Having kids?

[msa786]

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For all of you who are parents or even for those of you that are not parents at the moment, when would you say is the best time to have kids in the field of podiatry if your a woman?

1st year?
2nd year?


ONLY SERIOUS REPLIES PLEASE

 

[NatCh]

For all of you who are parents or even for those of you that are not parents at the moment, when would you say is the best time to have kids in the field of podiatry if your a woman?

1st year?
2nd year?


ONLY SERIOUS REPLIES PLEASE

Not taking into consideration age or health issues, I'd say the best time might be after you've worked at least a year for a big group of greater than 50 employees. The FMLA grants you 12 weeks maternity leave and you would likely have health care insurance paid for by the employer.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm

A small podiatry group doesn't technically have to follow the FMLA, so you're not protected there as an employee. If you are a Partner then you're the employer, so the FMLA doesn't apply to you.

If you're in Residency and the hospital is your employer then they have to grant you leave time. I'm not sure how they handle the training you've missed though. My wife and I had our first child when she was a 3rd year Resident. That worked out just fine but it was hard on her due to her call schedule. It also required a lot of parenting help from moi and we spent a lot of our income on day care. I can't remember what her program did about her missed training time. I'll ask her after she wakes up.

3rd or 4th year of podiatry school might be best if you want a child sooner rather than later. No one really does anything in 3rd and 4th year anyway (ha ha).

Don't disregard the fact that a lot of people have difficulty getting pregnant according to their schedules. Some people spend years trying to conceive, so there's a chance it won't happen when you want it to.

Did you see this thread?
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=58503

Nat

 

[msa786]

Thanks for the link Nat.
Most of the mom's in medical school told me if your fine with "just passing" then having/raising kids should not be an issue. However, in podiatry where GPA is totally crucial, how possible is it to just pass and attain a good residency with say a sub-par 3.0?

 

[NatCh]

Thanks for the link Nat.
Most of the mom's in medical school told me if your fine with "just passing" then having/raising kids should not be an issue. However, in podiatry where GPA is totally crucial, how possible is it to just pass and attain a good residency with say a sub-par 3.0?

I don't have the answer to the above question, but I don't recall 3rd/4th year being terribly physically-demanding (versus Residency, which was at times). It seems to me that a woman could give birth and still study enough during school to maintain a good GPA. I think that having a kid during Residency would be more difficult due to more strenuous work hours.

I think a woman having a child during school, Residency, or in practice would require a strong social support system. Do you have a spouse that can rise to the occasion, or one who expects to be waited on? Do you have nearby family? Can your spouse be stay-at-home parent or can you afford daycare? I don't know how a single mom could make it, but I suppose there's someone out there who has the mettle and fortitude.

 

[Feli]

Here's another thread on the topic...
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=386200

Although no time is ideal, I would think that being pregnant during school >>> than during residency. To echo what NatCh said, you can't always just choose when you want to get pregnant... and having a kid at any time after starting pod school requires significant spouse support.

3rd year of pod school (shortly after boards) could be the best time to be pregnant and have a baby... most of the toughest classes are over, and the pod clinics are usually around 9-4 and not too demanding (some 3rd year med rotations like g-surg or ER might be rougher, though). Another possible window would be to get pregnant is shortly before/after interviews and before residency begins, but the obvious downside to that is that you'd show up to residency about to pop and/or have a newborn to tend to while you are beginning demanding residency hours. The spouse support is key.

IMO, 1st and 2nd year of pod school require too much study time, focus, and some all-nighters studying; you really don't want to ever do the minimum... that risks a bad gpa, failing school, or failing boards. The first half of 4th year is a rough time to be pregnant because you are travelling around on demanding clerkships, reading a lot, interviewing for residency, etc... your body is under stress, and decent residency programs might question your commitment and focus if you were visibly pregnant. Residency is an extremely tough time to have a baby IMO... you miss a lot of sleep and are exposed to significant XR, and you will miss important training and possibly agitate your co-residents if you miss time.

 

[msa786]

^ haha Feli in that case i can never have kids

 

[Feli]

^ haha Feli in that case i can never have kids

Of course you can. Your best bet is to talk to successful female podiatry students/residents/attendings who have kids and see if they have tips. They will probably tell you what worked and what didn't. It's extremely tough to be a highly successful doc and a mother, but some certainly manage.

 

[MissDPM]

I just wanted to let you know that not all parenting experiences during pod school have a poor outcome. Both my husband and myself are 3rd year pod students and we have a 16 month old at home. Both of our GPAs are very competitive....I have a 3.9. So, it is most definitely do-able. You just have to put in a little extra time at school and at home and you should be fine! If you need any other advice, just let me know!

 

[whiskers]

I'd say think of alternatives. SPare yourself the trouble.

School is not the biggest problem, it is finding a way to pay off those loans in my opinion.

 

[podstudentNJ]

just a thought from a clinician from my school who said "it's never a good time to have kids in this process but you know, suddenly you're older and you can't get pregnant when you want to anymore" plus i think the chances for birth defects increases exponentially as you get older (30+).

i hope no one takes offense to this!

 

[sguiliana]

just a thought from a clinician from my school who said "it's never a good time to have kids in this process but you know, suddenly you're older and you can't get pregnant when you want to anymore" plus i think the chances for birth defects increases exponentially as you get older (30+).

i hope no one takes offense to this!

what part of NJ are you from?

 

[OnDemond]

If this will be your first pregnancy, don't risk it until you're working. The first is always the hardest. The pregnancy can through emotional and physical hurdles at you at unexpected proportions. And who knows how long it will take you to recover? If you give birth with a c-section, recovery can be long. Add more recovery time if you had a c-section after a long labor. And then having a baby for the first time...you get my drift? You want to make sure that your first pregnancy, birth, and exposure to motherhood will be during a time which isn't so crucial to your career and education.
Though my natural anatomy disqualifies me from giving birth, I can honestly tell you this as my wife just gave birth three weeks ago...our first. A 37 hour labor followed by c-section - it was not pretty...lots of "firsts", accompanied by even more pain. You do not want to be in pod school or residency when this happens.
However, if this is not your first kid, you can probably guage what type of pregnancy and birth you'll have, and motherhood will not be as new anymore.