Is anyone else contemplating trying for a baby whilst finishing your write up?! Am I mad in doing so? I am well read up on the pros and cons but have decided that I can't wait any longer! (On the plus side, I'll get OK-ish maternity pay from my part-time job) I'm really hoping that a 9 month deadline will motivate me to finish in a way that nothing else could!

Trying for a baby sounds like great fun - as long as it doesn't end in conception, I'm a big fan!!

haha! I can see that I left myself open to this :$ I had hoped that our attempts may actually lead to conception... And being female this would result in myself being mit child- so I would have to contend with writing up and morning sickness which I think would add an extra element of fun to the process. Ironically my research is on motherhood :-)

Am I the only mad PhD student contemplating this- male or female? I am a slightly older PhD student having worked between my Masters and my PhD. I got married at the start of my PhD and am now itching for a new phase of life. You'd think after PhD I'd like things easy for a while...

I think it would be mad to put yourself under more stress while doing phd. Also the work level and stress of the phd wouldn't lead to very healthy body for a baby to be growing in. Also if it comes close to your planned finish date and you realise you need an extra month to include some new research or re-run tests or even write up results it could be disastrous if you had to disrupt your work-train for any reason. I'm really looking forward to that new stage of life myself but will begin with spending the next 6-12 months getting my body fit and healthy to improve the chances of healthy baby in the future. Really looking forward to having some freedom before such things once the phd ends though!!

I'd say go for it, but then I enjoyed being pregnant and had no problems with morning sickness. :-) If you are worried, you could wait a few months, and of course it might take a few months to conceive anyway. I suppose it also depends on how loudly your biological clock is ticking!

Good luck, whatever you decide! :-)

hi twinkle!
I love babies!!!
if you cant wait any longer, why not!

just make sure you read up those tips on dealing with morning sickness!
you'll be ok
love
satchi

I did my MA part-time at night school (Birkbeck) while holding on to a really full on job as an accountant in industry.  During the two yeast of the MA I planned our wedding and got married in November of my second year and then in the January we decided to try for a baby thinking it would take quite a long time (I had had a couple of miscarriages previously). Needless to say I got pregnant the first month of trying, sat my final exams 6 months pregnant and submitted my dissertation (17,000 words plus 8,000 of appendices) end September three weeks before my son was born.  I started my maternity leave early September having written about 1000 words and spent the rest of the month frantically writing - instead of resting and nesting I was doing long days into the early hours. I could have got an extension but figured it would be harder to do with a baby.

Good luck what ever you decide.

Hi Twinkle

I think it would be really hard - writing up is such an emotional process, which also requires physical stamina, and being pregnant would add to the demands on your body. Having said that, of course it is possible. I had a friend who was writing up while pregnant, she submitted her thesis then gave birth 2 days later! The pregnancy really drove her to finish on time. If possible, try and build in a few months tho, so your baby is born a few months after you intend to finish - writing up is really slow, and deadlines blow out all the time, so try and give yourself a bit of additional time, should it be needed.

Go for it....there's never a perfect time to have a baby. Things always work out (from what I've seen) because you work hard to make sure they do.

Good luck!

I have been thinking of trying as well, although I don't think its a great idea to do it whilst writing up. I would rather get that stage in my life finished, completely out of the way and then move on to the next stage. My supervisor currently has 2 other supervisees that that have had babies while writing up, they are on their 8th and 9th year of their PhDs - I don't want mine to drag out like that.

For me, there is a real cost issue as well. My hubs could JUST about afford to look after the mortgage etc if I can't get work after my PhD, but with a baby as well - I don't know if we could afford that!

If it were me, I would go ahead and try AFTER the writing up, otherwise you are going to have the damn thesis hanging over your head as ANOTHER stressor when your baby is screaming its head off!

I've sent you a PM.
Matilda