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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

Career and TTC

10 replies

ellieolivia · 10/08/2023 13:16

Hi everyone,
I am 31 and love my career but also desperately want children! I am in training to become an accountant and will be completing my last sitting in April.
I really need to complete my exams.
I am not pregnant yet but we want to try. I am worried that I will not get through my last exam if I have a difficult pregnancy.
Would it be more sensible to wait until I have qualified? But then I also worry it could take years to conceive so want to start trying as soon as possible?!
Also can anyone tell me apart from folic acid what are the best vitamins to take?
TIA

OP posts:
Namechangedforthis25 · 10/08/2023 13:24

You are 31 so young enough to be able to wait until next year to conceive in my opinion

only you can say whether you can study whilst pregnant - some pregnancies are a breeze although uncomfortable in the final trimester

but if you have complications or other issues that require appointments that will eat jnto your study time. How many hours of study time do you require? Would you be mentally able to cope if there was an issue?

in your shoes I would probably wait bjt only you can really say

yes need folic acid for 12 weeks pre conceiving - but can just get a good pre conception vitamin from boots

justanotherlaura · 10/08/2023 13:38

I agree, some people breeze through, my sister in law took exams right up to 36 weeks but I was so, so ill with pregnancy I barely managed enough work not to get fired! I had really terrible nausea 24 hours a day for the first 16 weeks that was so bad I couldn't think straight.

Personally I'd wait but then you could be one of the lucky ones like my SIL!

3rdtimemumma · 10/08/2023 13:40

Ahhh congratulations, as its so exciting when you start thinking about this. You're 31, which is pretty young, but there's no right or wrong time to conceive. I'd probably wait until after April unless your exams can be easily postponed as the tiredness and sickness can be awful. But it's totally up to you and your partner. I've always thought i'll start trying early because it'll take ages and I've always fallen pregnant in the first month which has been a massive shock each time.

justanotherlaura · 10/08/2023 13:40

Oh! And my cousin had her baby at 24 weeks! They're both perfectly healthy now but it would be very difficult to take exams if baby is in nicu... probably very unlikely but it depends how much you're willing to gamble!

Original poster
ellieolivia · 10/08/2023 13:56

Namechangedforthis25 · 10/08/2023 13:24

You are 31 so young enough to be able to wait until next year to conceive in my opinion

only you can say whether you can study whilst pregnant - some pregnancies are a breeze although uncomfortable in the final trimester

but if you have complications or other issues that require appointments that will eat jnto your study time. How many hours of study time do you require? Would you be mentally able to cope if there was an issue?

in your shoes I would probably wait bjt only you can really say

yes need folic acid for 12 weeks pre conceiving - but can just get a good pre conception vitamin from boots

I would need to study alongside working full time- so weekends and evenings.
I know I think you are right and it would be sensible to wait- it's just hard because I feel so excited and inpatient! Thank you for your advice

OP posts:
Original poster
ellieolivia · 10/08/2023 13:59

justanotherlaura · 10/08/2023 13:38

I agree, some people breeze through, my sister in law took exams right up to 36 weeks but I was so, so ill with pregnancy I barely managed enough work not to get fired! I had really terrible nausea 24 hours a day for the first 16 weeks that was so bad I couldn't think straight.

Personally I'd wait but then you could be one of the lucky ones like my SIL!

In my mind I would love to breeze through, do the exam and then get excited for baby! But I know in reality the chances of this are very slim and I am sure it will be really hard to do both!
I think I will have to be patient and wait.
Thanks so much for your advice

OP posts:
moosey89 · 10/08/2023 21:26

I think there's no right time - if you do all the work and exams, then have a baby, you might forget some of what you've learnt before putting it into practice? (I'm not sure what your experience is so don't know how much this will impact you). I've also had a rough TTC journey (first pregnancy took 2.5 years and ended in miscarriage and just taken another 6 months which also ended in miscarriage, both around 10-11 weeks) so I'm of the mindset that sometimes you just have to go for it.

Original poster
ellieolivia · 10/08/2023 21:40

moosey89 · 10/08/2023 21:26

I think there's no right time - if you do all the work and exams, then have a baby, you might forget some of what you've learnt before putting it into practice? (I'm not sure what your experience is so don't know how much this will impact you). I've also had a rough TTC journey (first pregnancy took 2.5 years and ended in miscarriage and just taken another 6 months which also ended in miscarriage, both around 10-11 weeks) so I'm of the mindset that sometimes you just have to go for it.

So sorry to hear of your miscarriages and struggles to conceive. I really hope it happens for you soon. This is a what keeps playing on my mind- it's never going to be the perfect time. And if I do struggle to conceive I will wish I started trying sooner! Xx

OP posts:
moosey89 · 10/08/2023 21:45

@ellieolivia thank you - I really hope that your journey is a lot, lot more straightforward and not so drawn out, but until you actually start ttc it can be impossible to know what it will take to have a baby. I've had a friend who was terrified she wouldn't be able to have kids naturally due to serious anorexia when she was younger, and she conceived all 3 of her children first month of trying, zero losses! It is such a game of chance. Whatever you choose, good luck with it all xx

Pregnantandexams · 10/08/2023 22:10

Have name changed in case this is outing.

So I was in a very similar position to you. But it was slightly different because of Covid.

I took my final exams for my professional qualification in 2021 when I was 24 weeks pregnant. I had four exams in one week, each was multiple hours long. Luckily I did it from home because it was Covid/lockdown. I passed everything and got my results just as I went on mat leave. To come back to my job qualified has been amazing because obviously there aren't anymore exams, and I've got a decent pay rise which balances out working part time. Also I actually don't think I could have revised and passed exams after having my DC. I have barely any free time as it is..!

I didn't intend to do this as such though...I had two pregnancy losses before my DC was born. My exams got cancelled in 2020 because of Covid. If it had all gone to plan, I would have been about 9 weeks pregnant when sitting my finals. But instead the exams were cancelled and I had a miscarriage. Honestly my life felt like such a mess but it gave me a really fatalistic attitude and I just went with TTC even though I didn't know how pregnant I'd be when my exams were eventually rescheduled.

Would I do it again in the same way...? Erm, probably. Doing exams at 24 weeks pregnant was a sweet spot between first trimester sickness/exhaustion but before I started to get very uncomfortable with being so big. But I didn't plan it, it was luck.

I don't really know what I'd advise to be honest. It's only a few months so maybe wait but then if you fail your final exams then fuck it, TTC and just see what happens! You never know which way it's going to go
Good luck!

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