Pregnant new grad looking for 1st job

[Emu90]

Hello! I am a recent PA graduate, just got my certification and state licensure in the last month. I am currently 17 weeks pregnant with my first child, and am looking for my first job out of PA school. My baby will be due in early February, and I'm barely showing now, to the point where it's not noticeable in most clothing. 

When in the interviewing/ hiring process should I mention my pregnancy? I know that it is not legal for them to ask me, nor am I obligated to disclose this. I have recently done an interview at a large county hospital, and am waiting to hear back on their decision. My plan currently is to disclose my pregnancy after they give me a letter of intention, but before I sign the contract. Some people have told me to wait until I already have signed the contract, but it seems like getting off on the wrong foot to me, as it could be construed as purposefully misleading. My hope is that I can show good faith by disclosing this before both parties sign the contract, but by not telling them during the interview I minimize the risk of me being totally ruled out due to my pregnancy (which I know is not supposed to happen but obviously does). 

As far as maternity leave, I know that I won't be eligible under FMLA, so I am thinking I may have to use some combination of PTO, short term disability, or just have my husband use his unpaid FMLA time to help while I have to go to work (if I only get a few weeks off). 

In a month or two, once I start really showing (and if I haven't found a job yet), I think I will realistically have to mention it in an interview, just because it'll be noticeable and kind of an 'elephant in the room.'

The only other idea I had was to work locums for 2-3 months before my baby comes, so I could save up some money, and get a permanent job after my baby is a few months old, but I've seen most people have discouraged new grads from locums work. Ultimately, I don't want to make any decisions that could impact my new career long term or jeopardize my license, so I'm now leaning against locums work. 

Any thoughts from other moms who have been through similar issues would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Reality Check 2]

In all complete honesty - wait until after baby if possible. 

Your first job will be hard enough without fatigue, preggo fog brain, back pain and swollen feet. And constant doctors appts and hopefully no bed rest or complications.

You also need to stay healthy and not ill - think cold, flu, snot season. It takes months in a new job to adjust to the germ genre of any particular place. 

Thinking from the hiring aspect - interview, hire, train, mentor, and then lose it to maternity leave - not many places are willing to do that.

Just my own Mom type of thoughts - I would wait if possible.

[sas5814]

It is a tough call and has been discussed on occasion. In a practical sense it is probably better to withhold the information but is that honest? Would an employer find a means of withdrawing an offer? Yeah... probably. 

Man... I just don't know.

[mgriffiths]

Had a friend who was in the exact same situation.  She was able to find a job - worked for approximately 8-10 weeks and then took maternity leave unpaid for 6-8 weeks.  She did not bring it up in the interview, but disclosed prior to hire just so they were aware and they discussed how the process would work.  She approached it more from: "I appreciate the job offer, but wanted to let you know that I am pregnant.  I would really like to meet to discuss how we can make this work."

[Emu90]

Thanks for the input you guys! I really appreciate it

'Reality check 2'- I definitely get what you're saying. Fortunately this particular job is in psych so the risk of getting transmittable illness is still there, but of course lower. Unfortunately, I don't think it's financially feasible for me to not work at all until after the baby comes. Wish it was an option though. Just didn't work out that way for this first baby. 

Scott: I totally agree that they could find a reason to withdraw an offer; however, if a company was to do that, it's probably a good thing for me in the long run that I don't end up there, since it would show that they were not willing or able to work around my pregnancy, and growing family. So I am trying to think of it from that perspective. 

Mgriffiths- glad to know you had a friend who was able to navigate this process. I'm glad it worked out for her. That gives me a little hope that it is possible, although of course more difficult. 

[JenPA2022]

On 9/6/2018 at 1:09 PM, Emu90 said:

Thanks for the input you guys! I really appreciate it

'Reality check 2'- I definitely get what you're saying. Fortunately this particular job is in psych so the risk of getting transmittable illness is still there, but of course lower. Unfortunately, I don't think it's financially feasible for me to not work at all until after the baby comes. Wish it was an option though. Just didn't work out that way for this first baby. 

Scott: I totally agree that they could find a reason to withdraw an offer; however, if a company was to do that, it's probably a good thing for me in the long run that I don't end up there, since it would show that they were not willing or able to work around my pregnancy, and growing family. So I am trying to think of it from that perspective. 

Mgriffiths- glad to know you had a friend who was able to navigate this process. I'm glad it worked out for her. That gives me a little hope that it is possible, although of course more difficult. 

Hello, 

I am similar situation right now. I was wondering how your journey went. Please let me know. 

Thank you

[briansk]

One of my best employees was pregnant when I hired her. By the time she was credentialed, she was 9 months pregnant. On day 4 of employment, she went into labor while working clinic with me. Left the office at 11:30 and had the baby at 2:30. Returned 8 weeks later and the rest is history. 

[rev ronin]

2 hours ago, JenPA2022 said:

I am similar situation right now. I was wondering how your journey went. Please let me know.

FYI, there's a decent chance the original poster will not be reading this site on a regular basis, so you may not get the rest of that particular story. That's one of the risks of replying to older threads, although I expect you'll likely get responses from others in similar situations.

[sas5814]

1 hour ago, rev ronin said:

FYI, there's a decent chance the original poster will not be reading this site on a regular basis, so you may not get the rest of that particular story. That's one of the risks of replying to older threads, although I expect you'll likely get responses from others in similar situations.

However if you message her through the board and her email is still valid she will get a notice that she recieved a message.