Pregnancy: best during nursing school or as a new hire?

Nurses General Nursing

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Is it better to get pregnant/have your first newborn during nursing school or right after, as a new hire? What is less stressful? I was thinking having a child during nursing school would be less stressful, as there might be more time for the child..but then again, nursing school is all about proving yourself so who knows?

Any insight would be great...

Thanks!

Specializes in PP, Pediatrics, Home Health.

I had my daughter before nursing school and I just went for the RPN program and man it was rough!My suggestion to you...WAIT!!!!You will be so focused on studying which is stressful enough, add a new baby to the picture, its even more stressful.Take it from me, I was averaging 2-3 of sleep a night.After nursing a baby until 10pm I then had to stay up till 2 or 3 in the morning, then be back up at 5 to nurse the baby and have her ready for the day, then get myself ready and be out the door by 7 for 8 am classes.It was rough, do I regret it?NO!but it was really HARD!!!

I know the baby itch, my hubby and I have that feeling, but trust me it will be well worth it to wait!

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

I personally would not plan a pregnancy during nursing school. What if you have complications, or have severe nausea/vomiting? I would be afraid of getting kicked out of the program for excessive vomiting during clinicals. I had severe nausea and vomiting for the first 3 months of all 3 of my pregnancies. My employers have been accomadating where they could. I don't see it going over well if you are doing a procedure with your teacher, catch a whiff of something awful, and quickly ask the teacher to finish up while you excuse yourself to vomit. A co-worker is more likely to make a joke of it and carry on. Nursing school is intense, I can't imagine adjusting to having a newborn while also having to study all of the time. Your sleep is severely short changed during the early months of having a baby. (unless you have a great support system!) I can't imagine having to be "on" in school/clinical like that. With working you have "sick time" if your baby is sick- what will you do if your baby is sick during clinicals? How will you feel if they need to go to the ER and you can't be with them? I feel like you would miss out on a lot of the baby's "firsts" if you are away at school AND busy studying, taking care of a house, sleeping, and other essentials. I don't know if you planned on breast feeding, but I see a clinical instructor being much less accomodating to needing pump breaks (and a location to pump!) every 3 hours, where as an employer would generally be a bit more understanding. I haven't had a major problem with pumping at work yet. Sometimes it has to be delayed an hour if things are CRAZY, but otherwise, I go do it and co-workers are understanding.

I think it would be ideal if you could graduate, land a job, and then work 6 months before trying to conceive. That way, you wouldn't be sick while on orientation, (i.e. will not get fired during your probationary period for some kind of non-sense reason) would not be stressed/not feeling well while learning the new job since you will know it pretty well by 6 months, and your FMLA would kick in by the time delivery time comes. ;) Therefore, you won't get fired for taking a 6-12 week leave. You would be there over a year at that point, so you would now be considered "experienced" compared to new grads. You can then take a little more time off than the typical 6 weeks if you feel you don't want to return so soon. I always thought I would want to return right away, but boy was I wrong! I needed more bonding time with my kids. If you deliver shortly after starting a job, you will feel pressured to return right away. I worked two years before I delivered my first, and it worked pretty well.

Or you can have a baby soon, and then delay school for a year or two after when things have settled down. It is MUCH easier to leave a toddler/pre-schooler to go to work than a baby, IMO.

Good luck, I know it is hard wanting it all and wanting it NOW!

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Specializes in ICU, psych, corrections.

I agree with the majority of the posters above and in addition, children are VERY expensive. LOL. What, God forbid, you don't graduate nursing school after having that cute little baby? Now you've got a double whammy....a child and no RN degree. I went through nursing school with a 3 year old and a 6 year old, which was really tough, but manageable (the older one was in school full time and the younger in preschool). I was working in the ICU full time when I got pregnant with my youngest. I worked up until I was 38 weeks and it wasn't that difficult. Granted, I had a very healthy pregnancy and felt great. There were things I couldn't do, such as take care of patients in certain isolation or chemo patients. But overall, it wasn't bad at all and I worked nightshift. I had my little guy and took 2 months off with him. Knowing I had an RN degree to fall back on made it easier taking that time off, financially speaking.

