Pregnancy during internship and postdoc

[mindfulnessiszen]

So I was told I would never have children but by some miracle my husband and I are pregnant! We are super excited but I realized that I would be pregnant throughout most of my internship and possibly the first month of my postdoc. Has anybody on this forum had this happen? I'm tempted to ask my postdoc if I can start a month late so that I can have time with the baby before starting. I feel like there's a million things to consider and I was curious if there are any women who started a family during internship or postdoc

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[EekVonBlergh]

I have absolutely no advice, but congratulations!! What a blessing for you and Mr. Mindfulnessiszen

 

[researchgirl]

I think many post docs have flexibility in their state dates. If you are switching institutions you might have limited FMLA coverage if you are having the child very shortly after post-doc starts. So, I would probably try to negotiate for a later start date if I were you! Also, congratulations!

 

[Mk1000]

So I was told I would never have children but by some miracle my husband and I are pregnant! We are super excited but I realized that I would be pregnant throughout most of my internship and possibly the first month of my postdoc. Has anybody on this forum had this happen? I'm tempted to ask my postdoc if I can start a month late so that I can have time with the baby before starting. I feel like there's a million things to consider and I was curious if there are any women who started a family during internship or postdoc

First and foremost, congratulations!!! I second researchgirl's thoughts. I know it can be hard to ask for this when you have not begun your postdoc yet, but the worst they can say is "no," and then you just need to be prepared to start when they are ready. You might also consider different combinations of scenarios. For example, if they say one month is too much time for x,y, or z reason, can you take 3 weeks or start at 3 days/ week, etc. That way, you have multiple choices for them and for yourself. That being said, why not ask to start 6 weeks later (a little door-in-the-face technique)? I am hopeful that you should be able to figure something out.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Agree with everyone above--congratulations, and just give the training director a call to ask. As researchgirl mentioned, postdocs are often much more flexible regarding start dates than are internship sites or grad programs. And if they aren't able to push it back as far as you'd like, the suggestions Mk1000 mentioned are excellent.

 

[newpsych84]

So I was told I would never have children but by some miracle my husband and I are pregnant! We are super excited but I realized that I would be pregnant throughout most of my internship and possibly the first month of my postdoc. Has anybody on this forum had this happen? I'm tempted to ask my postdoc if I can start a month late so that I can have time with the baby before starting. I feel like there's a million things to consider and I was curious if there are any women who started a family during internship or postdoc

So, first and foremost CONGRATULATIONS!!! While I did not get pregnant my pre/post doc programs, I did get pregnant (with twins) my first year of grad school. I agree with those above who have said that it doesn't hurt to ask and to have alternative options. To add to this, I would suggest asking for a flexible or split schedule, worse case scenario. That way, perhaps you can attend the required meetings/trainings and have flexibility to work from home if allowed. For example, I was place don bed rest the last 3 weeks of a quarter. I asked and received permission from my institution to attend classes by connecting with a friend through our laptop webcams. Best wishes to you, your growing family, and your career

 

[AcronymAllergy]

So, first and foremost CONGRATULATIONS!!! While I did not get pregnant my pre/post doc programs, I did get pregnant (with twins) my first year of grad school. I agree with those above who have said that it doesn't hurt to ask and to have alternative options. To add to this, I would suggest asking for a flexible or split schedule, worse case scenario. That way, perhaps you can attend the required meetings/trainings and have flexibility to work from home if allowed. For example, I was place don bed rest the last 3 weeks of a quarter. I asked and received permission from my institution to attend classes by connecting with a friend through our laptop webcams. Best wishes to you, your growing family, and your career

One caveat--given that postdoc is going to factor into obtaining supervision for licensing requirements, I'd want to be sure that any work done from home could still count toward the hours you're going to need. If not, you might be better off delaying the start date (if possible) rather than finishing postdoc short of what you'll need to be licensed.

 

[CApsych]

yay! I didn't get pregnant during internship or postdoc (yet, but there's still time) but I did during my third year of grad school and a practicum with set start/end dates. I went in there with a plan about how to cover things and adapt some trainings which I think they appreciated. A quote from my supervisor from when I started to go into the nitty gritty of planning around the pregnancy,: "Remember that you are doing the most important thing in life right now having this baby, and none of the rest of this stuff really matters (start dates etc.)" She immediately became my favorite. And she was completely right.

 

[mindfulnessiszen]

Thank you everyone for your kind and encouraging words. I may be putting the cart before the horse because I haven't received all of my postdoc offers/declines yet. But it just got me thinking about how to handle my pregnancy in the most professional manner. I really value everyone's feedback and will be keeping them in mind for when I do commit to a postdoc site.