Best time to have a baby?

[khwaaa]

I was just accepted to PA school and will be 30 when I start it. My husband and I hope to have 2 kids, and there is history of infertility in my family. I'm feeling like the clock is ticking but there's not a good time in the next few years. I don't think I can handle a baby at home through didactic year and I've found a few posts that concur. We can afford living expenses and daycare on just my husband's income but it would be tight. 

1. Option 1: Have a baby during didactic year.

2. Option 2: Try to time childbirth for the period in between didactic and clinical year

3. Option 3: Try to time childbirth after graduation...while I'm looking for a job

4. Option 4: Wait until I've had some experience. I'd be like 34 or 35 during childbirth. 

Any insights would be so helpful! 

[pastudentw]

Option 3 and 4 are probably the best options. Another option, depending on your family support would be to have a child during your clinical year and essentially take a rotation off and graduate late. I know people who have done this but I'm not sure it would be something to plan on. 

If you have a child during school, remember that anything can arise during the pregnancy and that would have to be considered if your education would have to be delayed. It is hard enough to do PA school in the best circumstances, let alone if you aren't feeling 100% so with that I would say option 1 isn't your best bet. 

I haven't personally gone through this but I hope it works out!

[MT2PA]

Take option 1 off the table.

Option 2 isn't any better - my program had 3 weeks between didactic and clinical...not all programs take a break (or have varied breaks).  And that still leaves you with a newborn during rotations.  No matter what anyone tells you, clinical year is not easier or less studying, it's just more fun.  You may have longer days than didactic, more than M-F, and potentially long commutes depending on your program.  

We had a few folks time it for baby post graduation - they still found jobs and just delayed their start dates a little more than the rest of us (1-2 months worth).  Again, going to work with a fairly new baby, but likely older than if they took 8-12 weeks maternity leave so not all that different.  Depends on the field you want to go into though, too.  Being a new grad is stressful.

Bottom line, there's no right time.  There are definitely some worse times.

[khwaaa]

Thanks for the responses! Do you think pregnant students get excluded from learning experiences? Like patients with communicable diseases or radiation? Could that impact my career as a PA? 

[MT2PA]

3 hours ago, khwaaa said:

Thanks for the responses! Do you think pregnant students get excluded from learning experiences? Like patients with communicable diseases or radiation? Could that impact my career as a PA? 

I mean if you're pregnant and it's unsafe for you to be treating someone with an active disease that any otherwise pregnant woman or pregnant healthcare team member would be advised to avoid - you should avoid it.  So yea, you may, for the safety of your unborn child, not be able to examine that patient or participate in their care.

Also consider what happens if you have terrible morning sickness?  Might be difficult to participate in morning rounds.  Or scrub into a surgery.  What happens if late in your pregnancy you require bed rest?  You need to understand your programs policy on delaying rotations (which means missing and then repeating entire rotations and graduating late or complete deceleration).  Obviously these things may not happen but you need to have a plan for if they do.

Plenty of women (PAs, MDs, RNs, etc) work while pregnant, so sure, it can be done.  But as a student you don't have the luxury of PTO or time off or coworkers picking up your slack.  There are expectations of students and you will miss out on learning if you can't be an active participant for whatever reason.

[khwaaa]

You're right that there's no right time. At least I have the luxury of choosing not to have a baby during school. I of course wouldn't want to compromise my education or child so starting a family can wait a few years. I appreciate your input

[Ejohns20]

I've been thinking about this too - what about the insurance aspect? I would think that insurance would be better after landing a quality, full-time job than in school or shortly after. That alone has me considering getting a couple/few years of experience under my belt first. 

[khwaaa]

On 11/2/2018 at 10:55 AM, Ejohns20 said:

I've been thinking about this too - what about the insurance aspect? I would think that insurance would be better after landing a quality, full-time job than in school or shortly after. That alone has me considering getting a couple/few years of experience under my belt first. 

My husband has medical insurance. It's not the greatest but it'll do. I could also get student health insurance if I wanted to be double covered for prenatal visits or something. I did find out that the hospitals around me don't pay maternity leave unless you've been working there a year so that could be another benefit of getting work experience first.

