I have been doing lots of research on this topic but I would still love some advice! I will start medical school in the fall (2012). My husband and I have been talking about starting our family soon. The goal is to become pregnant in August to hopefully have the baby during the summer between years one and two. I will not have the luxury of having family close by to help out so we will have to rely on daycare when my husband and I cannot be home. I will most likely be going to LECOM-B (DO school). Anatomy is only for the first 10 weeks and the rest of the two pre-clinical years is taught PBL style. Does anyone have experience with being pregnant during medical school (especially during the first two years)? Would this be our best option or would we be better off waiting until after medical school? Thanks for the help!!

I did exactly what you are talking about. This worked out perfectly. My school has podcasts so I actually was home with my son all throughout his first year except the few hours a week that were required to go in. Ffor anatomy I wore a mask that I got from occupational health, but I know other pregnant people who didn't use one and their pregnancies and babies turned out fine. I am currently a third year and due any day now with my second. It was much harder to be pregnant during 3rd year and I decided to take a leave of absence because I didn't want to be pumping and away from my kids that much during rotations. So I say go for it, between 1st and 2nd year is the only summer you get!

Thanks so much!! Your info was very helpful and reassuring. Did you feel that your class work suffered because you wanted to spend a lot of time with the little one? Congrats, good luck, and thank you for your help!!

Congrats on med school! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, as I'm a first year, pregnant with our first baby and due at the beginning of 2nd year. I think having that summer off with a new baby would be awesome! The only timing thing I might suggest is to try and avoid the chance that you'll go into labor during your finals. My due date is hovering around our first exam of 2nd year and I'm already nervous!

Other than that, I would say GO FOR IT! Med school is a great time because since you're the one paying for your education, the school is much more likely to be accommodating to your needs. As a resident or hospital employee, no one really has a big incentive to give you a year off, set you up with a nice masters program, help you find research opportunities, extend your maternity leave, etc.

If you're wanting to work part-time as an attending, then I guess it might make sense to wait until then. Personally though, I plan on working full time, so I wasn't going to wait 7-10 years to start a family when I'm ready now

Good luck!

No, my class work did not suffer. I did have to start using daycare more when he was 6 months due to the fact that he stopped sleeping during the day so much. But that was actually a good thing because he was gradually put into daycare full time and thus got all the daycare sickness more gradually. But when they are only a few months all they do is sleep and eat so you can just study with them in your arms. My grades in second year were exactly around the same as first year and i did very well on step 1, lthough i did put my son in daycare full time during that time (and got pregnant again while studying for step 1 lol).
Biggest thing is to get a good pump, like Medela, for when u start spending more time away from your baby.

Thanks for your advice! I feel the same way...why wait now and possibly risk not being able to have children when I feel like now is the right time!

If you can work out that plan, that's great! Just keep in mind that sometimes our bodies don't get the memo on those plans and it may not happen the way you like.

In that case, be sure to have a plan B if you don't get pregnant right away.

Also, if it does work, be prepared to feel queasy during your 10-week hands-on portion of anatomy and make provisions.

Good luck to you!

Yes, you're right. I am going to start charting my basal temperature every morning in an attempt to pinpoint the best days to conceive. Right now, we aren't sure what plan B is. Thanks so much for your advice!

Geez, I'd wait till anatomy is over to try to conceive. Smelling formalin and phenol all day in the first tri sounds like an awful idea. You may be vomiting multiple times a day even without the anatomy lab, never mind the preservatives are known carcinogens - why would you want to expose a developing fetus to that stuff?

I was pregnant during anatomy lab, and I did not make the decision lightly. I took every precaution I could possibly think of (mask, dbl glove, only superficial dissection, skipped optional sessions), and the course director (who mixed the stuff himself) assured me he used the most dilute mixture possible. That being said, it's still a theoretical risk (although I could not find any studies linking anatomy lab with birth defects per se). I'm not saying you *should* do it, but you are right to weigh the decision carefully.

People are going to criticize your decisions no matter what you do. If you are pregnant on hospital rotations, there will be known and sometimes significant exposure to carcinogens and teratogens, not to mention the infectious diseases. So darned if you do, darned if you don't. (Sorry, tr, I know you didn't mean it that way, but being one who was pregnant during anatomy lab, I'm extra sensitive to this stuff!)

DD is totally normal, btw.