To TTC as a mature healthcare student?

[W1ll0wR0s3]

Currently in my 2nd year. DH and I originally planned to start trying in my 3rd year. The aim was to start trying such that I'd spend most of my pregnancy (if we conceived quickly) once I'd finished clinical placements and mostly home learning - or on campus, covid dependent. However, because of covid, the university have moved placements around such that I'd now be starting placement around the time we had planned to conceive. If we conceived quickly, I'd still have 5 months of clinical placement left.

AIBU to go ahead with TTC? Everyone always says this course I'm on is tough and yes it is but then so is full time work! I think as an older student I haven't found it anywhere near as tough as younger students who don't have the experience of full time work.

Is this just a mad idea?

How old are you?

Was the plan to concieve and finish study whilst pregnant, take mat leave out then work? And now it would be concieve and do placements whilst pregnant, take mat leave, finish study then work?

Surely you won't be paid proper maternity pay if you take the leave whilst on your course? Or are you hoping to give birth after the course has ended? But you still wouldn't get maternity pay then? Also, assuming you will be able to work throughout your pregnancy is naive. Many people have to take extended sickness absence during pregnancy, I'm one of them as I get HG and I know of other women e.g. with haematomas that were were signed off and advised bed rest for most of their pregnancy. People never think this can happen to them but it can. I would therefore delay TTC until you're in a job so if you need to take time off it won't mess up your studies, you will have access to paid sick leave and paid maternity leave.

Honestly yes you’d be mad. Presuming you’re nursing/midwifery/paramedic etc, the course is incredibly full on and your third year is the worst of the three for workload, stress consolidating your learning in placement. You’d be mad to throw a newborn into the mix.

My advice is wait til you are at least 12 months qualified with a permanent contract. Otherwise this'll impact on your preceptorship and maternity pay.

@SleepingStandingUp

How old are you?

Was the plan to concieve and finish study whilst pregnant, take mat leave out then work? And now it would be concieve and do placements whilst pregnant, take mat leave, finish study then work?

The course originally in final year was placements & theory, then just theory for a few months. So I'd conceive, finish the last month or so of placement, study, maternity leave then start work.

They've now switched the course so all the theory is done first followed by placements.

So I'd still finish my studies before giving birth and still have a gap between finishing and starting work. I'm not concerned about the pay but I think my primary concern is will I be more exhausted and unable to cope being heavily pregnant on placement rather than heavily pregnant whilst home learning.

Just to add, not on any of the main courses (nursing etc) and placements are only monday to friday 9-5

@slidingdrawers

My advice is wait til you are at least 12 months qualified with a permanent contract. Otherwise this'll impact on your preceptorship and maternity pay.

I dont know what a preceptorship is but I'm not concerned about maternity pay.

Forgot to add, mid thirties, DH late thirties.

Personally I wouldn’t if it would set you back in your career. You didn’t say how old you are, but as a mature student you don’t have many 2nd chances to try again with your career. What was the point in studying to put your degree/career on the back burner?

I got pregnant after first attempt,during my second year of masters, at 31. Had HG and had to drop my placement then returned to finish it during 3rd month and had to write essays heavily pregnant... It was incredibly hard to focus... would definitely not recommend! If you can afford it why not wait until 3 months or so, before the placement ends

Preceptorship is the first year as a qualified healthcare professional. Most NHS Trusts provide some sort of programme with support/training to meet the role's competencies which you need to develop.

Why would you retrain in a vocational position at the same time as trying to conceive? That just makes no sense to me.

What course are you doing, OP?

Another option to consider is deferring your 3rd year if you start TTC now (if year 3 starts in September?). Most HCP degrees require completing within 5 years.

Sounds like a similar third year structure to the one I'm on (I'm doing SALT) - they do a term of theory then they're out of there and only come back for tutorials, handing in dissertations and stuff. Our course has a reputation for being a heavy workload - but considering I'm from a teaching background it still feels fairly light to me - but I wouldn't want to be doing it heavily pregnant. Having said that, it took us years to conceive our two and I'm glad we started when we did.

