question-

[qwerty001]

frequent reader of the forums, never had a question until now, and it is a doozy...

Just found out I am pregnant, due date July 4th. Have interviews scheduled for January which will make me 3-4 months along and able to hide it very well.
Should I mention this during interviews, as I will have to take maternity leave at the start of residency? Or keep quiet until after the match?

Please help...anyone???

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[Faebinder]

frequent reader of the forums, never had a question until now, and it is a doozy...

Just found out I am pregnant, due date July 4th. Have interviews scheduled for January which will make me 3-4 months along and able to hide it very well.
Should I mention this during interviews, as I will have to take maternity leave at the start of residency? Or keep quiet until after the match?

Please help...anyone???

ouch.

What specialty are you going for?

Are you competitive score wise? (hate to ask that question but you got a career to consider)

American grad or FMG?

 

[qwerty001]

American grad, applying EM, ave USMLE, ample amount of interviews scheduled so far (pre-deans letter).

Anyone know how maternity leave works for residency? How much do you get? (I'm assuming you use up your 4 weeks vacation time).

This really could not have heppened at a worse time!!

 

[dpmd]

Look at this thread. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=321226&highlight=pregnant+match
This issue was discussed there.

 

[zen76]

I wouldn't mention it during interviews, programs have no right to that information, just like if you had children, "Do you have children? Plan on having more children, etc.?" or if you were married, "Are you getting married, what does your husband do, can he find a job in the area?"
Usually, paid maternity leave is 6 weeks on average, regardless of vacation. More time may be negotiable, but most likely that may be unpaid leave. Once you have matched in March, you should let your new PD know your status ASAP, when you are likely to deliver, and then it makes a difficult situation on your end and his/her end easier to accomodate. You're not the first person to be in this situation. Here's a few threads thay may help answer some questions if you can get through the personal opinions:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=321226&highlight=pregnancy

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=287208&highlight=pregnancy

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=245763&highlight=pregnancy

Hope it helps. It's not easy, but not impossible either. Good luck!

 

[Rain Elizabeth]

Congratulations!! That is very exciting! I know it may seem overwhelming right now , but check out www.MomMD.com. Lots of women are doing it, and there is a HUGE amount of info and encouragement on the site.

I myself have learned a bit from the website and can try to answer your questions (but this is not from experience):
1. As for family leave, etc., that varies quite a bit from program to program. Also, some specialties will be more easygoing than others. But I am pretty sure you are supposed to be allowed to view the programs' leave policies before you rank them. Some have the info on their websites or on FREIDA but not sure where to find it if they don't.
2. As for interviewing, most people say don't mention you are pregnant until after Match Day. Once you match, let the course director know soon thereafter so they can work with you for scheduling and any leave needed. Lots more about this on MomMD.

Good luck!
--Rain

 

[dynx]

I wouldn't mention it during interviews, programs have no right to that information, just like if you had children, "Do you have children? Plan on having more children, etc.?" or if you were married, "Are you getting married, what does your husband do, can he find a job in the area?"

Or how about "do you have any medical conditions which may interfere with your ability to perform your duties?"

If they ask, answer. If you are at the kind of place that would not accept you based on the fact that you are pregnant just imagine how happy they will be when you tell them on match day...Oh by the way...Im pregnant I knew you wouldnt accept me if I told you so I lied, HA HA! True they wont be able to get rid of you, but it wont stop them from making your life miserable. There attitude about pregnant interns won't change, you will potentially be at a place that is VERY unhappy with you and may think you are dishonest as well. Your kid is your number one priority, go to a place that understands this.

If they dont ask, then assume they don't care, I certainly wouldnt volunteer the information. But you are asking for trouble if you intentionally omit it or avoid answering.

 

[Faebinder]

American grad, applying EM, ave USMLE, ample amount of interviews scheduled so far (pre-deans letter).

Anyone know how maternity leave works for residency? How much do you get? (I'm assuming you use up your 4 weeks vacation time).

This really could not have heppened at a worse time!!

Maternity leave is like 3 weeks I believe... I would say discuss it after the match with the program you match with. Since you are delivering early july then it should be alright to take the materinity leave early.. i dont forsee them having issues... especially if you actually deliver BEFORE july for any number of reasons.

Finally, avoid C-sections at all costs... your recovery time will be much MUCH faster and you will get back in business.

Good luck.. and dont drive your SO insane with anxiety.. heh. *ducks behind a wall before they start tossing fireballs at him*

 

[NotAProgDirector]

As a program director, I want to point out an important administrative point -- if you are due in early july, and you deliver prior to starting your residency, you may not be "entitled" to maternity leave. Some systems allow women who deliver to go out on "disability". In my system STD (short term disability insurance) pays full salary for 12 weeks of maternity leave. However, in order to qualify for STD, you must have worked at least 1 day -- if you came to my program and delivered prior to starting, you wouldn't qualify and the time off would be without pay.

You also don't qualify for Family Leave time (the FMLA). In order to qualify for FMLA leave, you must have worked with your employer for at least 12 months. FMLA time is without pay, but guarantees your position back upon your return.

Now, this doesn't mean that your PD can't give you leave time if they want, it's just that they don't legally have to. Then again, I'm not a lawyer (thank god!), so perhaps there's some other law of which I'm not aware.

My only advice is this: 1) I agree with prior posters that being honest early is usually a good idea, immediately after the match at a minimum, and 2) there is never a convienent time to have a baby, but it's a great experience that really changes your life!

 

[fang]

frequent reader of the forums, never had a question until now, and it is a doozy...

Just found out I am pregnant, due date July 4th. Have interviews scheduled for January which will make me 3-4 months along and able to hide it very well.
Should I mention this during interviews, as I will have to take maternity leave at the start of residency? Or keep quiet until after the match?

Please help...anyone???

First of all, congrats!

On the interview question, I think you should be honest about being pregnant. This is hard because it's a double standard-- it's not as much of a disruption when men start a family. However, depending on how much time you'll want to recover, want to spend at home with a new baby, and how much time at work you want to spend breastfeeding or pumping, etc, you might need some extra time away. There are 2 reasons to communicate with programs about this while interviewing: IMO it's the honest thing to do if you'll be asking for special time off later, and you probably want a program that will be amenable to those requests anyway.