Pregnancy during medical school

[medhopeful64]

Hey everyone,

 

This might be a odd question coming from a 3rd year undergrad, but I really need to know this for my future's sake/parent's sake.

 

What if you get married say, right before clerkship. And say you get pregnant before your clerkship is over (how long does clerkship last? I'm wondering in particular for Mac, since their schedule is a bit different since their program is only 3 years). When are you allowed to leave for maternity leave? Or are you only allowed to leave once the child is born? I have heard that the maximum time you are allowed is 1 year after the child is born. Can't you leave before that? I mean, being 7 months pregnant, and running to the hospital at 3 in the morning is kind of much to handle, no? Also, is the maternity leave paid (read that on another forum - but I think that's only if you are in residency)?

 

Could any mothers in med school please let me know? It would ease my worries lol. Thanks.

[Who M.D.]

This might be a odd question coming from a 3rd year undergrad, but I really need to know this for my future's sake/parent's sake.

 

I went to medical school in Calgary and two of my classmates took time off because they had children during clerkship. Each got 10 weeks off (I think) which was the maximum they could take and still finish medical school in 3 years and start residency right away. They started their leaves of absence before their children were born. I assume they could have taken more time off but then they would have had to delay residency for 1 year.

 

I had another classmate who took time off before clerkship as well.

 

I don't know about McMaster, but I'm sure something would be possible.

 

Obviously you can't always control when you have children and you might not want to delay, but I think it's easier to do in residency. Most provinces give you one year of mat leave if you need it meanwhile I think you get your employment benefits (e.g. insurance, etc.) and some pay.

 

Don't know if I can answer anymore but I'd be happy to entertain questions via PM.

[JewelLeigh]

In residency, at least in Ontario, you are also not required to be on call after 31 weeks. One would hope it is similar in other provinces and for clerkship.

 

In terms of time you can take off, I suspect medical schools are legally required to give you 1 year off, but as a previous poster mentioned, if you wanted to still graduate as scheduled with your class, the amount one can miss is a lot less than 1 year.

 

I am not sure when you are allowed to start maternity leave, but again, I could not imagine it would be legal for a medical school to require you to keep working until you go into labour. In residency, I went off at 38 weeks and know some other people who went off around 36-37 and some who waited until the onset of labour. I'm not sure what would be the earliest allowable.

[Ollie]

I think it's better to wait for residency to have kids for the sole reason that it's paid. If you take a year off as a student, you of course won't pay tuition, but it's an extra year of accumulating debt for other living expenses. I think most people start leave maybe a week or two before their due date, and if possible try and arrange to be on lighter rotations during the 3rd trimester. FYI in BC the PAR-BC contract does not restrict call in the 3rd trimester, so you can be 37 weeks pregnant and doing 24 hour call (but the new contract is being negotiated right now so hopefully that will change). As a med student you are not technically covered by by the resident contract, so I think they techinally don't have to let you out of call, but hopefully they would.

[medhopeful64]

In residency, at least in Ontario, you are also not required to be on call after 31 weeks. One would hope it is similar in other provinces and for clerkship.

 

That's good to know, seeing as I hope for an Ontario med school!

 

In terms of time you can take off, I suspect medical schools are legally required to give you 1 year off, but as a previous poster mentioned, if you wanted to still graduate as scheduled with your class, the amount one can miss is a lot less than 1 year.

 

I am not sure when you are allowed to start maternity leave, but again, I could not imagine it would be legal for a medical school to require you to keep working until you go into labour. In residency, I went off at 38 weeks and know some other people who went off around 36-37 and some who waited until the onset of labour. I'm not sure what would be the earliest allowable.

 

wow, that near your delivery date? that must've been hard! How was it? exhausting? I couldn't imagine having to wait until the onset of labor to go off

 

I think it's better to wait for residency to have kids for the sole reason that it's paid. If you take a year off as a student, you of course won't pay tuition, but it's an extra year of accumulating debt for other living expenses. I think most people start leave maybe a week or two before their due date, and if possible try and arrange to be on lighter rotations during the 3rd trimester. FYI in BC the PAR-BC contract does not restrict call in the 3rd trimester, so you can be 37 weeks pregnant and doing 24 hour call (but the new contract is being negotiated right now so hopefully that will change). As a med student you are not technically covered by by the resident contract, so I think they techinally don't have to let you out of call, but hopefully they would.

