Pregnant Student Nurse

[studentnurse32/80]

In August I will start my first rounds of clinical. I'm also due the first week of September. I am giving serious consideration to returning to school immediately after delivery. This is not my first child and although I am older then I was when I birthed my older children, I healed very quickly. My support team is very helpful and I have care providers already set up. I wanted to know if anyone else has done this and what was their experience like. My husband wants me to sit out a semester but I have worked entirely too hard to get here to just for lack of a better phrase "sit down". Inquiring minds wanna know what do you think???

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Depending on the structure of your curriculum, missing a semester may mean you end up an entire year behind, since some programs only offer certain classes in the fall, and those classes must be completed before you can move forward in the program.

Have you discussed this with your nursing school Dean/advisor? Do you know what the expectations are for clinical attendance? If the birth of your child means that you miss even just 1-2 clinical days, will you still be allowed to continue in the program? Do they offer make-up days later in the semester for students with extenuating circumstances? Do you need to provide a note from your OB that you can return to school with no restrictions? If you have physical restrictions, will the school accommodate them during clinical rotations? Also, any plans you make to return to school immediately are tentative. Pregnancies are unpredictable. What if you need to be on bed rest? What if you end up having a cesarean section? You may end up missing more school time than you planned. Will the school allow you to withdraw from classes and re-enroll next semester/year, or will you have failures on your record? These are details that you need to discuss with the nursing school before you can make an informed decision.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

If your program is structured for Spring and Fall admissions, I'd probably sit out a semester just to heal and get a good routine set. If it's Fall only, I'd jump right back into the program after delivery. I'd also talk to my guidance counselor.