Pregnant before nursing school or while in school?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I'm almost finished with my pre-reqs and registered to begin my 5 quarter accelerated BSN program in roughly 12 mos. My husband and I have baby fever big time and quite excited to start a family (We are both in our late 20's and wanting 2-3 children). I'm just personally struggling with making the right decision as try to get pregnant now and start the accelerated program with a 2 mo. old or wait and become pregnant while in nursing school. I know my husband will be a great support if we have a baby before school, but I will also probably need to work a few hours part-time for extra financial support, limiting time with my family. My only concern with waiting and getting pregnant during nursing school is being sick and difficulty finding a job while being pregnant. I know there are rights protecting agains this - but I still hear stories about this stuff happening. Any suggestions from those of you in similar shoes? THANKS!

I haven't read any replies aside from the Op so if I am repeating things I apologize. I am speaking strictly from personal experience. As a father/husband, I would advise waiting until AFTER you finish nursing school before starting a family. Even then, I would likely advise waiting until you have your first year of actual nursing under your belt before you start. My wife got pregnant during her final year on her BSN and literally gave birth 2.5 weeks after she walked with her diploma. She got to breastfeed for 3 months before going in to the workforce and I quit my job to be stay at home dad and continue with my education finally. It was VERY hard for her. It was VERY hard for me. The first year of being in the workforce is VERY stressful. You may realize you absolutely hate working in the field you have chosen and want to go from NICU to somewhere else. She is going to be 31 this year and she has spoken about wanting another baby. I absolutely refuse, even though I'd love another as well. However I am not going to put that kind of stress on myself through school or on our relationship or on our children as well.

Nursing school is not a breeze. the first year of working is not a breeze. You learn MUCH during school and you learn even MORE when you actually start working. Between getting used to all the new coworkers and dealing with the hate the older nurses have for you, trying to care for a new born and deal with your emotions rationally is going to be tough ( though for you it may not be an issue at all).

Again, this is coming from the POV of a husband/father in a similar situation. My wife and I are glad we did have the second child though because if we hadn't we would have never had her to begin with. By the time I would be ready for a third, my wife would be close to 35 and that isn't something we want to do.

I hope I was able to help a bit with a different view point.

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I dunno. Whatever happened to get your education(s), get your careers established, put some money in the bank, THEN have a baby. Personally, I'd not handicap myself with pregnancy and childcare while trying to learn nursing. I want all of my time free to study, work 12-14 hrs per day, and learn, and I'd like to get 8 hrs of sleep per night, too, thanks.

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My wife and I are glad we did have the second child though because if we hadn't we would have never had her to begin with. By the time I would be ready for a third, my wife would be close to 35 and that isn't something we want to do. quote]

You think 35 is too old to have a child? I have a friend who is expecting at 45 (a surprise pregnancy) and I had my last child the month before I was 41. I have definitely enjoyed her more than the others, mostly because I feel older and wiser -- and by now I know what stuff to sweat and what to let slide.

Great advice on the other stuff, though.

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You think 35 is too old to have a child? I have a friend who is expecting at 45 (a surprise pregnancy) and I had my last child the month before I was 41. I have definitely enjoyed her more than the others, mostly because I feel older and wiser -- and by now I know what stuff to sweat and what to let slide.

Great advice on the other stuff, though.

Yes I personally feel that anything passed 30 is too old for children. That's MY life decision though, if other people have different feelings or goals then fine with me. :) I was just offering her another view point that she may not have seen or thought about.

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Specializes in ICU hopeful!.

I'm not a mother, and don't know if I ever will be, but, I know that I would personally consider waiting until AFTER nursing school.

I tend to throw myself into my endeavors. If I was in NS and pregnant, I would invariably end up spending the majority of my time reading pregnancy and parenting books, not NS books, LOL.

Would it be possible for you and your DH to wait on getting pregnant until after NS AND after you've found a job? That would be ideal, at least to me, but again just my :twocents: as I have never been a mom and won't be considering it for a while, if ever. :)

Also, some things to consider: being pregnant and then having a newborn while in NS will more than likely be a source of stress for you - my mom dropped out of NS when I was born. She wanted to go back then got pregnant with my little sister. She never finished NS, because she ended up being a SAHM. Fast forward 15 years into a marriage and she suddenly is a single mom with no real education. She always felt guilty she didn't complete school and couldn't provide better for us, help us pay for college, etc. What I'm meaning to say is, if you have an established career already, it is easier to ensure you can not only financially support your child in terms of diapers, etc. but be able to afford them fun things like a senior study abroad trip, college, a car, sports (sports are extremely expensive to play nowadays), etc.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

There used to be a thread on here about someone who had two kids I think during NS. (If anyone remembers what I'm talking about feel free to post the link lol!)

One of the ladies I sat next to in my A&PII class was pregnant with her 3rd child. She planned to enter nursing school this fall. From what she told me, she had a really great husband & family, plus her two other kids were older so they could probably help with the newborn as well. So if you have a great support system & think you can balance NS, marriage & a baby than I say go for it.

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Specializes in None.

My husband and I have been trying for 5 years. We are both 33 years old, and there is no way I'll put off trying, for school. Being a nurse and being a mom are both very important to me. I start clinicals next month. If it happens while I'm still in school, I'll get through it! If you have any reason to think that y'all will have problems conceiving, then I'd say go for it now in case it takes a long time.

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I dunno. Whatever happened to get your education(s), get your careers established, put some money in the bank, THEN have a baby. Personally, I'd not handicap myself with pregnancy and childcare while trying to learn nursing. I want all of my time free to study, work 12-14 hrs per day, and learn, and I'd like to get 8 hrs of sleep per night, too, thanks.

Ideally, that's what I'd like to do in terms of having children. But I fear that by the time I get my career established, put money in the bank and be financially ready, I'll be older and the chances of having pregnancy complications, birth defects or infertility increase.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I just skimmed this, but has anyone mentioned the possibility of clinical experiences bringing you into contact with infections which you might be able to fight off but which could be teratogenic for a pregnant woman?

Additionally, unless you're MMR immune, the vaccine is not given to pregnant women or women who are planning to become pregnant since it is teratogenic as well.

Sounds like a bad idea all the way around to me.

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Agreed with Anoetos!! I wish I were 20s!!

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