Pregnant during orientation as new grad RN?

labrador4122, RN · Apr 8, 2008

I was pregnant when I was working as a CNA, and it was tough at times. I did 12hour day shifts, and only worked 1 time a week.

and I got tired at the end of the day.... and also when I had a patient who did not want to take his blood pressure, and the mom wasnt' helping either

JENNLEE · Apr 8, 2008

i was pregnant my last year of nursing school - graduated in may 07 - clinicals for me were tough! i gained so much weight and the added weight was quite a change for the worse speaking in particular to my back, my feet, and my butt! concentration ran thin and found myself daydreaming at times about my baby! i made it though! had my lil girl 2 days before i graduated! couldn't go to graduation - but who cared - i had a beautiful little girl and i was in no condition to get up and get dressed and go there and etc etc etc....

anyhow....

i waddled here and there

tired feet all day long

there were times that i didn't think i was going to make it, but i did.

it's all in how your perspective is on it.

if you think you can. you will

you will have bad days

you will have good days

it's just like your life now - except times 2!

you will be fine! goodluck! and congratulations on graduating!

labrador4122, RN · Apr 8, 2008

yes! what I meant so say is that it is doable to have a baby and go to school or go to work.

and when you are at work you also meet so many other people, and you have stories to share!

it's awesome.

with lots of love and dedication, you can get thru anything!

NewYorkGirl · Apr 9, 2008

I think what it boils down to for me is that although I recognize that waiting to get pregnant would be a smart career move, I can't help but to be super emotional about the whole baby thing... I've wanted a baby since we first got married but this is the first month that I've gotten the "okay" from my doctor due to various health problems (uterine septum that had to be fixed, chronic ITP, and anticardiolipin antibodies).

So DH and I have come to a compromise that I can be happy with - we'll stop PREVENTING pregnancy, but we won't actively "try" to conceive until after orientation. If I get pregnant, I'll be ecstatic, and if not, I'll be able to focus more on nursing...

Thanks for all the input!

labrador4122, RN · Apr 9, 2008

that's awesome! good luck with your future baby!

HRM672 · Apr 10, 2008

NY girl,

I just wanted to tell you that I was pregnant in nursing school and lost the baby (not because of nursing school, I have infertility and medical issues) and then got pregnant again soon after. I found out I was pregnant one week before I began my new job. I was sick, vomiting several times a day every day, the entire way through the pregnancy.

I worked full time, 12 hour shifts, all the way up to 39 weeks. My last shift was on a Friday, and when I left I told them that I couldn't do any more 12's, but maybe I would pick up an 8 or 2 the next week. My water broke that night and I had my beautiful, healthy daughter the next day.

I was so nervous about trying to start a new job when pregnant. I was worried about how my employer would react. I was worried about being too fatigued, about getting dehydrated, about inadvertantly doing something to harm the baby, about everything you can worry about :)

In the end, it was fine. My employer was great, I was able to work, I learned a new job and now I am happily settled in my job with a 7 month old daughter. Furthermore, there were four other nurses on my floor who delivered within one month of me.

It's scary to have a baby, it never seems like the right time. But it all works out. You can have a baby and work in nursing. You can learn a new job and go through the changes of pregnancy. It all works out fine. If you do have problems, your physician will recognize that and will work with you to develop a plan for a safe pregnancy. You could stay home while pregnant and still have problems. I had bleeding and ended up being on "home rest"...stay home and rest unless working. That worked fine for me, the bleeding stopped, and I was active again by the end of the pregnancy.

So...I didn't mean to ramble so much. Just wanted to tell you that whatever and whenever you decide, you can do it. Congratulations, both on your graduation and your impending journey to parenthood :)

notactuallyblonde · Apr 10, 2008

I was 5 months pregnant when I started orientation at the hospital, now I'm 8 months. I'd say it has been wonderful the last couple of months, I didn't really "feel" pregnant, but now it's becoming really tough and painful to move around, especially bending over. I haven't really felt overwhelmingly tired at work. Though, after I get home, an hour later I hit the sack. The only drawback I can see, is if you get the morning sickness bad. I can't imagine working the first four months of my pregnancy.

ukstudent · Apr 10, 2008

Not trying to bring you down. Just some things to think about. Until you have worked for a year you are NOT covered by FMLA. If you have any problems during the pregnancy and need to go on bed-rest they do not have to keep your job. You will not get the 6-12 weeks off after having the baby.

Wishing you the best, and if this is the best time according to your doctor to have the baby then go for it. If necessary you can always get another job, you may not always be this healthy.

NewYorkGirl · Apr 10, 2008

Thanks for sharing the first hand experiences! I appreciate the input so much :) I'm really hoping to be able to work up to the end of the pregnancy, take a month or 2 off, then go back full time... I'm a bit worried that it won't work out as planned (since things rarely do) but I know if I can have a child it will be worth all the stress...

My hospital's HR said that if you've been working there less than a year they will usually hold your job if they get a specific return date that's less than 8 weeks away... and after 6 months on the job I'll have 2 weeks paid vacation time accrued that I can use...

Fortunately DH earns enough that we've been living on his salary since we got married... our plan is to save the money I make working as a nurse and invest it in real estate... our goal is to own an apartment building someday...

So if G-d forbid something happened and I had to go on bed rest or something we wouldn't lose the house or anything :) But I still really really want to work, it's very important to me to feel like I can take care of myself...

But having a kid feels more important than all of that... LOL now I'M rambling!!!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 10, 2008

Not trying to bring you down. Just some things to think about. Until you have worked for a year you are NOT covered by FMLA. If you have any problems during the pregnancy and need to go on bed-rest they do not have to keep your job. You will not get the 6-12 weeks off after having the baby.

I'm so glad I live in Canada. Our maternity leaves can last as long as a year (and in our unit, most do). Our Employment Insurance program pays 55% of your gross income for 15 weeks, and our collective agreement provides a top-up for the remainder of the year. The qualifying period for the employer's MLOA is that you've completed your probationary period (503.75 hours) and for Employment insurance it's 600 hours in the preceding 52 weeks. If the mom is sick before the baby arrives, our sick leave provisions kick in, and if the baby is sick after it's born, the EI portion is extended by a week for each week the baby is in hospital.

NewYorkGirl · Apr 10, 2008

Wow, that's something! In the US you have to have been working for a year to even be guaranteed that they'll hold your job for 12 weeks, and the American's with Disabilities Act will pay you up to $170 a week for 6 weeks after a lady partsl birth...