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Hi all! 

Kind of a weird question - but, I figured I'd ask for some advice and get your thoughts! 

I am currently 33 years old, and aiming to apply in the spring of 2023. I am newly married, and wanting to start a family soon. Although the thought of having an infant/young child during the start of PA school sounds daunting, I fortunately have great support. I don't want to put off my dream of PA school (or having kids!)...but unfortunately biology is not on my side! I have over 10 years of clinical experience (as a Registered Dietitian in an acute care setting), and have worked extremely hard these past few years renewing all my pre-reqs! I feel so torn - wait to try to have children until AFTER PA school...or before? 
Will schools look at me different during interviews if I am pregnant? 😕  I hope that is a silly question, but you never know! 

Thank you!

Edited by AKay89
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As a mom of three, I would not have wanted to be pregnant or have an infant while in PA school or on rotations- it is a grueling schedule and huge time commitment- more so than having a 40/week job, because not only are you in lecture during didactic, you are always needing to study on your “down time”.  Could you do it with a strong support network and a s/o willing to take on your share of parenting a newborn- sure you can (there is no way to predict if you’ll have an easy baby or a colicky one!). You will need your sleep time during school! Plus if you are focused on school you are less likely to be able to savor that precious baby time. I don’t know for certain, but I think an obviously pregnant candidate might start out with a strike against them even thought programs can’t explicitly deny you because you are pregnant (but they could state another reason)- they may question your ability to navigate PA school with an infant. I was actually asked at one of my PA school interviews “how will you handle our difficult program with three kids?” (I had an elementary, and 2 middle schoolers when I started PA school) I was completely stunned. I answered, “they do have a father who is fully capable of stepping up and caring for them when I am at school or studying”. I got into that program, but declined the spot. I don’t think a man would have been asked the same question. Ultimately you need to do what is best for you and your significant other. Remember too,  PA school will always be there! If you have any specific questions feel free to DM me! Good luck!

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14 hours ago, 1madmamma said:

As a mom of three, I would not have wanted to be pregnant or have an infant while in PA school or on rotations- it is a grueling schedule and huge time commitment- more so than having a 40/week job, because not only are you in lecture during didactic, you are always needing to study on your “down time”.  Could you do it with a strong support network and a s/o willing to take on your share of parenting a newborn- sure you can (there is no way to predict if you’ll have an easy baby or a colicky one!). You will need your sleep time during school! Plus if you are focused on school you are less likely to be able to savor that precious baby time. I don’t know for certain, but I think an obviously pregnant candidate might start out with a strike against them even thought programs can’t explicitly deny you because you are pregnant (but they could state another reason)- they may question your ability to navigate PA school with an infant. I was actually asked at one of my PA school interviews “how will you handle our difficult program with three kids?” (I had an elementary, and 2 middle schoolers when I started PA school) I was completely stunned. I answered, “they do have a father who is fully capable of stepping up and caring for them when I am at school or studying”. I got into that program, but declined the spot. I don’t think a man would have been asked the same question. Ultimately you need to do what is best for you and your significant other. Remember too,  PA school will always be there! If you have any specific questions feel free to DM me! Good luck!

Thank you for your reply! Will definitely DM you! It's a struggle being a woman with a lot of aspirations 🙂 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi! I am just about to graduate PA school. I became pregnant during didactic year and had the baby 4 days after didactic year ended. I returned 1 week postpartum for a clinical bootcamp and delayed my clinical start by 2 rotations. I ended up getting about 11 weeks maternity leave. It had taken me 3 application cycles to get into PA school and our plan was always to wait until after PA school to have a baby. During school, we felt like we should start a family and decided to get pregnant! It sounds pretty crazy to others but it honestly worked out great. We had a lot of family nearby, my husband worked from home, and we hired an amazing nanny. There were two other women in my class who gave birth during clinical year and seven women in the class ahead of me that had babies during PA school. Everyone is different and you have to figure out what works best for you but if it's something you really want (whether that's PA school, a baby, or both), you can make it work! It is hard and requires a lot of juggling. I love my days in clinic and I love my time with my baby. I feel like I have learned how to prioritize my time and to study smarter not longer. I had several classmates and faculty who have asked inappropriate questions such as if my baby was an accident or if I plan to work at all after graduation. The mama above is right, men will never get asked these questions. But you just shake it off. I will take the PANCE about 2 months after my classmates but I already have a promising job opportunity. In my opinion, graduating 2 months later in my career doesn't make a difference in the long run. Of course everyone is very different and you have to decide what is best for you and your family! Feel free to message me if you have any questions. 

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