IdahoPA Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Recent posts have discussed having children while in a program. I have no desire to do that; while I'm sure many women have done well with the additional stress and commitments, I don't think I'd be one of them. Additionally, we are actually moving further away from our families so I can attend school, so we'd have less support. However, I do want kids in the next few years. (My age, we want our kids to be chronologically close to their cousins- 7 of which are already born!) I'll graduate in Aug 2014. Would it be an ok idea to be pregnant through the last half of the clinical year and deliver after the program ends? I wouldn't expect any allowances for my condition and am curious as to whether this situation would place too much stress on me and the unborn little one. Or is the best advice simply to wait until I'm entirely finished with PA school? I'm open to hearing all sides and experiences, both positive and negative. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Eh, you never know what you can handle until you're forced to handle it. We're doing OBGYN right now, and I never knew so many things could go WRONG in a pregnancy - it's just never happened in my family nor to anyone I know. Flip side is you could have a grand old time with no bumps besides the one you wanted. ;) There's a woman in her second year here right now, last rotation before graduation. She's 33 weeks - I only know because she volunteered to let us all practice doing fundal heights on her. We asked her if she had any advice for making it through the clinical year, and our professor at the back of the room said (a little too loudly) "don't get pregnant." You'll hear all sorts, LOL. Ask yourself if 6 months is worth the added stress and potential problems. If it really matters to you to have the baby six months closer in age to his cousins, go for it. But in my experience, 6 months is only a big deal for a couple of years. I want kids too and with all the babies popping up around me lately I've started to think on it. But my other half is pretty good about keeping my feet on the ground with this kind of thing... I'm always eager for the next adventure, often before the current one is really complete. And I include the first year of work as school, really, since I'll be struggling to find my professional identity and confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsquirrel Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 l.a....I will be graduating in May 2014 and I had been thinking of doing something similar. I think I've all but decided against it for a couple of reasons: 1. I don't want to be studying for the PANCE with a new baby. 2. I don't want to be interviewing for my first PA job while obviously pregnant or taking maternity leave right away. 3. (this hopefully doesn't apply to you) I would be considered a high risk pregnancy. I don't need another stressful thing to deal with during PA school. I'm hoping to have a baby after I've worked as a PA for about a year (remember that you can't take FMLA maternity leave in the first 50 weeks of a new job) but we'll see what happens. Good luck with whatever you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Good points, ladies. Greenmood, the time frame is more for health reasons, than cousins. I really like the last point you made about the first year. Also, I didn't even consider the studying for PANCE aspect. Hmmm, gives me more to think about. Thanks!! Good luck to you, too, flying squirrel. Hope it all works out! Sometimes I'm such a planner that I have to remember that things have a way of working out when/how they're supposed to. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 l.a....I will be graduating in May 2014 and I had been thinking of doing something similar. I think I've all but decided against it for a couple of reasons:1. I don't want to be studying for the PANCE with a new baby. 2. I don't want to be interviewing for my first PA job while obviously pregnant or taking maternity leave right away. 3. (this hopefully doesn't apply to you) I would be considered a high risk pregnancy. I don't need another stressful thing to deal with during PA school. I'm hoping to have a baby after I've worked as a PA for about a year (remember that you can't take FMLA maternity leave in the first 50 weeks of a new job) but we'll see what happens. Good luck with whatever you decide. this was my thought when I read your post...do you really want to be going through the job application process with a bun in the oven with the timer about go off? I realize that jobs aren't supposed to discriminate against pregnant women but somehow they alway manage to "hire a more qualified applicant"...weird how that works. [/sarcasm] Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Will your cousins have more babies? Me and my cousin are really close (grew up together), and the joke is that our kids are going to be the dynamic sports duo of their age. Him and his wife just had their first (daughter). They plan on having more, so we're not sweating it. Maybe their first child will be the loner, but there's always a chance in the future for a tighter "group", to use rifle target analogy, in their ages :) With 7 already out, you've got a lot of catching up to do! And if you decide to wait, just think of all the "hand me downs" your kids will score from their cool older cousins :) Hopefully my post wasn't too negative for anybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Greenmood, the time frame is more for health reasons, than cousins. Ah, gotcha. I mean, you do what you have to then, yes? There are some great points here against it including the PANCE (I can't study when my husband is breathing too loudly in the room... I would be a disaster) and possible job discrimination (new grads are already at a disadvantage for hiring in a lot of places) BUT there are things more important in life. Gotta look long term - that could really go either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 Good points, all. One more question, a sort of follow up, if you will. I wasn't actually planning on going from school to work. (Wahoo, break to visit scattered family!) Is a few months not working after grad a bad thing? Is the market really so saturated that finding a job will be an issue if I wait? Or is it more a matter of the perceived loss of skill in that time frame? Thanks muchly! I really do appreciate your thoughts. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I have no idea about market saturation really, but around here (Chicago) there are postings all year 'round on IAPA and the local health systems. And we have 5 schools in the city & burbs, so there shouldn't be a shortage of new grads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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