Having a baby in school can be done; I was in school with several girls who did it and excelled. But that doesn't mean it works for everyone. And with the economy the way it is now (I graduated in 2005) and jobs a little more scarce, my opinion would be to wait until you graduate and get a year under your belt. That way, you've got some nice annual leave built up and can stay at home with your little baby boy or girl without worrying about losing your job AND get paid for it! = )

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A friend of mine already had 5 pretty young children when she began school. I know it was pretty hard. She says her husband helped a lot, as did the oldest 2 kids, as much as she could. She recalls being on Sunday outings to the park or beach with the family - and her books.

She recalls some instructors who let her take the 2 15 minute breaks that she got during clinicals along with her 30 minute lunch break. That allowed her to close her eyes, rather than eat, for about 35 or 40 minutes. Other instructors weren't so accommodating.

It was really hard for her. But she made it! And a lot of other people have succeeced in working full time, raising a family, and also going to school. You just have to have lots of helpers - your parents, your neighbors, your friends - for when you can't be in 2 or 3 places at the same time.

It seems like maybe it would be good to get pregnant toward the end of Nursing school. I guess there's no ideal time but I think you'll figure out what works best for you and your husband.

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We're thinking of starting a family.. I'm going into nursing school this January and so I wanted to ask the wise and experienced people here about what they think and any advice they might have.

Is it better to get pregnant/have your first newborn during nursing school or right after, as a new hire? What is less stressful? I was thinking having a child during nursing school would be less stressful, as there might be more time for the child..but then again, nursing school is all about proving yourself so who knows?

Any insight would be amazing...

Thanks!

I would have to say neither-school is stressful, being a new grad is stressful. IMO.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Neither is a sensible option.

Both choices are nuts.

Start when you're comfy as a nurse....anyway, that would be MY choice...

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Specializes in Emergency Department, House Supervisor.

I had a two year-old and a newborn when I started nursing school. Then, after I had been a nurse for two years I had my third child.

Having lived this issue from both sides, I would say having a child during nursing school was the best for my second child. Studying was done at home, so I was with him and able to breast feed for longer.

On the other hand, when I had my son while I was already a nurse, I was able to play "parent tag" with my husband, as in...he was with the baby at night while I worked, and I was with him during the day...while NOBODY slept! This was very bad for me, but I honestly didn't want to use daycare for one so little and this situation allowed me to avoid that for a time.

Finally though, I was lucky to know that I needed a lot of help.

Being a new nurse versus being a new nursing student...both are extremely stressful. And a lot depends on your school. I went to a very nurturing BSN program. I have taught at an ADN program though that was run like a boot-camp, and I would not recommend that anyone attending the latter type venture into "new mommy" or "with child" land during that time period.

I hope that this was helpful. In the end, everything depends on how bad you want a child and how well-developed your coping skills...oh yeah and if you KNOW when to cry "uncle."

Good luck.

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I was pregnant with my first child during LPN school. I actually had her 3 days after graduation. Now I am pregnant with my second 3 months after starting at my first RN position. Its stressful in both situations. But having your first at the end of nursing school was actually easier because if you can work it so you have him/her after graduation you have that time off before you take boards and start working. When you are working you still have the nausea/tiredness etc and you still have to be able to take care of your patients. Not to mention some places of employment don't qualify you for FMLA until you have worked there at least one year. Just a thought. Good luck in school!

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Thanks all for the amazing advice and kind words!

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Specializes in Surgery.

I do not speak from experience. What seems to be the most common at my school is for women to plan it so that they give birth a couple weeks after completion of their senior year. That way they can take time off after graduation to spend with the baby. When they feel up to it, they can dive back into the books to study for NCLEX.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

How old are you? I ask because we all have a biological clock that we need to consider when having children.

Although you will hear stories of people who did it all with triplets and breastfeeding WHILE taking the NCLEX exam, if it's something that can biologically wait until you've settled into nursing for a year or two, wait!

Many people can handle the most enormous stress under the most unfavorable of conditions, but why would you want to if you have a choice?

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
Neither is a sensible option.

Both choices are nuts.

Start when you're comfy as a nurse....anyway, that would be MY choice...

One more thing:

The fact that I didn't have to start anything when my kids were born meant I was able to take 6 months off (my boss was really kind to me) for each of them.

I enjoyed their babyhood to the FULLEST.

Minimal stressors...:cool:

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