 

Ah, that sucks the students in clerkship don't have the same coverage as residents. But I was thinking the same thing - it would probably be best to have children during residency. I just wanted the best for the child, so taking off a few months before delivery was my ideal situation in mind (if possible). I mean, to have a healthy pregnancy would probably be hard as a med student (probably hard to get lots of exercise, good nutrition, etc during hectic rotations and night calls...). I hope being a doctor won't compromise my ability to be a good mother too much. I want the best for my children, and I hope to spend decent amount of time with them (is this possible with a family med residency?).

 

Thanks everyone for your replies!! Means a lot

[JewelLeigh]

wow, that near your delivery date? that must've been hard! How was it? exhausting? I couldn't imagine having to wait until the onset of labor to go off

 

 

 

Ah, that sucks the students in clerkship don't have the same coverage as residents. But I was thinking the same thing - it would probably be best to have children during residency. I just wanted the best for the child, so taking off a few months before delivery was my ideal situation in mind (if possible).

It wasn't really exhausting, but I was blessed with an easy pregnancy. I continued to do some half day clinics until the day before I delivered, and felt fine other than a mild sore back at the end of most days. I personally couldn't imagine going off too much earlier because I tend to go stir crazy after sitting at home for too long. Not to mention that the later I postponed the start of mat leave, the longer time I had on the other end to be home with my baby before going back to work. That said, now knowing exactly how busy life is with a baby, it might've been nice, in hindsight, to just laze around in my pjs for a couple of weeks before that kind of life disappeared for good when the baby came!!

 

To give another example, one girl in my medical school had a baby during clerkship. She worked right up until the day before her induction of labour, which was done at 41+ weeks for being post-dates. She took somewhere in the range of 2-3 months off for her mat leave. That said, her husband had a job with excellent benefits and was able to take a well-paid paternity leave for the remainder of the first year of the child's life.

 

With respect to taking a "few months" off before delivery...I manage a lot of prenatal patients and can tell you that with a healthy pregnancy, this amount of time off prior to a due date would be quite atypical. Though it's not an official stat, I would say the average amongst my prenatal patients is for women to start mat leave maybe 3 weeks before their due date. Obviously with a higher risk pregnancy or very strenuous job, women take more time before delivery, or switch duties to something easier for a time before starting mat leave. This isn't to say that it wouldn't be reasonable for women with healthy pregnancies to take off more than 3 weeks prior to their due dates...but I just wanted to illustrate that I wouldn't consider it unhealthy for well women to continue to work far into her 3rd trimester.

[Who M.D.]

This isn't to say that it wouldn't be reasonable for women with health pregnancies to take off more than 3 weeks prior to their due dates...but I just wanted to illustrate that I wouldn't consider it unhealthy for well women to continue to work far into their 3rd trimester.

 

My experience is that it's about 3-6 weeks for most people (complicated pregnancies being an obvious exception).

 

As for the medical students I knew who had children, I don't know exactly when they started their leave, but I'm pretty sure it was no more than a month before delivery.

[JewelLeigh]

My experience is that it's about 3-6 weeks for most people (complicated pregnancies being an obvious exception).

 

As for the medical students I knew who had children, I don't know exactly when they started their leave, but I'm pretty sure it was no more than a month before delivery.

Wow, we must live in pretty different areas! Of the ~200 uncomplicated prenatal patients I've managed, if I exclude teachers who happen to be due in the summer or September, I can only think of a few who took off more than a month prior to delivery.

[medhopeful64]

It wasn't really exhausting, but I was blessed with an easy pregnancy. I continued to do some half day clinics until the day before I delivered, and felt fine other than a mild sore back at the end of most days.

 

With respect to taking a "few months" off before delivery...I manage a lot of prenatal patients and can tell you that with a healthy pregnancy, this amount of time off prior to a due date would be quite atypical. Though it's not an official stat, I would say the average amongst my prenatal patients is for women to start mat leave maybe 3 weeks before their due date. Obviously with a higher risk pregnancy or very strenuous job, women take more time before delivery, or switch duties to something easier for a time before starting mat leave. This isn't to say that it wouldn't be reasonable for women with healthy pregnancies to take off more than 3 weeks prior to their due dates...but I just wanted to illustrate that I wouldn't consider it unhealthy for well women to continue to work far into her 3rd trimester.

