Finishing a degree with a baby

[Ftm712]

Looking for people who have had a similar experience and can give some advice.

I am currently pregnant with my first child, however I am coming to the end of my first year of my doctorate (non-medical). Just wondering if anyone has had a baby mid-degree and how they managed with completing it? Any tips? My degree is full time, 4 days a week, mostly on placement in my local area with only 3-4 weeks at university for the next two years. I receive a decent wage and will get a year of paid maternity leave, and have good family support on both sides who want to help with childcare. I’m just wondering how people have managed to balance everything.

Treat it the same as a full time job: while you are working/studying you arrange childcare.

I know plenty of close friends who have done this - in some careers it is the "done" thing to do a PhD whilst you have young kids/start a family, as it is easier to sort childcare for set days than a shift pattern working 24/7. You should do everything the exact same as you would in a job - have childcare in place for all of your work/study time, work out how to split your spare time with your partner (if you have one) and work out your finances. The only thing which may be more murky is managing expectations out of hours (for your doctorate and family life) and being able to turn off, but if either of you have WFH in the past then this should not be new to you.

Other things: can you get subsidised childcare with your student status at your university when you return from mat leave? (The uni where I work allows PhD students even with paid work at the uni to claim student status for childcare in the nursery, but others do not) You presumably also have registered for the single person discount on council tax and have a student rail/bus pass if you use public transport, so just continue with that.

Are you doing ed psych? I know quite a few colleagues who had a baby mid-training. It’s definitely doable; your uni and service will have seen it all before most likely! I think what has helped my colleagues is to be very boundaried between research days and placement days. Be kind to yourself and remember that ‘good enough is good enough!’

It will be hard work but so worthwhile in the end. Congratulations and best of luck 😊

Lots of medics do it this way. The successful ones are really strict with their time - when they are on PhD days, they are working, and their partners do GP trips, sick days etc. It can slow you down with a PhD if you can't work late, so you have to protect your time from what I would call academic bullshit activities. There are childcare grants for going to conferences. Make the most of them!

What everyone else said. One of my doctoral students was very pregnant with her second child at the time of her viva, having had her first during her second year. Adjusting for maternity leave, she still finished on time, and now has a flourishing career.