pregnancy

[justcallmepsych4life]

I am interested in hearing people's thoughts on being pregnant during either internship or post-doc year. Would it affect how they view you? Of course it shouldn't, but we all know those discriminations can be subtle. I would try to time it to where I wouldn't be showing for interviews, of course.

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[singasongofjoy]

my internship and postdoc was/is quite family friendly and I have known folks who were pregnant / had kids during and didn't seem to be an issue at all; I'm sure it varies depending on where you are of course. I would think that especially if your supervisors are parents they'd be pretty understanding. But like you I'd also hope to not be showing during interviews. Other than that, my thoughts on the matter are that timing often doesn't work out how you plan anyway, so don't worry about it and you'll figure it out when/if it happens.

 

[WisNeuro]

Had multiple fellow trainees, and trainees under me have kids during some level of training. Hasn't been a problem. They all seemed to handle it just fine.

 

[Throwawayaccount]

Hello. I am a preggo postdoc. I have been nothing but well-supported so far. Caveat: I'm in a multiple-year postdoc.

One thing I didn't realize was that pregnancy could be so physically difficult. I'm not sure how I would have managed internship (or an intense clinical postdoc) while pregnant. I have been fairly sick and exhausted. I think you can more carefully choose your postdoc than your internship (because of the Match), and I'm glad I waited until postdoc, though I also had other personal reasons for waiting. It's heartening to hear that many sites are accommodating to pregnancy.

I personally have known two pregnant interns at different sites. One was due the fall after internship ended. She arranged to start postdoc late. Though there are dr. appts and such, she didn't lose so much time that our sick leave didn't cover it. Another one gave birth during internship. She took leave during internship and made up the time at the end.

 

[justcallmepsych4life]

Hello. I am a preggo postdoc. I have been nothing but well-supported so far. Caveat: I'm in a multiple-year postdoc.

One thing I didn't realize was that pregnancy could be so physically difficult. I'm not sure how I would have managed internship (or an intense clinical postdoc) while pregnant. I have been fairly sick and exhausted. I think you can more carefully choose your postdoc than your internship (because of the Match), and I'm glad I waited until postdoc, though I also had other personal reasons for waiting. It's heartening to hear that many sites are accommodating to pregnancy.

I personally have known two pregnant interns at different sites. One was due the fall after internship ended. She arranged to start postdoc late. Though there are dr. appts and such, she didn't lose so much time that our sick leave didn't cover it. Another one gave birth during internship. She took leave during internship and made up the time at the end.

This was very helpful and insightful. Thank you.

 

[EmotRegulation]

I know several people who had kids during graduate school, and grad school is *maybe* a bit more flexible than internship and postdoc, just because the latter are relatively constrained years....though of course this depends on your mentor and the culture of your grad program. As others have said, many sites are accommodating. I actually interviewed with a woman who brought her newborn baby to interviews and told me that how the sites handled her requests for pumping and/or breastfeeding breaks (her husband brought her infant to her when needed) really influenced her view of how accommodating a site really was. She suggested that most sites SAID they were flexible but not all of them actually followed through when requests were made.

 

[KateSpade05]

While I was not pregnant during internship or post-doc, I would've found it difficult to manage my stress level on internship while pregnant. That is a very busy and intense year. If you could manage to defend your dissertation prior to pregnancy, it may be possible. I think pregnancy during post-doc would be much less stressful.

 

[deleted343839]

I am interested in hearing people's thoughts on being pregnant during either internship or post-doc year. Would it affect how they view you? Of course it shouldn't, but we all know those discriminations can be subtle. I would try to time it to where I wouldn't be showing for interviews, of course.

It can go both ways. My doctoral program had a rather negative culture around being pregnant or having a family as a student, especially for women, whereas my internship and postdoc were more supportive.

If I had it all to do over again, I might choose to start my family a bit later (maybe during postdoc rather than grad school), but that is colored by hindsight bias and has very little to do with the attitudes I encountered in any of my training programs.

 

[stw2010]

I am interested in hearing people's thoughts on being pregnant during either internship or post-doc year. Would it affect how they view you? Of course it shouldn't, but we all know those discriminations can be subtle. I would try to time it to where I wouldn't be showing for interviews, of course.

I got pregnant during my internship year and then had the kiddo during postdoc. I stayed at my internship site for postdoc. I didn't feel it changed the way they viewed me. Though I didn't "interview" for postdoc so not sure how that would have been. Couple of things:

1. Internship is really demanding but it was doable. I too was really surprised at how tired I felt all the time (though all the moms I knew already knew this so good fact to know) and thankfully my morning sickness was at night! But things to keep in mind.

2. I am on a research postdoc so I feel it's a lot more flexible than a fully clinical postdoc. I do have clinical time (to gain hours for licensure) but it's not everyday. I worked (research and saw patients) until I gave birth. It gets physically hard at the end but again do-able!

It's funny bc I was told on internship by faculty and older postdocs that post doc is a great time to have children. Seems like a lot of fellows at my site followed this advice bc I was one of MANY post docs (male and female) that had kiddos during postdoc.

3. Something others have not mentioned that I wanted to share -- although my internship/post doc were supportive -- it doesn't take away reality that you life, your priorities your "work life balance" will be completely different. It's hard! And maybe bc my kiddo is still an infant but work life balance doesn't actually seem like a thing. It's more try your best to keep up! Haha

And as much as you try to keep up the work stamina it just won't be the same -- you'll be sleep deprived, you'll be running late half the time haha, taking time out to pump, splitting your attention to your new bundle of joy. And even though you shouldn't -- you'll feel guilty your behind at work and feel guilty the kiddo is at daycare! It's just funny that way. And almost every mom and dad Ive talk too feel the same or had that same struggle. And although it's the best life change -- it doesn't make it any less hard. I think knowing that and knowing that other parents felt and feel the same way and tried their best to balance both -- really helps.

 

[justcallmepsych4life]

Thank you all for the helpful questions! I am leaning towards during post-doc or taking soon after. I was surprised to see the positive feedback because when I spoke to people in my cohort about it, they all raised their eyebrows and asked how I would take maternity leave. Clearly people make do who can't take 6-12 weeks off! That's just life and a lot of mothers have to go back to work sooner than they'd like. I even got the same response when I told them I would time it to where I could give birth right before summer break (we get 8 weeks off). I know you can't perfectly time a pregnancy, but they still didn't like this response. These were all responses from extreme feminists... I'm relieved to say the least because a family is important to me as well. Heaven forbid I was considering getting pregnant during grad school! They would really freak out haha.

 

[singasongofjoy]

Of the postdoc policies I know of (N=3) all allow maternity leave 8-12 weeks off. May have to extend your postdoc by the same number of weeks but that doesn't seem like a big deal.