Pregnancy and 3rd year university??

[firsttimemumuni]

Hi all,

I'm currently 20 and 24 weeks pregnant. I also study social work and I am about to go into my final year. I was just wondering if anyone had any experiences of being pregnant and on a course which requires a full time placement.

Baby was not planned! But also did not find out til I was over 4 months and the thought of an abortion at a late stage was not something I could go through. I have a supportive family network who have said they will help me whenever they possibly can! But just wanted to know what everyone's experiences where of being pregnant and in final year which also requires a placement.

Many thanks!

Could you defer your final year by 12 months? I've not had to do a placement but final year of any course is a slog and will be even harder when pregnant. If you have to take any sick days it may not reflect well on the placement etc.

@Snipples

Could you defer your final year by 12 months? I've not had to do a placement but final year of any course is a slog and will be even harder when pregnant. If you have to take any sick days it may not reflect well on the placement etc.

Hiya! Ideally I don't want to defer because I don't think I'll go back🥴 but am also aware how hard it's going to be with a newborn and trying to complete my final year! Obviously with covid finding a plavement has been hard for the university as it is

Is there family nearby who can support you with childcare from very early on? Because of the timing you will need to return to your studies and placement almost straight away if you don't want to defer. Plenty of students do manage, it's relatively common, but nurseries don't accept babies until 6 weeks, often older. It will be hard but it will secure your future for your baby. Best of luck, you have youth on your side at least!

It's definitely doable, I had a baby during my undergraduate degree and worked up to 9 months pregnant, took a month off after to establish breastfeeding and then went back. You might have to push your uni to support you. At first mine told me to defer and I declined for the same reasons as you but they were fab for moving deadlines and work as I missed a few weeks due to him being ill. I used a childminder/family until he was 2 months and then he was in nursery. I was able to get all my lectures in childcare hours and I also did a professional placement although he was a bit older at this point, as it was voluntary in the 3rd sector I chose my hours and squished them all into longer days, I don't know what social work is like though.
I'm now doing a PhD with number 2 on the way.

@movingonup20

Is there family nearby who can support you with childcare from very early on? Because of the timing you will need to return to your studies and placement almost straight away if you don't want to defer. Plenty of students do manage, it's relatively common, but nurseries don't accept babies until 6 weeks, often older. It will be hard but it will secure your future for your baby. Best of luck, you have youth on your side at least!

Yes my mum and my whole family have said they will have her the whole time I need them too whilst I'm on placement and that they don't mind it

@TeaPeas

Hey

I'm in a similar position (also 24 weeks, also a uni student, albeit for medicine not social work). I am also hoping to carry on if possible for the same reasons.

Have you told your uni yet? They may be able to adjust how your year works to account for your pregnancy (i.e: allowing you to complete certain pieces of work early so that they're out the way before baby comes).

I don't know what your childcare situation is, but in terms of childcare, some childminders take babies less than 6 weeks old, and also tend to only take one child under a year old at a time, meaning a bit more individualised attention. They also tend to be more flexible about hours and times than nurseries, and often cost less, so might be worth considering if you do need childcare.

Have you looked at how having a baby affects your student finance? You should be entitled to the Parents learning allowance and also the childcare grant, which should make things a bit easier

Apologies if I've said anything that you've already done or considered. It's nice to encounter somebody who's in the same boat

Hi ya! Congratulations on your pregnancy too!

My uni are aware and they haven't been unsupportive but also do feel like they are trying to push me to defer for the year which is not what I want!

Luckily with childcare my family and close family friends are supporting me as much as they possibly can, my mum works nights so is free basically every day! Which is fortunate and lucky for me!

Baby's not due until December are we able to apply for this now??

And yes you're right! It's so nice to find someone in the same boat especially with how I haven't actually told my uni class mates yet🤣

@KatyCherry23

It's definitely doable, I had a baby during my undergraduate degree and worked up to 9 months pregnant, took a month off after to establish breastfeeding and then went back. You might have to push your uni to support you. At first mine told me to defer and I declined for the same reasons as you but they were fab for moving deadlines and work as I missed a few weeks due to him being ill. I used a childminder/family until he was 2 months and then he was in nursery. I was able to get all my lectures in childcare hours and I also did a professional placement although he was a bit older at this point, as it was voluntary in the 3rd sector I chose my hours and squished them all into longer days, I don't know what social work is like though. I'm now doing a PhD with number 2 on the way.

Oh wow! Thank you so much for sharing that it's really reassured me! I'm due to start placement 12th October and finish when the uni year finishes so I know there may be some days I will need to make where I can, I get the same feeling from my uni that they are trying to suggest deferring without actually saying we recommend you defer!

I'd try and have a good chat with your social work tutor or head of year. I think part of the issue might be that you need certain number of hours on placement to complete the degree and if you miss a couple of hours every two weeks for midwife appointments plus obviously time off after the birth, you might fall short and not be able to make it up - they should have some level of contingency in place though. I'd imagine it's hard to sort placements at the moment with the Covid requirements and so they need to be able to specifically risk assess your situation as it will be different from the usual.

I've be worked in a couple of unis and they can be a bit resistant to changing circumstances (that's me being polite )

@TeaPeas yeah imma try and stand my ground so adamant I don't want to defer at all because it is final year!

Thank you so much for that link I'll defo be looking!

I'm currently due on the 30th with a little girl!