you sooo much. I have a great support system, my fiance is in this 100%, my close friends, his family, my family...

I don't want to take another year off because I'm afraid I'll end up not going back to school at all, so hearing that it's doable (even though it's not the most fun thing in life) gives me the confidence to suffer through.

A big fear out of this is that this is my first pregnancy, and it's VERY VERY unplanned, as neither I nor my fiance is finished with college yet (we're actually putting off our wedding now b/c the date we had planned I will be in my 7th month)

The fact that you did this with a full time job AND two other kids is amazing-here I am complaining about a part time job and a newborn :)

Hamik24 · Dec 22, 2008

Just be careful if you're just sticking to hbc-this pregnancy is unplanned, and I have been on the pill for 5 years-never missed a day. Guess we fell into that super small percentage...

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Dec 22, 2008

Just be careful if you're just sticking to hbc-this pregnancy is unplanned, and I have been on the pill for 5 years-never missed a day. Guess we fell into that super small percentage...

Oh I know. I am just afraid to mix things up right now, as the method we are using (hbc) has worked fine for us thus far. If it aint broke, then dont fix it, right? ::shrugs::

FAM/NFP is extremely appealing and we plan on using this method...we just think that its best to wait til the NCLEX is nearer for me (I will be able to take it next summer). I can finish up my grad program and be pregnant no problem after that should we become so.

I wish you all the luck. I hope that your professors and clinical instructors are very accomodating. :-)

thmpr · Dec 22, 2008

I am a junior in a 5 year nursing program and recently found out that I am pregnant. I'm not worried about being pregnant for the next semester, as I'm still working strictly in the classroom; but I am due to deliver the week before the next fall semester (when we start clinicals). A friend suggested that I take a semester off to spend time with my newborn and heal, but if I miss one semester in the program I'm in, I have to miss the entire year. Has anyone had a newborn while they were in clinicals? I guess I just need some reassurance that it's doable.

Wow, there are such exciting things happening in your life! I am excited for you so I thought I'd add my fifty-two cents.

I have never had children; however, I have helped women with their delivery and recovery, and have been a nursing student. So, my advice is mostly subjective because I can really only imagine how I would feel if I were in your shoes.

The first question that comes to my mind is the subject of lifting and caring for patients following childbirth.

As you likely know, while your baby grows during your pregnancy, your pelvic region will widen and move to accommodate the size of the baby. Your cartilage softens and moves much like cartilage between the sutures on your baby's crown when born. It takes some time for your bones to reposition and your cartilage to harden again after you give birth. Some women experience this quicker than others. However, it is one of the reasons that it is so important not to lift and shift your weight around when recovering. You will be more susceptible to injury!

Too many women come into the emergency department with sciatic pain shooting down their legs because they did not ("could not") give themselves needed rest postpartum; instead they were lifting and bending and twisting.

Also, many surgeons will tell you that the most effective way to achieve the best outcome following childbirth is to be in a low to no stress environment. I do not personally believe that nursing school and/or clinical rotations fall into the category of low or no stress environments. Again, this is subjective...

Another point to consider is that you may be experiencing some emotions that you may not have experienced before. If you are like my friend Lisa you will pop your kid out and want to go for a run! But if you are like my friend Rachel, you will feel depressed and fatigued and want your baby to shut up. She surrounded herself with family and friends around the clock for fear that she would shake him or something horrible like that! She was back to her baseline of loving, caring, and sanity after about a month of postpartum depression. So, like others have mentioned, you don't know how this will be for you until you are there.

I agree that it is possible to stay in school and "tough it out." Women are resilient and driven! Women in Somalia just pop kids out while they are working so why can't we? Well, I for one do not find that appealing, and it seems sketchy. So, if I had my choice, I would be warm and cozy and relaxed and my husband would do all the lifting while I recovered at home bonding with my new baby and family!

If at all possible, try to arrange for a low stress environment where you will not be tempted to lift anything for at least six weeks. This is a wonderful experience you are having. Take care of you first and then take care of your patients. If you want to be a nurse you will be a nurse. You will go back and that is that.

I send my hugs regardless of what you decide. :hgu:

NSALVADORE · Dec 22, 2008

I've had 2 children, 1 lady partsl and 1 c-section! Neither of them would I have been in the shape to take care of patients! I DID in fact defer a year because my second child was born last September! I recommend for your sanity and your child, that you take the time off, it goes by WAY too fast!! If you do attend next semester if you have support and you put your mind to it you CAN do it (If no physical issues from delivery that is)!! I wish you the best of luck! A healthy 9 months and a healthy delivery!!

maggijo · Dec 22, 2008

I have 2 children and personally, I do NOT recommend starting clinicals one week after giving birth! I could barely walk, much less think straight, one week after having a baby. Take a semester off, enjoy your new baby, and start up again when the dust settles a little. Congratulations, BTW!

Finally2008 · Dec 22, 2008

Should you take a semester off? Personally,since you are asking, I would have to say yes. I have two kids, 22 and 19 years old. With my first child, I worked full-time and went back to work after 8 weeks. It was the fastest 8 weeks of my life---I hated going back to work. I missed him terribly and never felt like I spent enough time with him. I never dreamed I would be so in love with my baby. The last year of school is so stressful, it would be a shame to miss those first few precious months of your first child's life......Just my two cents.....

WSUCougarBSN · Dec 22, 2008

Someone in my class had this happen... her husband was very supportive, and it was difficult, but they did it!