Pregnant new grad

Curious1alwys, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

Hey!

Congrats on your pregnancy!! :yeah: :heartbeat:up:

My situation was almost exactly like yours! I grad May 2007 and unexpectedly fell pregnant the end of May. It was quite a shock but we were happy. I went on to start my first new grad job...on days...but ended up feeling so unbelievably stressed (wasn't sleeping, crying all the time..you know, the norm--I had ZERO confidence!) that my husband and I decided that it was best for me and baby to quit and wait to pursue nursing until after baby was born. I only worked a few months. Two weeks after leaving the job I found out via ultrasound that my baby had died weeks earlier and I had no clue. We were devastated.

Didn't know where to go from there. Had to have surgery and that but didn't know if I wanted to jump right back into nursing or get pregnant. Well, found another job a few months later and BAM couple weeks into that job PREGNANT! We couldn't believe it. At my age, we thought it would take much longer. So..you can only imagine the anxiety I had the second time..the wondering if it was the stress of being a new grad that did it to me (the miscarriage). I even wondered if my getting pregnant right after landing a job was fate..a sign... So...I ended up leaving that job after only ONE MONTH. I was being exposed to all kinds of nasties and of course, the stress was the same. As a new grad, there is just nothing you can do to lessen it. The 12 hour shifts that turned into 14 really did not appeal either. Or the lunches that never came! (HELLO! I'm pregnant I have to eat!) My old job, while lesser paying and not in nursing, had so much flexibility (and gauranteed breaks and lunches) that I decided to go back to that while preggo. I make my hours and as many as I want.

I am now 23 weeks pregnant with a seemingly healthy baby girl. :yeah: Would this have happened anyway if I had kept my job? I don't know. But I know my personality is such that I have a large tendency towards anxiety/depression and I am not sure I could have hacked it..especially exhausted, with morning sickness, etc. I don't really have any regrets per se about not starting nursing now except I am very worried that I won't be able to get a job a few months after I deliver baby if that is what we decide to do (we are still undecided). Also, obviously, I am afraid I am forgetting, but I know a refresher course is a possibility and that not all is lost. If you read my past posts you will see that I had a few other issues as well with my career choice.

I say....and I mostly believe this now....miscarriages don't happen from stress, although I do believe chronic stress can affect the fetus. They say there is nothing you could have done. Take a hard look at yourself and how you handle stress. I myself am very high strung most of the time (so much so that I will be on meds when I do decide to pursue nursing again) and didn't even know if I liked nursing as a career choice! if it is your passion, then you are likely to feel a bit less stressed out doing it and you'll probably not be able to come up with a zillion reasons why you should quit (like I did). I say if you have never worked nights by all means pick days if you can..so much healthier. You have to consider finances too, obviously. My husband and I are just eeking by but I guess we are OK with it for now. If I absolutely 100% knew I'd be able to get a job when I finally go out and decide to pursue nursing I think I would have no regrets at all taking it easy now. But....if I ruined all my chances of having a job forever after working so hard on that degree..yeah, I'll be upset. Sometimes I see my friends from school and feel a twinge of envy. But then I hear their crazy stories and think, "thank goodness I am not there". LOL. In one year they will be practically indispensible in nursing and I'll be a struggling new grad. But what can you do? Life works out the way it does for a reason!

But if you do choose to take a break from nursing, make sure you take boards and get the license!! And have fun trying to explain to everyone why you became an RN and are not working as one. OMG, I get so annoyed with that question!! :down: It's PERSONAL!

My final decision was made by considering the fact that making a baby was temporary. 9 months. I thought not working as an RN for 9 months, even as a new grad, was worth it if it ensured a healthier baby. And I guess I figure it must be since I get more sleep, don't miss meals, and my BP is normal! So far so good. When I was considering the same decision I even searched here to see if there had been RN's who had graduated but not worked right away and what were their challenges. But...couldn't find much. And most people told me to get a job and work right away and wait on getting pregnant but I already was pregnant by then. Since you have had a previous miscarriage, maybe you are familiar with that feeling that you MUST get pregnant again right away after a loss. I felt that way, plus, I am in my 30's so I see it as now or never, really. I mean, what if I want more than one child?

Anyway, I am writing a novel, sorry. I feel for you. It was a hard decision for me to make. Not too many people get my decision, mostly I get the deer in the headlights look, but remember that no one knows what it feels like to be YOU. They cannot know what you are feeling. Do what you feel is right in your gut.

And take your prenatals!!!!!

Curious1alwys, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

....I also wanted to add that if you already work as a CNA or in the clinical field somehow right now maybe you will have an advantage. I had absolutely NO clinical experience outside of clinicals so I really felt like a fish out of water. If you currently are a CNA or something and could stay with the same employer, same floor, etc..that would lessen your stress immensely IMHO. Just a suggestion!:nuke: