PhD/PsyD Waiting to begin post doc due to pregnancy...?

[LittlebutFierce]

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I would love some input if anyone has advice. I am a predoctoral intern at a UCC and on schedule to graduate next month and complete my internship in July. I recently found out that I'm pregnant (so excited...we were trying and consider this a blessing) and that I'm due in October. Now I'm wondering if I should take the fall semester off so that I don't start a post doc and then have to take maternity leave. I'd like to apply for a position to begin in January of 2019 instead, after I've had some time at home with our new baby. I'm curious if waiting 5 months to begin post doc is a bad idea or if it makes sense given my circumstances

 

[psychrat]

I would love some input if anyone has advice. I am a predoctoral intern at a UCC and on schedule to graduate next month and complete my internship in July. I recently found out that I'm pregnant (so excited...we were trying and consider this a blessing) and that I'm due in October. Now I'm wondering if I should take the fall semester off so that I don't start a post doc and then have to take maternity leave. I'd like to apply for a position to begin in January of 2019 instead, after I've had some time at home with our new baby. I'm curious if waiting 5 months to begin post doc is a bad idea or if it makes sense given my circumstances

Congrats! Did you accept a postdoc offer yet? If so, I would talk to them and see if it is possible to start in January. Some postdocs have more flexibility than others. I am assuming you want to begin in January and end the following year?

 

[WisNeuro]

Many formal sites won't have the flexibility to start in January, mostly for budget reasons. I've seen people start a month or two late due to some administrative wrangling, but 5+ months may be hard to swing. You can always ask, but for some places, it may be waiting until the next cycle or going non-formal options.

 

[temppsych123]

Congrats OP! I think the advice will be different depending on if you already have a postdoc lined up, or are trying to find one now. In the former case, I think it makes sense to talk to folks at the site about what can be done re: flexibility. If it's the latter, I wouldn't bring up pregnancy during interviews, but you could ask about start dates in a non-overt way and then discuss flexibility in start date if/when you get an offer.

FYI, here's the APPIC guidelines on parental leave for internships and postdocs, in case it's useful!

https://www.appic.org/Portals/0/downloads/APPIC_GUIDELINES_FOR_PARENTAL_LEAVE_1-21-16.pdf

Here's a very recently updated doc from APA, as well:

https://www.apa.org/careers/early-career/parental-leave-guide.pdf

 

[Lotus143]

I'm in the same boat except I accepted a postdoc position before I got pregnant. My post doc starts in August and I'm due in December. I haven't told the site yet mainly because my first doctor appointment isn't until next week, at which then I can at least confirm there's a heart beat and everything's fine. I am having some anxiety about how my site would react. I'm hoping to take a month off after giving birth and was hoping my site would be flexible to extend my postdoc for an additional month. Would love to hear anyone's experiences with pregnancy during postdoc, their site's level of accommodation, and how they made up the hours.

 

[PhDPlz2011]

I'm in the same boat except I accepted a postdoc position before I got pregnant. My post doc starts in August and I'm due in December. I haven't told the site yet mainly because my first doctor appointment isn't until next week, at which then I can at least confirm there's a heart beat and everything's fine. I am having some anxiety about how my site would react. I'm hoping to take a month off after giving birth and was hoping my site would be flexible to extend my postdoc for an additional month. Would love to hear anyone's experiences with pregnancy during postdoc, their site's level of accommodation, and how they made up the hours.

I had a baby in grad school but have several friends who have been pregnant during postdoc. Unless your site is tiny or very new, they should have experience working with pregnant trainees. I would encourage you to reach out once you feel comfortable and ask for a phone or in-person meeting to discuss what your options might be. I would also encourage you to try to take at least 8 weeks off, preferably 12, if you can do it. Four weeks is a very short amount of time for you to recover physically (especially if you have complications or need a c-section), and many daycares will not take an infant who is that young. You could probably go back early if you decide you wanted to.

 

[singasongofjoy]

My fellow post-doc/office mate had a baby on postdoc and then I got pregnant on postdoc as well (but ended up leaving postdoc early because they offered me a permanent job!) and they were very supportive. University has a policy that postdocs get 12 weeks maternity leave; postdoc is subsequently extended by 3 months if necessary (e.g., if was a 1 year postdoc, because clinical / licensing requirements) and probably would have been negotiable for the 2 year postdocs, idk.