My husband and I have been married since May 2011. I am 22 and he is 26. I will start medical school in July. Our family lives in TN and my school is in FL. My husband has already finished his degree and is looking for a job. We are contemplating TTC in August to try and have our first child during the summer break between year one and two. Does anyone out there have experience with being pregnant/having a baby in medical school? I have done lots of research on this and the general consensus is that during medical school it is the easiest my life will be for the next 7+ years since it is a lot more flexible than internship/residency. I do not want to compromise my education, but I also do not want to be 30+ when starting a family. My biggest challenge will probably be being so far from our families. Please help!!

I'm a peds cardiology physician assistant and have a stepsister just finishing DO school.
I think the biggest consideration is the travel you'll do in years 3 & 4 for rotations - you can be sent to Timbuktu for months at a time, and schedules change at a moments notice.

I know people who have been pregnant or with a newborn in their intern year, and that's super hard too...but at least you'll go home most nights.

That's just my two cents

It sounds like you have done your research. While its going to be difficult not to mention you may not get pregnant for the timing all to work out. You are right though, it will be much more difficult later, and you would have to wait until your internship/residency were over.

I'm in a similar boat to you. Though it's not medical school, I'm in the third year of my PhD in Medical Sociology (so less rotations to worry about but similar crazy stress and weird schedule, not to mention no money!). I have several friends who have had babies during med school or doctoral degrees and they seem to be just fine. I think maybe the key is just if your partner has the flexibility in schedule and/or income to pay for childcare to make up for when your life might be extra busy and hectic. We're going to TTC in April with an eye to having a baby hopefully by next summer, which still gives me about another 1.5-2 years before I will finish my degree. Like you said, it's stressful, but it may be the least stressful, crazed time you have for awhile (I know this is the case with me, once I'm out on the academic job market there will be a lot more pressure). The only thing I might suggest is looking into what resources your school offers for parents (i.e. is there a parents group? is there childcare on campus or near it? would there be special family housing that would make commuting easier?). You might also consider waiting until you are nearly through your first year just to see what it's like so you can make a decision about whether that lifestyle would work for parenthood. I know I couldn't have managed being pregnant/having a small child my first two years (mainly because of the stress level and our living situation), but now in year 3, I'm ready and feel like I have a better grip on things and able to take on more. Then again, I'm also 31, so the clock is really ticking if we want to have more than 1. Good luck though! And awesome that you are considering med school!

Thanks for all your advice!! I was beginning to think I was the only one in this situation or crazy enough to want to start a family in medical school!

Where did your stepsister go to DO school?

Western university in California. She loves it and actually stayed on as a 5th year fellow and is helping to set up a satellite campus in Oregon

No experience, but look at it this way.... It's been done before, so who's to say you can't! If you have a hubby that is willing and ready, that's all the confirmation you need in my book Good luck x

That's awesome! Did she have children in med school? I will be at LECOM-Bradenton.

What a big decision!

I did my degree way before I had LO and it was easy, just completed my postgrad, half while pregnant and half with a LO under 1 and it was so hard to study.

I'm sure if your OH is supportive and flexible and you both want to make it work then you'll manage but it sounds like a hard road ahead. What would worry me would be the time you will miss out on with LO. I found I begrudged the time spent studying when I could have been enjoying my family. If I was in your position I would consider carefully why waiting until you are 30 is such a bad thing? I was 29 when I had my first LO, 30 seems quite old to have a first baby when you're 22, but it really isn't that ancient!!

Good luck making your decision, I'm sure whatever you decide on will work for you and your wee family-to-be xx