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have a baby while working on your PhD?
Would it be impossible to
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People do it....but there is a finite amount of time in a day/night, and there will be a lot of sacrifices because a baby will take up a portion of that time. You may want to check out, "Non-traditional students" and/or "Spouse and Partners"....as I know this has been talked about before in regard to med school, which may or may not be useful to you personally.
Depends on when in the program you are (later is "generally" easier as there is typically less need for "physically on-campus" time, though with practicums and research its still a massive amount of work - there's just a bit more flexibility in when you can do it).
Depends on the program themselves and how flexible they are willing to be.
Depends on your advisor and how flexible THEY are willing to be in addition to the program. Are they the sort that always makes do with whatever situation they have, or are they the sort who will disown you for staying in the lab til 7PM every day when they think you should stay til 9 or 10?
Depends on you and how well you can handle the stress of multiple time demands, and how much time you realistically expect to spend on child-raising activities.
Depends on your SO and their willingness to help.
I think that covers it😉 The point is that there is really no way for us to know, it is a question that very much depends on you and your particular situation. Some people here have had multiple children while in the program and it wasn't a big problem. I know others who would probably have a complete breakdown if they even had to babysit for a night.
Depends on the program themselves and how flexible they are willing to be.
Depends on your advisor and how flexible THEY are willing to be in addition to the program. Are they the sort that always makes do with whatever situation they have, or are they the sort who will disown you for staying in the lab til 7PM every day when they think you should stay til 9 or 10?
Depends on you and how well you can handle the stress of multiple time demands, and how much time you realistically expect to spend on child-raising activities.
Depends on your SO and their willingness to help.
I think that covers it😉 The point is that there is really no way for us to know, it is a question that very much depends on you and your particular situation. Some people here have had multiple children while in the program and it wasn't a big problem. I know others who would probably have a complete breakdown if they even had to babysit for a night.
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It's definitely not impossible since a fair amount of people do it. There's a woman in my program who just had a baby and is single so I'm pretty sure that if a single mom can stay in a program, anybody can.
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lots of women do it. one of my friends did it.
but, i imagine timing is critical.
internships might be hard pressed to figure out how to accommodate a student who needs to delay or shorten their training year as funding is for a single year.
but, i imagine timing is critical.
internships might be hard pressed to figure out how to accommodate a student who needs to delay or shorten their training year as funding is for a single year.
D
deleted176373
2 out of our cohort of 8 are doing just that (probably one more before too long.) and our schedule is maddening compared to some. One really useful tip that I picked up on was that when nursing your baby, if you allow the child to sleep with you, mid-night feedings are a breeze, roll to the side, attach child and feed'n'sleep. Worked wonders for one of our students, also seems to build healthy attachment.
Mark
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and raises the rate of sleep problems later in life:
Simard, V., et al. (2008). The Predictive Role of Maladaptive Parental Behaviors, Early Sleep Problems, and Child/Mother Psychological Factors. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
Simard, V., et al. (2008). The Predictive Role of Maladaptive Parental Behaviors, Early Sleep Problems, and Child/Mother Psychological Factors. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
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I'm sure we could all quote articles supporting various views on co-sleeping, not co-sleeping, breast feeding, bottle feeding, etc. It was a good suggestion for how to get more sleep in grad school with a baby.
Let's not freak out the OP with a political debate about caring for babies.
Let's not freak out the OP with a political debate about caring for babies.
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Hi Vixen,
I posted several times about my experiences with motherhood in a PhD program. I have two kids (under 6 years old) and another on the way. If you have support (emotionally, physically, financially) from family and other sources, i.e. friends, nannies, babysitters, it makes it all the more easier to handle. My kids are healthy, well adjusted, bright, and loved (as any doting mother would report 🙄). I treat my program as my FULL-time job (I'm talking high-rolling full-time 60+ hours/week job) and maintain a family schedule that we all abided by, with adjustments when necessary. My husband is fully supportive and works his butt off too with his own business, but we manage pretty well. We also have a nanny & a Montessori-based daycare.
I agree that timing is key...if it's possible, especially for first time mommies.
So, yes, you can have a baby while working on your PhD. It's a different world, but it's all good. You start your family and end up with a rewarding career. 😉
I posted several times about my experiences with motherhood in a PhD program. I have two kids (under 6 years old) and another on the way. If you have support (emotionally, physically, financially) from family and other sources, i.e. friends, nannies, babysitters, it makes it all the more easier to handle. My kids are healthy, well adjusted, bright, and loved (as any doting mother would report 🙄). I treat my program as my FULL-time job (I'm talking high-rolling full-time 60+ hours/week job) and maintain a family schedule that we all abided by, with adjustments when necessary. My husband is fully supportive and works his butt off too with his own business, but we manage pretty well. We also have a nanny & a Montessori-based daycare.
I agree that timing is key...if it's possible, especially for first time mommies.
So, yes, you can have a baby while working on your PhD. It's a different world, but it's all good. You start your family and end up with a rewarding career. 😉
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