 

Hmm,really, I didn't know women stayed at work that far into their pregnancies. I guess taking a few months off prior to delivery would be unnecessary if it is a healthy pregnancy. I just thought with the stress of medical school and all, it would be harder to take care of yourself/the baby (during the pregnancy). May I ask how you managed? (ie studying, work, eating healthy/exercising).

 

Also, may I ask what sort of duties you did in the weeks prior to your delivery? You said you did half-day clinics - is this typical? How many hours a day do they expect you to work?

 

Thanks for the comments JewelLeigh and Who M.D.

[JewelLeigh]

Hmm,really, I didn't know women stayed at work that far into their pregnancies. I guess taking a few months off prior to delivery would be unnecessary if it is a healthy pregnancy. I just thought with the stress of medical school and all, it would be harder to take care of yourself/the baby (during the pregnancy). May I ask how you managed? (ie studying, work, eating healthy/exercising).

 

Also, may I ask what sort of duties you did in the weeks prior to your delivery? You said you did half-day clinics - is this typical? How many hours a day do they expect you to work?

 

Thanks for the comments JewelLeigh and Who M.D.

You are definitely right that you would want to play it safe with your pregnancy and if you had any concerns about the rotation being too strenuous, better safe than sorry in terms of time off!

 

I worked full time (~50 hours a week at that time, did only minimal call, and all from home for a month) until I was 38 weeks. This involved what I usually did prior to being pregnant, but minus a few extra call shifts and overnight ER shifts. So basically I worked M-F, 7:30am-5:30pm most days, with a few later evenings and a few weekend ER shifts (8am-4pm) here and there. I probably could've reduced my workload further if I wanted to (eliminated morning rounds, thus starting at 9am, reduced the number of ER shifts done outside of clinic, etc.) but I felt fine, so I did not.

 

At 38 weeks, my official mat leave started. In that week between my official mat leave start date and when I delivered at 39 weeks, I decided to do a few extra clinics to help out at my office. These were just 1-4pm only, and again, were my own choice and not required whatsoever.

[medhopeful64]

I worked full time (~50 hours a week at that time, did only minimal call, and all from home for a month) until I was 38 weeks. This involved what I usually did prior to being pregnant, but minus a few extra call shifts and overnight ER shifts. So basically I worked M-F, 7:30am-5:30pm most days, with a few later evenings and a few weekend ER shifts (8am-4pm) here and there. I probably could've reduced my workload further if I wanted to (eliminated morning rounds, thus starting at 9am, reduced the number of ER shifts done outside of clinic, etc.) but I felt fine, so I did not.

 

At 38 weeks, my official mat leave started. In that week between my official mat leave start date and when I delivered at 39 weeks, I decided to do a few extra clinics to help out at my office. These were just 1-4pm only, and again, were my own choice and not required whatsoever.

 

Wow, you sound like superwoman! lol It's good to know that you had the choice to do less if you wanted to/or felt it was too strenuous. thanks for all the info, much appreciated!!

[JewelLeigh]

Wow, you sound like superwoman! lol It's good to know that you had the choice to do less if you wanted to/or felt it was too strenuous. thanks for all the info, much appreciated!!

Not superwoman at all - just blessed with a job I love and a very easy pregnancy

 

Best of luck.

[rbeccamb]

I am going to be in a unique position, as well. I am presently working on a Health Science degree (first degree in chemistry - regrettful), I will likely be in medical school in my early-mid 30s, as well. My aspiration is family medicine. My significant other has completed his education with a lucrative career. My hope is to either have children while going through residency, or upon clerkship.

 

A few years ago, I was speaking about this with my dentist (studied at UWO). She told me that while going through, there were a number of women who were married and/or had children.

 

I believe it can work - but it all depends on your situation. It helps that my partner is well into his career.

[Kels]

Everyone I know who had a baby in residency has done something different. I did heavy IM call until about 5 months, then had a month of home call, then a rotation that didn't have call, and finally a research month. I went off on sick leave due to PIH around 36 weeks and started mat leave at 38 weeks when my little one was born.

 

It worked for me to do a graded reduction in work hours, and my program at the time was very supportive.

 

If you google BC Physician Health Program, they have a document on motherhood & medicine. It's a great resource!