Pregnancy and Nursing School

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Mar 15, 2016

Don't have kids during school. Nursing school is hectic enough with class, clinicals & lab. You don't want to add the stress of a pregnancy into the mix.

You've never been pregnant before either so you don't know what your pregnancy will be like. You could have a smooth pregnancy, delivery & post pregnancy or it could be the complete opposite. Just don't risk it.

augurey · Mar 15, 2016

I think regardless of which direction you go, either have kids before or after school. It's hard. Absolutely doable, but it's hard.

As OrganizedChaos said, if it's your first pregnancy, you don't know what your pregnancy will be like. Even if you had kids before, each pregnancy can be different. My daughter turned 2 a few weeks into my program while I was 36 weeks pregnant. I had an unexpected c section with my first, so I was trying for a vbac with my second. I ended up having another c section 4 weeks into the program. I had to be out for 3 weeks. That's in addition to having to miss a couple of days for having to be monitored in L&D for reduced fetal movement towards the end. It was hard to balance deciding when I absolutely needed to just go into class or when a trip to L&D was warranted. I could've been there every day for as much as I worried, but I also couldn't miss a ton of classes. I missed a lot of material and had to make up labs that I missed. I'm very fortunate to be in a program that was understanding and very willing to work with me and allow me to make up the time missed. Not every school is like that, so if you did decide to have a baby during school, that's something you'll want to look into.

Not to mention having a newborn / infant in school is HARD. I'm very fortunate that my husband does way more than his fair share so I can focus on school, but it is still very hard (not to mention the time I've had to miss out with him because of school). My baby is just now 6 months old with a protein dairy allergy and bad reflux (to the point of not gaining weight). It's absolutely draining. Worth it, but it's absolutely draining. My instructors tell me all of the time that they have no idea how I'm even doing it.

I would definitely recommend either having kids before or after, not during if you can plan it as such.

hiya234 · Mar 15, 2016

Both very good points!! Thank you for sharing!!

I worded my question a bit off! I prefer not to be pregnant during the program. In terms of having a child before and then being a mother during the program, how was your experience with that?

Thank you!!

augurey · Mar 15, 2016

Both very good points!! Thank you for sharing!!
I worded my question a bit off! I prefer not to be pregnant during the program. In terms of having a child before and then being a mother during the program, how was your experience with that?
Thank you!!

I think it really depends on you.

If you started the ADN with a child, you have to keep in mind appointments, illness, etc. You're probably going to miss out on some time with your kid(s). You may be able to manage to where you can spend some quality time, but there may be times school has to be priority and you miss out on them. Will you have to miss class to take them to appointments or will your husband or another family member be able to take them? What about if the kid(s) are sick? Who is going to stay home with them?

I think that's the main thing you're going to have to ask yourself. I was in another program when I only had my daughter. I had night classes only, but they lapsed with my husband's job for a bit of time. There were a few times I had to stay home from class because my husband got called out or had to work late. It was nearly impossible for him to miss work. Even if I was okay to have her home during the day, it was difficult juggling a sick toddler and trying to study / do homework.

If you think that's doable, the best thing you can do is get a support system in place and have a plan. I have a crazy summer semester coming up, and my husband and I already have had to start making plans on what to do if the kids are sick. I absolutely can't miss as it's a 10 week semester, and he can't miss as he's still new at his new job. So now we're scrambling to find a back up plan, a back up plan for the back up plan and so forth.

If you are going to work during the ADN program, you will want to consider how much time that'll leave you with the kid(s). I'm in no way saying which program to choose, but it's stuff that may make the choice easier (or maybe more difficult lol) and that you'll want to take into consideration when making the decision.

hiya234 · Mar 15, 2016

augurey you make some good points. Lots of things that I would have never thought about (not having any kids of my own yet). Dr. appointments, sick children, schedule conflicts with my husband and more would all definitely be things that would add stress to any program. I really respect all the men and women that have children while attending school! Thanks for sharing!

Bat Lady · Mar 21, 2016

I went through an ADN program which included a lot of single moms and not a few who were married with kids. We all had our problems with sitters, illnesses, and everything that goes along with having kids. However, the program was such that we'd all finished our prereqs before getting in, and classes were not every day, nor were clinicals. My kids were kindergarten age and older when I started, and things just pretty much worked out for me. I did have to bring my daughter to a lecture once, but she read quietly while it went on. Others had to bring kids on occasion too, and it was tolerated so long as they were not disruptive. Community colleges, and programs like mine, are fairly understanding. We did have one classmate who had a baby the summer between first and second year. Baby came to class more than once in a Snugli and we adopted him as kind of a mascot. She said she read her textbooks out loud to him. When we had our pinning ceremony we thought he should be recognized too, but the instructors didn't really want him onstage. She did, however, dedicate her pin to him and got a huge round of applause. So that's the other side of the story.