[acceptedtopaschool123]

A little unconventional, but I found out I was pregnant a week after my acceptance and ended up deferring a year and starting when baby was older. This has worked well (I mean, it is hard, but I'm doing well in school and mostly at home) for our family. That *may* be another option for you. We are shooting for #2 around graduation/before starting my job.  

[acceptedtopaschool123]

Another thing - having a baby in didactic year would not be something (as a mom of an infant) would recommend. The newborn stage is HARD and I personally am not sure I could have handled that and the rigors of didactic year. Taking a month off for clinicals may be a better option, but still, a 5 week old baby is likely not sleeping well and is just so tiny still. And that's assuming you have a normal/uncomplicated pregnancy and can work normally during clinicals. 

It's really hard planning a family around school, especially when you want to have children soon. I empathize! 

[MT2PA]

On 11/4/2018 at 11:38 AM, khwaaa said:

My husband has medical insurance. It's not the greatest but it'll do. I could also get student health insurance if I wanted to be double covered for prenatal visits or something. I did find out that the hospitals around me don't pay maternity leave unless you've been working there a year so that could be another benefit of getting work experience first.

This is very common if not universal.  FMLA doesn't usually work until you've been employed for a year and at least at part time status - and maternity leave is via FMLA.  And realistically that makes sense.  

And something to check - a LOT of employers these days will not cover a spouse if they have insurance elsewhere.  Usually this means through their own employer, but if you sign up for student insurance it may mean being dropped from your husbands, not being 'double covered'.  And in my experience student health insurance is NOT cheap and not really that good - really do your research.  Could be a waste of money.

[Photograph51]

I heard about a student who had a baby during the program and the faculty kept pressuring her to quit the program.  I don't think it would work well to have to take care of even an older baby during clinicals, due to the amount of scheduling variation.

[Victory1322]

46 minutes ago, Photograph51 said:

I heard about a student who had a baby during the program and the faculty kept pressuring her to quit the program.  I don't think it would work well to have to take care of even an older baby during clinicals, due to the amount of scheduling variation.

I feel this is very program specific. There were plenty of questions during my interviews about how the schools I visited would support their students in unique circumstances, including a sudden illness or pregnancy. Perhaps the schools I interviewed at were more accommodating than others, but they gave examples of how they worked with their students to ensure they would still be able to finish their program. One mentioned how at one point, one of their students had an unplanned pregnancy and was worried about how it would affect their chances of graduating. They didn't encourage her to quit, instead they worked with her and restructured her classes a bit to help her handle the workload of being a new mother as well as a PA student. She still graduated, just at a later date than her peers due to taking some time off for the baby at first. Obviously, having a baby at any point during a PA program would not be recommended due to the rigorous nature, but things can happen and if that's the case, you'd want to make sure the school you're at would work with you as opposed to encouraging you to quit. I'm sure if the OP asked her program the best time to have a baby, they would say after PA school, but it never hurts to ask what support they would offer, if any, should she become pregnant.

Also, kwhaa, not sure what your financial situation is but PA school isn't cheap and neither is having a baby. If you already have student loans to pay for school, you'll also have to take into account you and/or your husband taking off work, cost of childcare (which can be ridiculously high in some states), added cost of necessities for the baby (i.e. diapers, formula, crib), etc. so that should probably be factored into your decision making as well. Working for a few years to gain experience and generate some cash flow to pay off any debts and to save for a baby wouldn't be a bad idea. 

TLDR: Not all programs encourage you to quit if pregnant, so ask about what support they offer, if any, should a pregnancy occur. If it were me, I would wait until after a year or more on the job in order to gain some experience and to start earning some money.

[DarcyJ]

As a parent of a child with extra needs, do not plan to have a baby during school. You have no idea what challenges you may face,and you don't want to sacrifice your future as a PA if you don't have to.  Also, I had HG until 18 weeks pregnant (and, some have it their whole pregnancy) with my second child and would never been able to stay in school that way. 

[PASOS]

I would wait. Option 3 and 4 are the best. Definitely not option 1. I just finished my second semester and all I can say is that didactic year is crazy. This last semester I took about 33 exams, with most weeks having 3 exams a week. I can't speak for everyone but I personally have to study a lot. I spend monday-thursday studying and most of the weekend. It is a lot of information and not enough time. There are 2 women in my class with little kids so it is definitely doable. I know that one of them has a great support system; her mother takes care of the baby, cooks and cleans, etc.