Depends if uni would be prepared to send you physically out on placements if you were pregnant as well - ours would make you do telehealth only for it I think.

I think being mid 30s does impact on this. Yes yes Aunt Agatha had healthy triplets conceived naturally at 43 and everyone these days is delaying motherhood until after their 40th birthday etc. But in reality the risks do increase and of you do struggle, you have less time to sort it.

So yes, I'd concieve on the basis of catching first time and not wanting to be more than 6 months pregnant at the end (this covers you for early labour as well as not having to do placement up to week 39.

@flakymate

Personally I wouldn’t if it would set you back in your career. You didn’t say how old you are, but as a mature student you don’t have many 2nd chances to try again with your career. What was the point in studying to put your degree/career on the back burner?

I might be missing something here, but why would it set me back in my career? The point of studying was that I know I wouldn't be able to do the degree after having DC because of the nature of the placements, so it was a now or never situation.

We had always planned for me to take a gap between finishing and starting a job but because of the placement changes I'm just thinking about if I'd find it too hard.

@slidingdrawers is that just for nurses etc? I've not heard of that in my field.

@TotorosNeighbour do you think first trimester was easier to handle? I only ask as you mentioned waiting until 3 months before placement ends, which if I conceived immediately (highly unlikely but still have to factor it in to decisions), I'd be at most 12 weeks by the time I finish.

Most universities/colleges would be happy to let you take a year out for mat leave. If the money isn't important to you it'd probably be easier to just take a year out to concentrate on pregnancy and the baby and then go back once your baby is old enough for nursery. Also, there's no reason to know that you'll fall pregnant quickly. I'd start now in case it takes a while. The university/college will help you cope if you need to.

I wouldn’t wait in your mid-thirties.

@CoffeeWithCheese

Sounds like a similar third year structure to the one I'm on (I'm doing SALT) - they do a term of theory then they're out of there and only come back for tutorials, handing in dissertations and stuff. Our course has a reputation for being a heavy workload - but considering I'm from a teaching background it still feels fairly light to me - but I wouldn't want to be doing it heavily pregnant. Having said that, it took us years to conceive our two and I'm glad we started when we did.

Depends if uni would be prepared to send you physically out on placements if you were pregnant as well - ours would make you do telehealth only for it I think.

That's interesting your university wouldn't send you out. Is there any particular reason? NHS guidance at the moment is patient facing up to 28 weeks pregnant due to Covid. I wonder why the university won't send you out but if actually working they allow you to continue.

No, not just nurses. Midwives, doctors and allied HCP. The NQ year is quite critical in any professional.

It wasn't planned, but I completed the final part of my mental health nursing degree in my final month of pregnancy, worked out fine

Just in case it wasn't clear. We dont intend on TTC right now. We are thinking about trying at the point I'd have less than 6 months left. I'd have around 5 months of clinical placement left, would still finish my degree unless I ended up with hyperemesis or something that seriously affected me,n I'm not worried about money or the impact on my career. I'm worried about the impact of exhaustion, pregnancy symptoms etc and managing clinical placements.

@Ifonlyidknownthen

It wasn't planned, but I completed the final part of my mental health nursing degree in my final month of pregnancy, worked out fine

Ahh well done. Were you on clinical placement for any of that or doing theory?

Nurses etc work through pregnancies op, unless there's something else you've not added I wouldn't worry if you're going to be 6 months AT MOST if you concieve the first time

You might end up with 'something like hyperemesis' though. I did. That's the primary reason I say wait. Because you could get very unwell during pregnancy and your best laid plans wouldn't work in that case. I don't think it's worth the risk of that happening surely? Would it be worth it if you end up unable to complete the course if pregnancy related health complications mean you cannot study whilst pregnant? I don't think it is personally.