Pregnant during med school for the 2nd time AMA/share your experiences

[Terps1011]

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Currently 24weeks pregnant at the start of my 4th year (our 4th year runs end of feb 2019-may2020). I also have a 20month old at home!
I had my first during a "research year" between my 2nd & 3rd year that the medical school helped me create, most of which was completed from home. I will have my second during 4th year, but have accumulated 6 months time off (during which I also need to interview) from electives earned during first year/during my research year!

I am very nervous heading into my first AI (2 weeks gyn/onc, 2 weeks L&D night float) as I apparently now get vasovagal in the OR. Any tips for this, never dealt with it when I wasn't pregnant?!

AMA or share your experience being pregnant during medical school.

 

[sunshinefl]

No questions I can think of right now but you are goals!! I have serious baby fever! I’m 33 now and all of my non-med school friends are having babies and I’m dying! I want to have at least my first before I graduate, probably spring of 4th year ideally. (currently am M2).

 

[Terps1011]

No questions I can think of right now but you are goals!! I have serious baby fever! I’m 33 now and all of my non-med school friends are having babies and I’m dying! I want to have at least my first before I graduate, probably spring of 4th year ideally. (currently am M2).

I feel like 4th year is a popular time for medical students to have their babies! We thought about that time frame too, but decided to start trying early so that I did not have to worry about breastfeeding during the beginning of residency. We also unfortunately had issues with infertility, so planning it out perfectly is almost impossible lol. Our first was supposed to be born 1st or 2nd year..... then she decided to come smack in the middle of 3rd year, hence my need to take a research year 😵

 

[FelicityMD]

I feel like 4th year is a popular time for medical students to have their babies! We thought about that time frame too, but decided to start trying early so that I did not have to worry about breastfeeding during the beginning of residency. We also unfortunately had issues with infertility, so planning it out perfectly is almost impossible lol. Our first was supposed to be born 1st or 2nd year..... then she decided to come smack in the middle of 3rd year, hence my need to take a research year 😵

Was there any possibility your school offered that was not an entire LOA year? I am also planning on starting a family late 3rd year/early fourth year (baby born by that time). I was reading about some other 4-8 week research/honors projects type things that could be structured around a delivery. Love to get your input.

 

[Terps1011]

Was there any possibility your school offered that was not an entire LOA year? I am also planning on starting a family late 3rd year/early fourth year (baby born by that time). I was reading about some other 4-8 week research/honors projects type things that could be structured around a delivery. Love to get your input.

So my situation was unique. Our school has multiple campuses, one of which that has a longitudinal 3rd year... so the most you can take off is 2 weeks.... hence I had to do a research year. It technically wasnt an LOA though and I received 2 4th year elective credits for it (giving me 2 extra months off with baby number 2 during 4th year). They did offer for me to stay at the main campus with the block system and take 2 blocks off, which I would then have to make up during 4th year.

I highly recommend talking to your school admin team and they will let you know all the options. This is what I did and it just happened to be that a research year made the most sense- I did get 3 publications 5 presentations out of it too!

Forth year is typically much more flexible at most schools with several months off built in for interviews and multiple electives that you can do research/project type work. I am also doing a block like this 4th year after my 6 month maternity leave ends so that I have an extra month of low stress work (Note that I have to fit in all my interviews within this maternity leave, so it isn't entirely off per-say.

When making your schedule definitely take into account pumping if you choose to breastfeed. Some rotations are inherently easier to pump on than others!

 

[NoSun]

That sounds incredibly difficult. I pray you get through this and wish you luck 🙂

 

[FelicityMD]

So my situation was unique. Our school has multiple campuses, one of which that has a longitudinal 3rd year... so the most you can take off is 2 weeks.... hence I had to do a research year. It technically wasnt an LOA though and I received 2 4th year elective credits for it (giving me 2 extra months off with baby number 2 during 4th year). They did offer for me to stay at the main campus with the block system and take 2 blocks off, which I would then have to make up during 4th year.

I highly recommend talking to your school admin team and they will let you know all the options. This is what I did and it just happened to be that a research year made the most sense- I did get 3 publications 5 presentations out of it too!

Forth year is typically much more flexible at most schools with several months off built in for interviews and multiple electives that you can do research/project type work. I am also doing a block like this 4th year after my 6 month maternity leave ends so that I have an extra month of low stress work (Note that I have to fit in all my interviews within this maternity leave, so it isn't entirely off per-say.

When making your schedule definitely take into account pumping if you choose to breastfeed. Some rotations are inherently easier to pump on than others!

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Stellaartwa]

Hey TERPS, you're a goddess! Good for you!!

Don't mean to threadjack but I'd love to hear about YOUR experiences! I'm about to start med school with an infant (2 mo old). This is our second so I know what to expect as far as no sleep, breastfeeding, postpartum moods etc Although I have a very supportive spouse with a pretty flexible job, I'm super nervous. Do you have any tips for pre-clinical years with a tiny one? Any extra challenges you would foresee for me? I'm considering putting him in the hospital daycare (attached to the med school) so I can study all day at school and pop in and out to BF.

I'm also debating between staying in my state med school (near my parents) or a move to a better med school in Chicago. My husband's job is mobile so no issues there. I can see how having parents nearby would be nice but also, they still work full time + travel a lot so I don't know how much I should count on that. Anyway, send some tips my way please!

 

[Terps1011]

Hey TERPS, you're a goddess! Good for you!!

Don't mean to threadjack but I'd love to hear about YOUR experiences! I'm about to start med school with an infant (2 mo old). This is our second so I know what to expect as far as no sleep, breastfeeding, postpartum moods etc Although I have a very supportive spouse with a pretty flexible job, I'm super nervous. Do you have any tips for pre-clinical years with a tiny one? Any extra challenges you would foresee for me? I'm considering putting him in the hospital daycare (attached to the med school) so I can study all day at school and pop in and out to BF.

I'm also debating between staying in my state med school (near my parents) or a move to a better med school in Chicago. My husband's job is mobile so no issues there. I can see how having parents nearby would be nice but also, they still work full time + travel a lot so I don't know how much I should count on that. Anyway, send some tips my way please!

Go you!!! I have a couple med school friends that went into medical school with little ones too, I think it might have been a little easier that way lol.

Anyways as far as tips for preclinical years I can't speak from experience per say since I was only pregnant during my second year and never had any littles running around. However, I would've loved to have had my kids then because the schedule was so much more flexible. For our school they video recorded all the lectures so I could study from home (an obvious perk) and you only NEEDED to be on campus a few times per week for various things like small group, ethics class, labs, etc. This flexibility was the main reason I chose my school- I was lucky enough to meet a few moms during my tour and was able to ask them about it- you could ask some of the school staff and see if they can connect you with other moms/parents currently at the school.

As for daycare the hospital daycare sounds awesome if you can afford it! Family is obviously a huge perk too. We unfortunately couldn't afford daycare and no family nearby so my husband and I work opposite schedules ( me monday-friday, him friday-sunday 3-12hr shifts) and just get a sitter for Fridays (if I even have clinic/class that day) and the occasional date nights! Being able to run back and forth to the daycare though is super nice for breastfeeding reasons. Obviously might not always happen so maybe looking into if they have lactation rooms or quiet places you can pump (my main campus did not have this in the med school but the branch campus I am currently at does, its so nice!).

Personally I think you should choose the med school that seems like the best fit for you, family is a huge perk but you can make it work without them nearby (like me!) and a better school is awesome, but if they don't seem supportive of your lifestyle needs (family, amount of time off, etc) then you might want to consider other options.

Random tips: get a manual pump and keep it in your backpack/bag for when the unexpected happens (ie your puppy eats your phlange (sp?) and you didn't notice until you are 4hrs deep into your ED shift). Use stroller walks/baby carrying time/[umping as duel time to study- I downloaded anki flashcards to my phone and would flip through those and did SO MUCH Uworld questions during pumping breaks. Playdate/studydates with other moms are amazing if there happens to be some in your class (I found 1!). That's all I can think up at the moment lol. Let me know if you have other questions and always feel free to message me 🙂

 

[Stellaartwa]

Awesome! Thank you so much and best of luck to you 🙂

 

[yobo9345]

I have always wondered this but how do people financially manage having a baby while in medical school? Living on loans and having an additional person to take care of seems really difficult, even if one spouse is working and earning money. I am starting next year and my fiancee and I would really like to have a kid during fourth year since it seems like I'll have a bit of free time (I'm dad) but I am not sure about the money aspect. I would love to hear any insight you had.

