Maternity Leave during Pre-doc Internship Year?

[Anticipation2020]

Hello!

I landed my top choice - a corrections APA-accredited site with excellent training for my predoc internship year. About a week after Match Day I had a positive pregnancy test. I am planning to inform my training director at the site as soon as I complete the 1st trimester (in a few days).

Has anyone had maternity leave during their internship year? What did it look like? What are some questions or expectations I should have?

Thanks so much!

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[deleted343839]

This happens probably more often than you'd think, and if your internship has been around for a while then they've almost certainly had other interns who gave birth while on internship. The typical outcome is that the intern has to extend the internship end date to accrue their hours. How much longer depends on the duration of your leave. This can complicate applications for postdoc and faculty positions if they're time sensitive (fortunately, not all are and postdoc dates tend to be more negotiable). Do a board search because similar threads have been posted here in the past.

Open communication with your TD is important. In the best case scenario your TD can connect you to past interns in similar situations. Internship faculty might also have suggestions about child care and work/life balance, though I wouldn't approach anyone before starting internship unless you are explicitly invited to do so. Assuming you will be a regular full-time employee at your site, a call to HR to learn about their maternity leave policies is also a good idea. FMLA doesn't apply to employees who have been employed less than 12 months, but that doesn't stop your employer from setting more generous policies. Maternity leave is more often than not unpaid, but again, it doesn't hurt to ask. Ask HR about child care subsidies and other benefits for working parents. See if you can find a local parent's group in the city where your internship is located. Good luck and best wishes for your pregnancy!

 

[str63]

Since I've been at my current site, and have been DCT of our internship, we had this happen once. She chose to use 2 weeks of her vacation to receive some paid time off and then took 4 weeks off unpaid (although our faculty get paid leave, temporary employees do not), and extended her internship by 4 weeks. She didn't want to extend longer than that for fear of not landing a fellowship position. I agree that most fellowships are flexible for start dates between July and September, but some sites may not be interested in offering you a position if it's beyond that for a variety of reasons (gaps in patient care, would have a big overlap the following year between fellows which could be a problem for funding and not enough patient contact for two people, etc.). I also know another case (not at my site) in which an intern postponed internship for a year so she could spend a lot of time with her baby. The internship allowed her to be at the program the following year without having to go through the match again (this was approved by all parties and APPIC). It sounds like you're already planning on talking to your DCT about this, which is great. Congratulations to you and I hope you have a smooth pregnancy!

 

[H2021]

Hello!

I landed my top choice - a corrections APA-accredited site with excellent training for my predoc internship year. About a week after Match Day I had a positive pregnancy test. I am planning to inform my training director at the site as soon as I complete the 1st trimester (in a few days).

Has anyone had maternity leave during their internship year? What did it look like? What are some questions or expectations I should have?

Thanks so much!

I'm in a similar situation. I learned I was pregnant the week after I submitted my applications for internship. I told my site when I matched (hospital setting). Fortunately, my site has been very accommodating and they are allowing me to take up to 2 months off paid. Similar to another poster, I will have to extend my internship to the amount of time I miss. Due to the virus, a lot of my initial on-boarding and initial interaction with patients will be online, so I'm hoping that I will still be able to participate from home and not have to extend. The best advice I can give is to let them know as soon as possible because they have to make a training plan that will accommodate your pregnancy.

 

[GradStudent2020]

Congratulations! Great advice above. Become familiar with APA’s recommendations (not requirements) for interns in this position. Also find out if you are considered an employee, temp employee, or some other designation at your site. That will impact what benefits you are eligible to use. You might consider phasing back in as part time after a period of time (if that is an option).

There was a previous intern at my site that took 3 months off at the very beginning of internship due to having a newborn. One of my cohort friends had a baby 6 months in to internship. It happens! Yay!

I have a young kiddo and am on internship now. My site considers us employees and has been very considerate of my role as a parent (especially with rapidly changing situations due to covid-19!) Lots of people in our field are parents and excellent clinicians, I hope your site is understanding and accommodating!