 

[Terps1011]

I have always wondered this but how do people financially manage having a baby while in medical school? Living on loans and having an additional person to take care of seems really difficult, even if one spouse is working and earning money. I am starting next year and my fiancee and I would really like to have a kid during fourth year since it seems like I'll have a bit of free time (I'm dad) but I am not sure about the money aspect. I would love to hear any insight you had.

We make it work off my husbands full time job which pays <$30,000 and student loans only. Sometimes bills get a little tight the last month before the next loan disbursement, but we have always made it work and never were late on anything! It also helps that we have somewhat opposite schedules (me M-Fri, him Fri-Sun) so we only need about $100/week worth of childcare on average. We also periodically fly in family members to help with childcare on particularly busy rotations/study times so that they can hang out with the baby- and we also save on childcare since plane tickets are only about $175 round trip where I am at!
I have tried to get scholarships and such to help with the bills but never get them haha. I also have a credit card as backup for big/unexpected expenses (ie step 2 CS which is $1200!)

 

[JustPaws]

I'm considering putting him in the hospital daycare (attached to the med school)

Had a baby 6 months before starting vet school. Chiming in to say be aware that if baby gets sick and sent home, this might mean you have to leave campus depending on how far away your partner is. Our baby is near my partner so I don't pick up if she is sent home, but if she was near me, it likely would be me instead. Would have loved to have bf instead of pumping though.

 

[DokterMom]

Currently 24weeks pregnant at the start of my 4th year (our 4th year runs end of feb 2019-may2020). I also have a 20month old at home!
I had my first during a "research year" between my 2nd & 3rd year that the medical school helped me create, most of which was completed from home. I will have my second during 4th year, but have accumulated 6 months time off (during which I also need to interview) from electives earned during first year/during my research year!

I am very nervous heading into my first AI (2 weeks gyn/onc, 2 weeks L&D night float) as I apparently now get vasovagal in the OR. Any tips for this, never dealt with it when I wasn't pregnant?!

AMA or share your experience being pregnant during medical school.

This seems like a GREAT option if your school is flexible about things like that. Well done!

 

[Mdmom2]

Currently 24weeks pregnant at the start of my 4th year (our 4th year runs end of feb 2019-may2020). I also have a 20month old at home!
I had my first during a "research year" between my 2nd & 3rd year that the medical school helped me create, most of which was completed from home. I will have my second during 4th year, but have accumulated 6 months time off (during which I also need to interview) from electives earned during first year/during my research year!

I am very nervous heading into my first AI (2 weeks gyn/onc, 2 weeks L&D night float) as I apparently now get vasovagal in the OR. Any tips for this, never dealt with it when I wasn't pregnant?!

AMA or share your experience being pregnant during medical school.

Geezer Family Med attending here, had my first child middle of third year in Med School and second child during year 2 of Family Med residency. I took 6 mos off in med school and graduated late, in October. The match was easier then and I was able to start residency immediately because family med spots were going begging. Agree that the OR during pregnancy is rough, I always tried to volunteer for the scut work and rounding to avoid going to OR and it worked out pretty well. Never saw much value to holding a retractor for 3 hours, especially when I was also holding my bladder for dear life as well. Doing any gyn or onc rotation, especially L&D was great when pregnant, the patients really trust you instantly and a pregnant belly makes a ideal delivery table. Studying for shelf exams is hard, you need to start studying from Day 1 of a rotation because things happen, you can't trust that you will have a few days at the end. Pediatrics rotations are good pregnant or with a kid as well, all that development stuff makes sense when you watch your kid turn over for the first time.
Breastfeeding in the hospital was variable, I would always go to the nursery of whatever hospital I was in and introduce myself to the nurses and tell them the story, they were always helpful and I was usually able to use their industrial milking machine. Use the sterile urine cups that are everywhere to put the milk in and toss in the freezer and then grab it before you go home. One advantage to the nursery also is that hearing the crying babies helps get a better let down.
My husband had a good day job at a law firm and we had grandparents an hour away which was what saved us. We did day care at a church, my husband did most of the pick up/drop off, it was walking distance from our house. Order everything you can online goes without saying and get extras, especially shoes because you can never find the kids shoes. Other than the sleep deprivation having a family during medical school is doable and was an adventure.
The question I always get is when is the best time to have a baby in medicine? The answer is easy - 9 months after you get pregnant! You can make your life work, it can be very hard but you are in this for the long haul. A few months or a year off in your career does not make you any less a physician. You don't have to put your entire life on hold because of your career choice.